Just Say NO to Disposable Plastic

Recently sent from the Sea Turtles Restoration project:

"Reduce your disposable plastic use. Use canvas shopping bags and reusable water bottles instead of plastic whenever you can. Just say no to straws and coffee stir sticks. Plastic accounts for 90% of all ocean debris. Unlike other types of trash, plastic is not biodegradable. Plastic is forever. Plastic waste is believed to cause the deaths of 100,000 marine animals each year."

I am so surprised to see recyclable plastic items in trash containers here - on Oberlin's campus! - where we presumably have a very high percentage of people educated about the need to recycle and dangers of plastic pollution.  The "trash vortex" of the North Pacific Ocean is the same area as the size of Texas, for crying out loud.  Reducing your use of plastic is SO easy, and tossing recyclable plastic into a recycling container could not be any easier on this campus.  It is such a small effort on your part, and it truly makes a difference.  Learn more about recycling at Oberlin.

Sardines, not Salmon; Oysters and Mussels, but never Shrimp

The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail by W. Jeffrey Bolster captured my attention this morning.  "Blending marine biology, ecological insight, and a remarkable cast of characters, from notable explorers to scientists to an army of unknown fishermen, Bolster tells a story that is both ecological and human: the prelude to an environmental disaster.

"Bolster writes in the hope that the intimate relationship humans have long had with the ocean [fishermen have exploited Atlantic for some 500 years], and the species that live within it, can be restored for future generations."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produces FishWatch, which confirms the rapid decline of fish populations in the Atlantic.

I'm looking forward to receiving a related book, still on order: The Perfect Protein: the Fish Lover's Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World. Author Andy Sharpless explains how in an interview with Steve Curwood of Living on Earth.  Sharpless, CEO of Oceana, maintains that the oceans can recover if we stop over-fishing and better manage fishing fleets worldwide.  Fish populations need time to rebound.  Meanwhile, Sharpless encourages seafood consumption based on five simple rules: "Eat wild; eat smaller species; eat local or domestic; eat all the farmed shellfish - oyster, clams, mussels - that you can; and I’m sorry to say, you’ve got to swear off shrimp."  Why?  "There’s no way to get a shrimp and feel good about what you’re doing for the future. Wild shrimp are caught in a process that produces very high levels of what’s called bycatch. And farmed shrimp are farmed in shallow pens typically in tropical countries that are often managed in a very short-sighted way and end up wrecking and contaminating coastal zones."  Read the transcript at LOE.org.

Trash animals, a birding Scot, and Hooker's lily.

There are many intriguing books on the new book shelf and it is a perfect day to check one out and head outdoors for a fair-weather read.

Trash animals: how we live with nature's filthy, feral, invasive, and unwanted species will get you thinking about the bias we humans have toward certain non-human animals.  Why should the pigeon be so denigrated while we admire the flight and cunning of the eagle?  Why is the panda valued more highly than prairie dogs?  Are we threatened by our lack of power to control the unwanted?  The essayists challenge us to "reimagine our ethics of engagement" with the maligned creatures considered in each chapter.

Alexander Wilson: the Scot who founded American ornithology is both biography and ornithological treasure.  What fun reading!  On his travels to sell subscriptions for his treatise American Ornithology, Wilson casually dropped by the White House back door, asking to see President Jefferson.  He was granted admittance, and the two men spent hours together discussing birds and science.  The President bought a subscription and was instrumental in encouraging many others to support Wilson.  American Ornithology was the first major scientific work published in America.  The Wilson Bulletin takes its name from Alexander Wilson; official publication of the Wilson Ornithological Chapter of the Agassiz Association, it was edited and published for 32 years by Lynds Jones, professor of zoology at Oberlin College.

The Flower of Empire reads like a suspense novel, telling the story of the giant Amazonian water lily (Victoria regia) and the race to make it bloom for Queen Victoria.  Sir William Jackson Hooker is central to this story, as director of the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, and the cast of Dukes with botanic interests is remarkable.

There are plenty of other new books to capture your imagination.  Take a look!

eLife and Naked Scientists... sounds interesting!

This is from elifesciences.org -

eLife opens science to the public with new podcast series

CAMBRIDGE, UK | July 17, 2013

eLife, the new open-access journal for outstanding research in the life and biomedical sciences, has partnered with The Naked Scientists to produce a podcast that will bring scientific results published in the journal to a wider audience. 

As an open-access venture, eLife works to put key scientific findings in the hands of more and different audiences – and to make reports more inviting, engaging, and interactive. eLife extends that effort today through partnership with The Naked Scientists, an award-winning team of broadcasters whose aim is to promote science to the general public. 

---

And I say, "how could this fail?"  Check it out and be inspired, educated and enchanted by science.

ScienceDirect service interruption planned for Saturday evening

This comes from Elsevier, publisher and provider of sciencedirect.com:

 ScienceDirect and Scopus will be unavailable due to scheduled maintenance from Saturday, July 20 at 7:00 PM EDT (12:00 MIDNIGHT BST) until Saturday, July 20 at 7:30 PM EDT (12:30 AM BST). It is also possible that you may experience service disruptions such as slower response times and unexpected outages throughout the day.

