Cognitive Neuroscience of Music

Robert Zatorre, co-editor of The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, will be on campus for a lecture on April 2.

Stop by the library for a look at some related reading now on display in the front window. Although this book and other closely related titles are currently checked out from Oberlin's library, you can find other copies available through OhioLINK.

Downtown bookstores offer copies of Zatorre's work, along with two other fascinating books for the general reader : Daniel Levitin's This is Your Brain on Music and Musicophilia: tales of music and the brain, by Oliver Sacks.

Read a chapter or two, even if you think you don't have time - it's good for the brain! Possibly even better if you take a break and sing or play an instrument in between chapters...

Spring Break is coming! Need access from off-campus?

The sun is shining and Spring Break is just one day away - surely a better outlook than yesterday's drizzle which became falling slush before the snow set in once again. I hope everyone who plans to leave campus for a well-deserved week of relaxation and recreation does that just - but if you must also squeeze in a bit of research and need access to our subscription resources (how could you go a week without reading Nature and Science online?), remember to visit this page for login instructions. Easier still, download the VPN client from the CIT web page and launch that for seamless access to everything the library offers online.

Birds of the World - on our shelves

We have now received 11 volumes of the acclaimed Handbook of the Birds of the World, published by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions. This is a monumental work, gorgeously illustrated with color plates, and certain to be a valued source of important information for decades. We will continue to receive volumes as they are published, as a wonderful complement to the Birds of North America (available online and in print).

Read reviews of published volumes from various journals archived in the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center. Wikipedia provides a very nice overview of the set, complete with all contents of volumes published to date. The most recently received volumes are on display with the new books, others are in the reference section.

Image taken from the jacket cover of vol. 8: Broadbills to Tapaculos, illustrated by Frances Jutglar. Black-and-red Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos).

African plants photographed and desribed in Aluka

Aluka.org is a new resource for the library, offering many digital collections at one site. Its mission is to build a "digital library of scholarly sources from and about Africa." Aluka is an international collaboration, bringing together in one digital resource materials that are archived around the world. Read more about Aluka and explore the plant database. Enjoy the picture of the day, which frequently highlights a plant from the archive, including the Pretoria African Plant Slide Collection, just one of many collections contributed to Aluka.

Dragons and Damsels! Flies, that is... in OdonataCentral

OdonataCentral, sponsored by the Texas Natural Science Center of UT Austin, is just about the coolest thing since a new insect order was discovered in 2002. If you are an Odonata enthusiast (and why wouldn't you be?) this will become a favorite way to view dragonflies and damselflies without leaving your keyboard. The distribution maps are searchable and interactive, so you can locate, within seconds, all reported occurrences of a given species within a certain locale. Give it a try! In addition to the maps, OdonataCentral offers hundreds of amazing photographs (Red Saddlebags is just one example of exquisite detail), detailed identification records, an extensive bibliography of journal articles with its own search interface, back issues of the journals Bulletin of American Odonatology and Argia, and a well-organized list of related Web sites.

Thanks to Dr. John C. Abbot, Curator of Entomology, Texas Natural Science Center of University of Texas, Austin, for making such a fine and reliable source of information openly accessible, and to all contributors of OdonataCentral for building the database. John Abbott is author of Dragonflies and Damselflies of Texas and South-Central United States, which you can borrow through OhioLINK.

Under a Green Sky: Global Warming & Extinctions

Along with numerous other eye-catching titles on the new book shelf (come by and browse!), we have Peter Ward's latest monograph on mass extinction:

Under a Green Sky - Global Warming, Mass Extinctions of the Past and What They Can Tell Us About the Future.

Here is a snippet from the Booklist review:
"Paleontologist and science writer Ward combines tales of his own punishing fieldwork with a piquant history of the controversies that have dogged scientists seeking the cause of the "mother of all extinctions" in the Permian period. This provides the foundation for a stunning discovery: evidence of past greenhouse extinctions. As Ward carefully parses the data and its implications, he observes, 'the key to climate change seems to be both the level and the rate at which carbon dioxide rises in the atmosphere,' no matter its source."

The library owns several other books by Ward, equally useful for understanding the relationship between global climate and biodiversity.

Tuna: the Decline of a Once Vast Species

The Diane Rhem show for Wed. Feb. 13 featured a very lively conversation among host Diane Rehm and her guests:

Jackie Savitz, Pollution Campaign Director, Senior Scientist, Oceana

Carl Safina, founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, adjunct professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, and author of "Voyage of the Sea Turtle," "Song for the Blue Ocean," and other books [search OhioLINK catalog by author].

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health.

John Connelly, president, National Fisheries Institute

Listen to the show for a compelling account of overfishing and pollution that has caused a collapse of the blue-fin tuna population in the western Atlantic, and will undoubtedly lead to extinction without intervention on an international scale.

It's Darwin Day! Celebrate Genetics, Evolution and Diversity.

CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN
February 12, 1809 to April 19, 1882

Darwin Day Celebration is an "international recognition of science and humanity." On this 199th anniversary of Darwin's birth, take a few moments to marvel over the amazing interactions of genetics, habitat, adaptation, predation, mutation, and exploration that led, over millennia, to the satisfying specimen of biological achievement that is you.

We have a gazillion books and journal articles to help you learn more! Even a video or two.