Thank you for your patience as we strive to update our products. We invite you to follow us on Twitter (@sciencedirect; @scopus) or view our blog for regular communications around product changes and enhancements. Kind regards, The ScienceDirect and Scopus Teams.

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 

Photojournalists Take on Fracking | OnEarth Magazine

Gail Henry provides an excellent overview of photojournalists' efforts to document the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas. Images into Action | OnEarth Magazine   Their work goes beyond highly publicized photos of flammable tap water and exposes negative effects on landscapes, human communities, bodies of water and entire ecosystems, with long lasting repercussions for health and well-being.  More about MSDP | Marcellus Shale Documentary Project.

Concerned about fracking in Ohio?  Join the Don't Frack Ohio and People's Assembly, Monday July 29, in Warren, Ohio. Read more: The end of country / Seamus McGraw

Eocypselus Rowei: Hummingbird Precursor Discovered

Eocypselus Rowei: Hummingbird Precursor Discovered

It is this type of discovery that makes me appreciate anew the marvels of evolution!  Find a couple of dozen books on the evolution of birds with this simple subject search in OBIS: birds evolution.  One of the most recent is accessible electronically, at either the OhioLINK Electronic Book Center or Springer books online.  Connect through OBIS: Avian Ancestors.

Match a Quote to a New Book Now on Display

Here's a bit of a summer challenge:  match each quote to one of the books now on display in the new book area.  Then come on in and find something enlightening to read this summer!

1. Using cognitively sophisticated monkeys and apes as organ donors has become taboo, so researchers are now focusing on pigs...
2. The cosmic microwave background has proven to be an extraordinarily useful tool for understanding structure in space.
3. Without proper anesthetic... the bear is tied down by ropes, and a metal catheter, which eventually rusts, is permanently stuck through his abdomen into his gall bladder... the relief of death comes far too slowly.
4. ...by revealing the fine texture and granularity of the world the microscope seemed to offer the hope that what was once occult would become manifest.
5. I was surprised to learn that dogs lose interest when meat decays past a certain point.  It is a myth that dogs will eat anything.

The above quotes came from (this is where the guessing starts):

Edge of the Universe
Frankenstein's Cat
Curiosity: How Science Became Interested in Everything
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
How Animals Grieve

There are many other interesting new books on display - the shelves are practically overflowing!  Something for everyone.

Conservationist Volunteer Murdered in Costa Rica

Among the headlines of the current issue of EcoAméricas is the tragic news that "Costa Rican police have yet to make an arrest in the case of Jairo Mora, a 26-year-old turtle conservationist murdered on May 31 while patrolling a Caribbean beach to protect nesting sea turtles."

The story continues: "Mora worked for the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (Widecast), a U.S.-based scientific organization dedicated to sea-turtle protection. Widecast pulled out of the Moín Beach turtle patrol program after the attack, citing a lack of security. According to Didiher Chacón, the group’s country coordinator, Widecast volunteers had received threats from people he believes were either turtle poachers or drug traffickers operating in the area."

EcoAmericas is published monthly.  In addition to important regional news stories, it provides a guide to environmental agencies, country by country.  The June 2013 issue also includes the welcome news that Brazil is on track for cutting CO2 emissions.  

Read more about sea turtle conservation efforts:  Saving Sea Turtles by James R. Spotila and Sea Turtles of the Eastern Pacific edited by J.A. Seminoff, B.P. Wallace and P.C.H. Pritchard.

End of Semester Brain Asymmetries

The tide of new books continues to roll in, just as students are less likely to want anything else to add to the mix of completing projects, studying for finals and returning library materials.  Nevertheless, there are many delightful books that offer a respite - just 15 minutes of reading a portion of Divided Brains (for example) could give you renewed enthusiasm for whatever lies ahead.  Development of lateralization in the brain is evidenced by a wide array of behavior and skills, from tail wagging in dogs (the tail swings farther to the one side or the other, depending on whether the dog is being approached by its owner or by a more dominant dog) to a larger than average posterior area of the right hippocampus in London taxi drivers (the size of the hippocampus relates directly to spatial ability).  Don't ask how we know - come take a quick look at the book and see what else is of interest on the new books shelf.

Mother : Caring for 7 Billion

There's no denying that population growth is a huge factor contributing to greater environmental and social issues. However, it is a concern that no government or society is willing to address due to political and cultural sensitivity. The film Mother: Caring for 7 Billion attempts to present a different plan for sustainable humanity as scientists and experts discuss overpopulation and the social complexities ingrained in history and surrounding the issue.

In celebration of Earth Day, and continuing throughout the month of May, this film can be streamed online for free at the following link. Alternatively, the DVD can be checked out directly from the Science Library.

If you have a continued interest in this important topic, consider checking out the following books that can be found in the science library:

Mother Earth and Uncle Sam: how pollution and hollow government hurt our kids -Rena I. Steinzor
calling attention to a problem harming our children and future generations - that is, pollution - that could be eliminated if government weren't underfunding projects, distorting science, or misusing cost-benefit analysis or regulatory authority

Why Have Children? : the ethical debate -Christine Overall
a presentation of the ethical reasons for and against having children, including discussions about reproductive freedom, obligations to procreate, and concerns about overpopulation and extinction

Current Reading and "Grand Challenges in Science Education"

Have you checked out any journals in the science library, recently? Each of our journals is available for a one-day loan period. We place all of newly-received journals on a rack near the main entrance to the library before moving them to the shelving on the north side of the library. There are 9 new issues on our shelf as of yesterday afternoon, including Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), DNA and Cell Biology and American Scientist, among others!

The latest issue of Science contains a number of articles addressing the "Grand Challenges in Science Education". Articles aim to answer a range of questions, including how an optimal combination of physical and virtual labs can be used in the science classroom, why the goals of science education for non-scientists should be redefined, and how undergraduate teaching and institutional demands on professors should be rethought. If any of this sparks your attention, come in and check this issue out at the library.

You can also access each of these articles online, but why not come in grab a journal so you can take it outside for some sunshine 'n reading today? It's going to be 68°F and sunny on this beautiful Saturday afternoon!

Love a Tree on Arbor Day

Magnolias grace the south piazza, Oberlin College Science Center

Today is Arbor Day - thank a tree for the oxygen you breathe, the carbon it harbors, the shade it provides, the birds and squirrels it shelters, the enriched soil it stabilizes.  This is the perfect day to admire any one of hundreds on campus now bursting with extravagent blossoms, buds and new leaves.

Learn more about Arbor Day:

Planting nature : trees and the manipulation of environmental stewardship in America / Shaul E. Cohen.  Berkeley : University of California Press, c2004.

Get news about trees every week, from the American Forest Foundation.

Hangout with National Geographic, Celebrate Earth Day all week

National Geographic is celebrating Earth Day 2013 with some remarkable photos, stories and information intended to inspire and perhaps galvanize us all into more environmentally friendly ways of being. Visit the site, learn more with a Google Hangout.

Find current coverage of other Earth Day 2013 activities with a search in Summon. For a historical perspective, check out this book:
Before Earth Day: the origins of American Environment Law 1945-1970.

This is a good week for re-reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.  This edition features an introduction by Al Gore.

Window Seats Beckon on a Drizzly, Windy Friday

Spring in northeast Ohio.  

Yesterday's brilliant sun is now veiled in rain clouds, while the temperature plummets 30 degrees.  Typical?  You bet.  The Weather Almanac reports these numbers for April in Cleveland, Ohio (all in degrees Fahrenheit): 

57 normal daily high

38 normal daily low

88 record high (in 1986)

10 record low (1964).

At least it isn't snowing.  That might come tomorrow.

Spring Break Hours (all 37 of them)

We are counting the hours until Spring Break - and wishing you all a blissfully restive (maybe a tad festive) and restorative week!  If you are on campus and would like a VERY quiet place to study, read, reflect on the gray skies and bare trees and long for warmer days, we'll be here!

• Monday - Friday  9-noon and 1-4:30pm 
•  Note - the library will be closed 3:30-4pm on Wednesday afternoon.  
• Open for semester hours again:  Sunday evening, March 31:  7pm-12midnight.

If you manage to get somewhere with balmy weather and sunshine, bottle some for us.

What is a scientist to do?

Sandra Steingraber's powerful essay in the current issue of Orion Magazine questions the "Silence of Science" while remarking on the "eloquent activism of people of faith."  If you, as a scientist, understand the risks and potential hazards of, say, removing brine water from deep underground chambers in order to store highly toxic and flammable waste materials from hydraulic fracturing, are you obliged to make those risks known to the general public and policy makers?  Steingraber expresses her frustration:

"Even the scientists whose own research shows harm from drilling and fracking operations are hesitant to speak out. Some fear loss of grant money. Some believe their objectivity will be questioned—as though objectivity and neutrality were the same thing. Some are just so, so busy. And some believe fracking is inevitable. The result is political silence, a stunning position for physicians under oath and other medical professionals studying such things as cancer-causing chemicals." 

She makes a strong case for the importance of educating others with well-researched data and supporting activists who need unbiased information.

The  Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Orion Magazine feature story by Paul Kingsnorth makes the provocative statement "Technology isn't going to save us, but neither is environmentalism."  Entitled Dark Ecology, his essay also comes to the point of individual responsibility:

"What does the near future look like? I’d put my bets on a strange and unworldly combination of ongoing collapse, which will continue to fragment both nature and culture, and a new wave of techno-green “solutions” being unveiled in a doomed attempt to prevent it... If you don’t like any of this, but you know you can’t stop it, where does it leave you? The answer is that it leaves you with an obligation to be honest about where you are in history’s great cycle, and what you have the power to do and what you don’t."

The entire issue is well-worth the reader's time and thoughtful consideration.

Congratulations, Holden Lai and Molly MacInnes

www.csuohio.edu/sciences/dept/cleveland_acs/MIM.htm

The science library has learned that Holden Lai and Molly MacInnes earned speaking awards at the Cleveland ACS Meeting-in-Miniature held Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Holden's research with Associate Professor of Chemistry Michael Nee on barrel-shaped cage molecules was described in his presentation, entitled "Towards the Synthesis of Water-Soluble Functionalized Cucurbit[8]uril." Molly's seminar, "New Organosulfonate Complexes from Commodity Chemicals for the Assembly of Microporous Frameworks," gave highlights from her honors project mentored by Jesse Rowsell, Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Prof. Rowsell reports that "these were just two of many excellent talks presented at John Carroll University by graduate and undergraduate students attending institutions in the Cleveland area."  Thanks for sending us this information!

Use OhioLINK to Find Call Numbers for OC Library Items

OBIS, our online catalog, needs a bit of new hardware and is not available today.  We miss OBIS, but you can find information about our library's holdings in the OhioLINK library catalog - along with the holdings of more than 90 other libraries in the state.  Don't hesitate to ask us for help!

International Women's Day

Not only is this Women's History Month (have you seen the wonderful display we have up, on your way into the library?), but today is International Women's Day! The current issue of Nature has taken this opportunity to address the institutionalized sexism that exists in the natural sciences and to examine what can be done to close the gender gap. In light of recent events on the Oberlin campus, this is another arena in which we find social inequity, and it should be--and has been, this week--opened up for discussion.

Check out the featured articles in this special issue of Nature, come into the library to explore even more texts on women in science, and keep a dialogue of justice alive in the context of natural science, Oberlinians!

Another Triumph for the Great White!

It's the first day of March, and this month brings us great news from California: the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is now officially protected under the California Endangered Species Act so that anyone who catches or otherwise harms these animals will be subject to prosecution under state law. It has been estimated that there are fewer than 350 great whites left in the west / northwest Pacific waters, and they are certainly in danger. Check out the California Department of Fish and Wildlife report for more information on this measure and to read up on white shark facts.

 

This is a critical time to address conservation issues in our oceans, and there's plenty more to learn about the risks that sharks are currently facing. Come into the science library to learn more by checking out one of the following titles:

Shark: in peril in the sea  -David Owen 

Sharks of the open ocean: biology, fisheries, and conservation  -Camhi, Pikitch, Babcock

What's New? Death, Neutrinos, Extinction and Mushrooms

A history of dependence upon
animals and they upon us.

What's on the new book shelf today?  Here's a sampling of keyword phrases from book titles just received (in addition to the keywords noted above):

Astronomical Sublime
Brain Architecture
Chemical Reactivity
Forgotten Grasslands
Mediterranean Diet
Spiny Lobsters
Sun's Heartbeat
Toxic World
Woody Vines
World's Climate

Intrigued?  We hope so.  Come see all of the books on the new book shelf.  You can even practice your Japanese while reading about the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Modernist Cuisine author exemplifies beauty and benefit of science

Nathan Myhrvold, physicist and author of Modernist Cuisine, the stunningly beautiful treatise on the science and art of cooking, entertained and educated a very large audience at the AAAS Annual Meeting this evening.  I am so sorry that I could not capture the excitement in the room or the gorgeous quality of his images from my position in the audience. AAAS has made available the video of his talk.

In addition, head to the science library and check out the 6-volume set!  We heard just a tiny fraction of the amazing facts that are jammed into the treatise (did you know an average cucumber contains more water than an 8oz glass of milk? Do you know why a rounded cut of beef brisket cooks more evenly than a block that is more square in shape?).  We also learned that the text in the multi-volume set, if pulled out word for word, character for character, in one linear string would reach to the moon and back.  Impressive as that is, Myhrvoid observed that the text of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books would reach to Jupiter.  Huh.

"Online Only" people need libraries, too

The speakers at the session on science in social media (at AAAS Annual Meeting), have ended their presentations with sobering statistics on how many people who are 18-34 years old are "online-only." The great number of students in the science library notwithstanding, it is clear that the way we all find and use information has been transformed in the past 10 years. Science majors, develop your social media skills so you can bring your expanding science knowledge to others (advice from the speakers at the AAAS meeting). Print media like The Synapse and Headwaters have been such welcome additions to publications from campus groups. I hope they will get notice among the online-only folks, too.

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Science, Knowledge and Wisdom

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., here is an extract from A testament of hope : the essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. / edited by James Melvin Washington, 1991.

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.”  --p. 493

Dr. King goes on to expound on the dangers of "softmindedness" - of reaching a conclusion before examining the facts, of pre-judging, which is the basis of prejudicial thinking.  "Race prejudice is based on groundless fears, suspicions, and misunderstandings," writes King, and he underscores this with an examination of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.  Hitler knew that softmindedness could lead his followers to "believe that heaven is hell--and hell, heaven... the bigger the lie, the more it will be believed."

May this public inauguration day of President Barack Obama herald strengthening of scientific understanding among the general population, reasoning based on facts within the Congress, and leaders who exhibit both "toughmindedness" and "tenderheartedness," in the words of M.L. King, Jr.

[Texts originally from The Strength to Love, sermons written by King in 1963].

Strange Science - a fun way to begin winter term

Strange Science - "the rocky road to modern paleontology and biology" - was recently reviewed by The Scout Report.  Thanks to their reviewer for highlighting this fun and informative site.  Once you settle in for Winter Term, enjoy some time exploring the site's content.  Many neat old illustrations show how science advances in fits and false starts, and reinforces the importance of creative thinking, careful observation and repetitive experimentation for improving scientific understanding.

This is especially telling:  "Penned in the 7th or 8th century, Liber Monstrorum warned readers at the outset that most of the stories it relayed were probably lies. Yet in the midst of tall tales and fabrications, increased travel led to the discoveries of very real elephants, anteaters, ostriches and apes. Believing too little could be as bad as believing too much." So enlighten and enliven your mind with a bit of fiction that might just inspire serious fact-finding.

Ready for Winter Shutdown

The readers have gone, with freshly printed boarding passes.
Book returns - emptied, all items checked in and organized.  Shelving comes later!
Plants - watered.
Last week's journals - shelved.
Wayward items gathered from tables and nasty neglected food items deposited in a trash receptacle outside the library.  Ick.

Computers - after much crawling under tables, shutdown and unplugged.
Printers & copiers - off, thank goodness.  No complaints today, yeah.

Newly reupholstered chairs, looking so plump, await the return of students in January.  We are ready!  The library reopens January 2.  A restful, restorative winter break to all.

Recent Student and Faculty Publications in Chemistry and Biology

Thomson Reuters Web of Science reports several new publications by Oberlin College students and faculty.  Last names of Oberlin-affiliated authors are in bold font:

• Chivers, P. T., Benanti, E. L., Heil-Chapdelaine, V., Iwig, J. S., & Rowe, J. L. (2012). Identification of ni-(L-his)(2) as a substrate for NikABCDE-dependent nickel uptake in escherichia coli. Metallomics, 4(10), 1043-1050.  Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry Peter Chivers and four former Oberlin students as co-authors.

• Moran, S. D., Decatur, S. M., & Zanni, M. T. (2012). Structural and sequence analysis of the human gamma D-crystallin amyloid fibril core using 2D IR spectroscopy, segmental C-13 labeling, and mass spectrometry. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 134(44), 18410-18416.   Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Chemistry Sean Decatur.

• Rosenthal, M. F., Murphy, T. G., Darling, N., & Tarvin, K. A.  (2012). Ornamental bill color rapidly signals changing condition. Journal of Avian Biology, 43(6), 553-564.   Associate Professor of Biology Keith Tarvin, with Nancy Darling, Professor of Psychology and Malcom Rosenthal (OC '09).

• Zuber, S. T., Muller, K., Laushman, R. H., & Roles, A. J. (2012). Hybridization between an invasive and a native species of the crayfish genus orconectes in north-central ohio. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 32(6), 962-971. [To be deposited in the OhioLINK EJC]  Assistant Professor of Biology Angela Roles with Professor of Biology Roger Laushman and alumni Sierra Zuber and Katherine Muller. 

NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP Satellite

Just yesterday, new images were released of our planet by night, captured by the new NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP Satellite which was launched last year. Check out this article, embedded with incredible images and videos, from NASA's webpage to learn more.

Interested in this subject?


For more on remote sensing and observations of earth from space, check out the following titles in the Science Library:
Earth Observations from Space: the first 50 years of scientific achievement
Our Changing Planet: the view from space

Additionally, the following are available online as electronic resources:
Exploring space, exploring earth
Advances in earth observation of global change

Copulation in the Animal Kingdom (and beyond!)

This week the Oberlin SIC (Sexual Information Center) brings us their annual Safer Sex Week to promote sexual awareness, education, and positivity. As often as issues of sex and sexuality are discussed in the context of humanities here at Oberlin, there are countless relevant topics to explore within the natural sciences. So, I present to you, from the Oberlin College Science Library, this blog post to introduce you to just a few of the interesting texts we have on our shelves!

To get you started, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach, is a both scientifically engaging and utterly entertaining read if you'd like to pick something up for fun and learn about historical and current research that's been conducted on the topic of human sex.

For all you neuro majors out there, if you're interested in the neuroscience and endocrinology behind sexuality, Biological Substrates of Human Sexuality would provide a great look into the most recent findings in this field.

Moving beyond human sex and sexuality, if you have an interest in insects, marine fishes, plants (regarding mate choice, or an introduction to their reproductive biology, perhaps), crustaceans, animal homosexuality, monogamy, or hermaphroditism, we have plenty to fuel your curiosity!

Finally, if you're in the mood to watch a movie this weekend (because, let's face it, reading period and finals are almost here and you're running out of down-time...) check out our DVD shelf for The Botany of Desire, based on the book by Michael Pollan. This may be somewhat of a stretch for this blog entry but definitely worth mentioning, as it explores the concepts of sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control in the context of four plants that are tied closely to our lives.

Robert Owen, Professor of Physics published in Physical Review

A new publication by Robert Owen, professor of physics, as reported in Web of Science:

Zhang F., A. Zimmerman, D. A. Nichols, Y. Chen, G. Lovelace, K. D. Matthews, R. Owen, and K. S. Thorne. 2012. Visualizing spacetime curvature via frame-drag vortexes and tidal tendexes. II. Stationary black holes. Physical Review D 86:084049. [access for subscribers, provided by the library]

Here is just one sentence from the abstract, to draw you into this particular spin: "We also explore how the tendex and vortex lines change as the spin of a black hole is increased, and we find, for example, that as a black hole is spun up through a dimensionless spin a/M=√3/2, the horizon tendicity at its poles changes sign, and an observer hovering or falling inward there switches from being stretched radially to being squeezed."

I would only observe that neither radial stretching nor squeezing sounds particularly desirable, in the context of falling inward to a black hole.  Learn more: Black holes in higher dimensions / edited by Gary T. Horowitz.  Cambridge Univ Press, 2012.

Marine life off the coast of Texas

What began as an in-house project to identify organisms caught in routine sampling by Texas Parks & Wildlife Coastal Fisheries field staff has become an extensive database of photographs, descriptions, definitions and taxonomic information for a widely diverse collection of organisms found off the Texas coast.  Freely available on the internet, the Identification Guide to Marine Organisms of Texas is useful for anyone interested in animals and vegetation of the Gulf Coast.  Visual glossary photos depict the anatomy of common species, and the "fish feature query" is a fun way to discover fish species based on selected characteristics.  The site is an excellent way to help the public appreciate species diversity in the region, while serving the educational and research mission of a state-supported agency.  Thanks to the TPWD and webmaster Brenda Bowling for making it publicly available.

Texas Coral Reefs, by Jesse Cancelmo (Texas A&M University Press, c2008), an ebook accessible through OBIS, is a good place to start for a broader look at the ecology of the Texas coast.  This image is a small portion of a photograph of Geyer Bank, appearing on page 109 of the book.

It's looking even worse than we feared

Just received (in print):  New Scientist, issue for Nov 17-23, with the cover story "Climate change: five years ago we feared the worst.  But it's looking even worse than that."  Coming on the heals of yesterday's talk by Peter Harper (What Americans don't get about climate change), seven worrisome signs of potential catastrophe should shake-up anyone feeling complacent or uncertain about the reality of climate change.  Writer Michael Le Page outlines why things are looking very grim indeed:

1. Arctic ice is warming faster than predicted
2. Extreme weather is getting more extreme
3. Food production is taking a hit
4. Sea levels will rise faster than expected
5. Greenhouse gas levels could keep rising even if our emissions stop
6. We're emitting more than ever
7. Heat stress means big trouble

This last point is particularly ominous.  Steven Sherwood, an atmospheric scientist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, concludes that "if we full 'develop' all of the world's coal, tar sands, shales and other fossil fuels we run a high risk of ending up in a few generations with a largely unlivable planet."  As Peter Harper so aptly put it, I would like my granddaughter's granddaughter to know that we tenants of the early 21st century did all that was humanly possible to keep Earth a hospitable place.

45 years = 114,801,000 more people in USA

On this date in 1967, just a few minutes after 11am, the U.S. Department of Commerce Census Clock passed 200 million.*  Population growth has slowed worldwide since the peak of the 1970s, but is still galloping along.  Now, exactly 45 years after passing the 200 million mark, the U.S. resident population is nearly 314,801,000.  World population long ago exceeded the 6 billion mark and is projected to surpass 9 billion by 2050.

This is a pivotal moment, according to the authors of a book with that title.  "A difference in fertility of a single child per woman’s lifetime between now and 2050 alters the projection by 3 billion, a difference equal to the entire world population in 1960." [p 29]  A Pivotal Moment : Population, Justice, and the Environmental Challenge is available electronically and in print, in the main library.

*according to the Illustrated Almanac of Science, Technology, and Invention.

Tuesday's Total Solar Eclipse

Unless you've been to northern Australia and back in the last twenty-four hours, you didn't get the chance witness, in person, the total solar eclipse that happened yesterday. You may have, however, been watching online as there were several live-streams available from a number of sources!

Whether or not you took part in this event yesterday, you may be interested in learning more about solar eclipses. The science library has you covered! From their context in mythology to astronomy, solar eclipses are fascinating occurrences, and the following titles can provide you with lots of information (and a few incredible pictures):

Littmann, Totality : eclipses of the sun

Montelle, Chasing shadows : mathematics, astronomy, and the early history of eclipse reckoning

Steel, Eclipse : the celestial phenomenon that changed the course of history

And --although a bit late in this case-- to prepare you for next time (which is a hybrid solar eclipse scheduled for November 2013):

Harrington, Eclipse! : the what, where, when, why, and how guide to watching solar and lunar eclipses

Frog, Pumpkin, Mosquito. What do they have in common?

Answer: They are on the new book shelf. Not an actual frog, pumpkin or mosquito - but intriguing new books about them. The pumpkin book, especially, is quite tempting this time of year. And how can one resist the enthusiasm expressed by the frog on the cover of our newest addition to the Reaktion series on animals?  There are plenty of other things to borrow in the new book area, in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, ecology, neuroscience, plant physiology, geology... the list goes on and on!  Come see. 

Recent Publications: Craig, Page, Simonson and Stalnaker

Articles by Oberlin science faculty published this fall included the following (Oberlin faculty indicated in bold font):

Craig, Norman C., Fuson, H. A., Tian, H., & Blake, T. A. (2012). Analysis of the rotational structure in the high-resolution infrared spectra of trans-hexatriene-1,1-d(2) and -cis-1-d(1). Journal of Molecular Structure,1023, 68-74. 

Cunningham, L. C., Page, F. Zeb, Simonson, Bruce M., Kozdon, R., & Valley, J. W. (2012). Ion microprobe analyses of delta O-18 in early quartz cements from 1.9 ga granular iron formations (GIFs): A pilot study.Precambrian Research, 214, 258-268. 

Demaison, J., Craig, Norman C., Conrad, A. R., Tubergen, M. J., & Rudolph, H. D. (2012). Semiexperimental equilibrium structure of the lower energy conformer of glycidol by the mixed estimation method. Journal of Physical Chemistry a, 116(36), 9116-9122. 

Stalnaker, Jason E., Chen, S. L., Rowan, M. E., Nguyen, K., Pradhananga, T., Palm, C. A., & Kimball, D. F. J. (2012). Velocity-selective direct frequency-comb spectroscopy of atomic vapors. Physical Review a, 86(3), 033832.

Science Center roof slabs get hauled away

The damaged slabs of roof covering are now being hauled away - great work on the part of the Facilities Operations staff and contractors!

Temporary repairs are underway, and the library remains dry.  With any luck, the science center will reopen tomorrow, if all systems are back online.  Meanwhile, the little outpost of science reserve materials is in operation at Wilder Student Union.  Come talk to us in the lobby.  We might just give you a treat on this All Hallow's Eve!  Our service desk will be open until 11pm.

UPDATE, 4:45pm - the science center will reopen on Thursday.  Hurray!  Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen.

Science Reserve Items Available to Lend in Wilder

Given the lack of access to the Science Center today, we have moved part of the reserve operation to Wilder Student Union.  Come see us in the lobby!  Required textbooks, laptops, calculators, even a few headphones, are all available to check out. There are plenty of quiet areas in Wilder where you can use the materials.  We'll also help with reference questions - don't hesitate to ask.

Science Center & Library CLOSED

The science center and science library were closed at 1:30pm today, due to hazardous weather conditions and leaky areas of the roof.  High winds have pulled slabs of the elegant aluminium cover off the roof, and the incessant rain is finding its way into the exposed roofing material.  

Notice the big slab of aluminum perched on the roof over the walkway between the east and north areas of the science center (photo left).  So far, the library has not experienced water leakage like that occurring in a few rooms on the upper floors of the science center. Send kind and heartening thoughts to our friends in Safety and Security and Facilities Operations, who have been working hours in this driving rain to minimize risks to us all.

A much bigger slab of the roof pealed away yesterday afternoon and came down on the north side of the building, just outside the windows of West Lecture Hall.

Biodiversity at PLoS Hubs

Listening to the discussion at an ALAO pre-conference session on open access publishing led to a brief look at the Biodiversity Hub at PLoS (Public Library of Science).  PLoS Hubs serve to aggregate journal articles in a given discipline, highlighting connections among researchers world-wide, and articles from different publishers and various publishers.  Learn more.  There are now over 1,319 articles highlighted in the Biodiversity Hub, added to the Hub between September 2010 and March 2012.  Take a look!

Fall Break... even the sleepers are gone

Looking east from the library entrance.

The view out our north windows.

 Mid-week of Fall break is a very, very quiet time in the library.  A brief pause in the semester.  The view toward north quad is delightful - perfect weather for ultimate practice, but the players are elsewhere.  A good time for quiet work.

Energy for Future Presidents

If you watched the second of the presidential debates last night, you may have noticed an increased focus on the subject of energy. In light of this ongoing discussion over energy policy in the United States, I bring you --or, rather, author Richard A. Muller brings you-- Energy for Future Presidents: the science behind the headlines. In this book, Muller tackles the full gamut of current energy challenges, analyzing everything from the fallout at Fukushima to the future of natural gas. If you're interested in these important issues, whether as a concerned citizen or an environmental studies major, come in and check this book out from our "New Books" shelf under the display window!


Additionally, here's an interview with Richard A. Muller from NPR's Morning Edition; and two more articles (from the LA Times and Huffington Post) covering energy in the context of the presidential debates if you'd like to keep reading!

Halucinatory Realism and the Nobel Prize in Literature

How does the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature relate to science?  The phrase "hallucinatory realism" caught my imagination when I read the announcement of the award to Chinese-born Mo Yan "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary."  Hallucinations stem from disturbances in the brain, and that's neuroscience, my friend.  Or do these experiences fall in the realm of religion, psychology or philosophy? Literature, for sure, and historical documents abound with references to hallucination and illusion. Do a subject search on "hallucinations and illusions" in OBIS, and books in a wide range of disciplines, from many different decades, are listed - from scientific to the bizarre, and everything in between. Perfect for a liberal arts collection.  A recent book from Oxford University gives the more scientific overview: Perception, hallucination, and illusion / William Fish. The library's print copy is checked out, but OhioLINK users can access this online.

G-protein–coupled receptors the focus of Nobel Prize in Chemistry

      The Nobel Prize site provides an excellent summary of the function and importance of G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) written for the "non-medical" reader in preparation for today's announcement of this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  Two Americans share the 2012 prize: Robert J. Lefkowitz, of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center, and Brian K. Kobilka, Stanford University School of Medicine.  Lefkowitz co-authored a book, cataloged in OBIS, that grew out of his early research at Duke University: Receptor binding studies in adrenergic pharmacology. Articles by Kobilka appear in several books listed in the OhioLINK catalog.  All told, there are many hundreds of articles authored or co-authored by Lefkowitz and Kobilka, as found in the Web of Knowledge: 213 articles by Kobilka, cited 12,290 times and 1,177 articles by Lefkowitz, cited 29,842 times.  The sheer number of publications and citations to those works attests to the productivity of their research teams and significance of their findings.

A broader overview of research methodology for GPCRs is given in the monograph edited by Poyner and Wheatley [a Wiley ebook, accessible online at ebrary]. Many related titles can be found with a quick keyword search in OBIS and OhioLINK.  Search: g protein and coupled receptor*.

How to Scrutinize a Photon Without Changing Its Properties

nobelprize.org

NPR's Richard Harris did a fine job on Morning Edition today, explaining the importance of the research of Serge Haroche and David Wineland, co-winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics. Richard said that the two scientists figured out how to "observe and manipulate subatomic particles without destroying them." That's important, he said, because it allows scientists to understand how those particles behave, which in turn could lead to breakthroughs in quantum computing.  Follow more updates on this story from Mark Memmott on The Two-Way, NPR's news blog.

Scientific American gives good coverage also, with a link to an article by Christopher Moore and David Wineland ("Quantum computing with ions," August 2008), and much more.  Find that issue of Scientific American in the science library's compact shelving or online in Academic Search Complete (subscribers only).

Regenerating Bodies & Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Today's announcement of the Noble Prize in Medicine, awarded jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, brought to mind the new title Regenerating Bodies by Julie Kent (now on the new book shelf).  Kent does not directly cite either Gurdon and Yamanaka, but her work is nonetheless dependent on their research.  Kent writes from a sociological perspective, to engage "with a series of questions about the implications of new and emerging health technologies that use human tissues and cells."  She provides a perspective on pluripotent cells that delves into moral, ethical, and social issues, including such dilemmas as defining personhood and the boundaries of the corporal body.  It makes for fascinating reading at the interface of science, the humanities and social sciences.
Read more about Gurdon's and Yamanaka's research, from today's New York Times.

Science-Related Questions for Obama and Romney

If you noticed the lack of science topics in this week's presidential debate, you are in good company.  The Union for Concerned Scientists collaborated with Science Debate and other scientific organizations—including the National Academies of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Physical Society—to come up with fourteen science policy questions for the presidential candidates. Read their answers at Scientific American. 

Political spin and pundits not-with-standing, being informed about important issues, from non-partisan sources that understand the essential need for accurate scientific understanding in a democracy, is our best hope this election season.  Be informed.  Register to vote.  Make wise decisions.

Welcome to Laura - and SO many new books!

It is suddenly October!  Never has the first month of an academic year slid by so quickly.  I welcome Laura Gray to the science library blog, and look forward to many more posts from her.  Thanks for joining Speaking of Science, Laura!

Now, it's time to get many more folks perusing the new book shelf, where dozens of books beckon readers in every science-related discipline.  The Violinist's Thumb relates directly to Laura's post on genomic research.  If the question "Can genetics explain a cat lady's obsessive love for felines?" gets you thinking, or you would like to know how the "right combination of genes created the exceptionally flexible thumbs and fingers of a truly singular violinist," you should check this out.

The latest volume of The best American science writing is perfect for a series of relatively short, always enlightening essays on current thinking and future directions in a widely diverse representation of scientific pursuit.  It is a great respite from political ads on every form of media in this election season - and should also be required reading for all politicians who have the potential to determine funding and policies for scientific research.

There are so many more - too many to feature here, let alone have time to read them all - let at least one captivate your interest.  See the entire list of books received during September - October 2.

Taking Home your Genome!

Hey all you science fanatics, majors and non-majors alike! My name is Laura Gray and I'm a second-year studying biology here at Oberlin. I've just started working at the Science Library (arguably the best place on campus) and will now be contributing to our blog. I'm excited to be here!

This week on Morning Edition, NPR kicked off their "$1,000 Genome" series with two stories discussing the prospect of low-cost (compared to the initial $3 billion project) genome sequencing that would be available to the average citizen. This individualized sequencing may become a part of standard medical check-ups and prevention measures very soon. Knowledge of your genome may not stop that welcome-back-to-Oberlin cold going around, but would you want to know about other medical risks? Check out what James Watson had to say about having his genome sequenced in the article, here!

For more on this fascinating topic, you should also come pick up one of our newest books, located under the display case, called The Genome Generation, by Elizabeth Finkel!

Images of Biodiversity on Pinterest

Earlier this summer, the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) launched on Pinterest, and the number of images they have uploaded ("pinned") has increased rapidly - there are now more than 1,320 images in 15 collections ("Boards") and the image quality is wonderful.  Portraits of naturalists and exquisite drawings of birds, insects, mammals, fish, plants and many other aspects of nature can be viewed and shared at the site.  One board is devoted to photographs of biodiversity depicted in the ancient world, including art objects.  BHL is a global consortium of natural history and botanical institutions that cooperate to digitize and make freely available the biodiversity literature in their collections. Sharing images from their libraries on Pinterest is a great way to make them openly accessible to a very wide audience.  Take a look!

science.gov wants your opinion

Have you taken advantage of science.gov as a gateway to the scientific and technical information provided by the U.S. government?  It's an excellent launching point for any search of science-related documents from federal agencies.  Give it a thorough test - then take the survey offered to provide user feedback.

From the website:  Science.gov searches over 55 databases and over 2100 selected websites from 13 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results.

It's hard to get more comprehensive than that!