Find genetics related videos from the OhioLINK Digital Video Collection by searching Genetics as a subject heading, limited to material type Videos. Genetics & Evolution, from Films for the Humanities & Sciences, summarizes the theory of natural selection and describes the process of trait inheritance.

Wonderful books about Charles Darwin await your reading pleasure in the library. Browse just a few of them now on display at the science library circulation desk, along with selected other titles on evolution, biological diversity, and genetics.

An online course on Evolution, Creationism, and the Nature of Science,

More: www.DarwinDay.org
Online Course: Evolution, Creationism and the Nature of Science

C&EN Online!

Thanks to our subscription through OhioLINK, we now have access to C&EN Online (Chemical & Engineering News, the magazine for American Chemical Society members). Our access includes the archive of issues from 1998 to the present, as well as the ACS 125th anniversary issue and the Jan. 12, 1998 issue celebrating 75 Years of C&EN.

The bottom left corner of C&EN's home page offers a number of special features, including C&EN blogs, Critter Chemistry, Green Chemistry, and Climate Change. The last three are collections of articles and news specific to those subjects. Enjoy reading this weekly news magazine from ACS.

Web of Science database search updated

The ISI Web of Science database, which includes Science Citation Index, has a completely new search interface. Check it out! Let us know what you think - leave a comment here or email science.library@oberlin.edu.

Across the Universe Day: Beatles' Song Beamed to Polaris

For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' Across the Universe -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb.4.

The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe.

As part of the celebration, the public around the world has been invited to participate in the event by simultaneously playing the song at the same time it is transmitted by NASA. Many of the senior NASA scientists and engineers involved in the effort are among the group's biggest fans.

Read more.

How is Global Warming Affecting Your State?

The National Wildlife Federation has developed 52 fact sheets, detailing the effects of global warming on wildlife in every state, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. See the list for all areas. Download the pdf for Ohio.

From the Ohio fact sheet: "Rising temperatures and drops in lake levels in the state will likely change the makeup of entire ecosystems, forcing wildlife to shift their ranges or adapt." Each fact sheet includes solutions for global warming that are specific for the state or region.

Philica features transparent peer-review

Philica is an online, open-access journal accepting manuscripts in any discipline. It describes itself as "instant academic publishing with transparent peer-review" and currently features 121 articles and observations. Submitted papers span the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, with greater numbers of articles in astronomy, physics, biology and chemistry. Music, philosophy, political studies, anthropology, and history are just some of the other disciplines represented, so it is truly multidisciplinary.

Learn more at the Philica site, taking special note of the essay "What's the problem with academic publishing?" and the list of articles needing review. You may find a paper that you are uniquely qualified to review, and are invited to do so. To write a review, simply click the link at the bottom of the article or observation.

Open Access Papers Draw Readers' and Media Attention

Recent papers published in Public Library of Science are grabbing attention from readers and the media alike, owing to the research presented and open access nature of PLoS articles. Here's a bit from the PLoS Blog, submitted by Rebecca Walton:

In "Cryptochromes Define a Novel Circadian Clock Mechanism in Monarch Butterflies That May Underlie Sun Compass Navigation," published in PLoS Biology, Steven Reppert and colleagues reveal that the circadian clock of the monarch uses a novel molecular mechanism, heretofore not found in any other insect or mammal."

Read the story by the Associated Press in Google news as well as Walton's blog entry and papers in PLoS.

Barack Obama: Pushes for Evidence-Based Science Policy

Science considers the support for scientific research among the presidential candidates in the Jan. 4 issue. Considering the credentials of Barack Obama seems particularly timely, following his win among Democrats in the Iowa caucus.

The Science news article illustrates Barack's support for science policy and research based on factual, peer-reviewed evidence:
"Deborah Burnet, a pediatrician at the University of Chicago who studies the connection between obesity and diabetes, says Obama displayed the same evidence-based philosophy whenever she invited the Harvard Law School grad and community organizer to lecture her class on racial disparities in health. The 30-something Obama would urge her students to think about "how to use scientific inquiry to make intelligent public policy," says Burnet."

Read the full story (DOI: 10.1126/science.319.5859.28a). For on-campus users or your Oberlin login required.

Top 25 Science Stories of 2007 - from Scientific American

Scientific American extolls the top 25 science stories of the past year in their Dec. 21 Weekly Review, including "some exciting new developments and discoveries: human skin cells were transformed to stem cells; primates came within a hair of being successfully cloned; scientists found that if they killed the virus behind some cancers, they might also kill the cancer; the discovery of a new planet with the most Earth-like characteristics yet observed; and, the unveiling of the first quantum computer."

Check out the entire list, from antibiotic resistant infections, California wildfires and James Watson to the disappearance of the Yangtze River Dolphin.

Sign up for Scientific American e-newsletters.

The Library is Closed

The Science Library is closed for Winter Break - from 4:30pm Dec. 21 through Jan. 1.
Hours for Winter Term, January 2 through February 4: Monday-Friday, 9am-noon and 1-4:30pm.
Closed on Saturday & Sunday.

Last minute gift ideas and great reading recommendations

Eco-Libris presents The Holiday Green Gift Guide for Book Lovers

You may find these gems in your local bookstore, just in time for gift-giving - or in your local library, just in time for Winter Break reading. One book on the list that caught my eye is Bill McKibben's Deep Economy : the wealth of communities and the durable future.

The college library's copy is out on OhioLINK loan right now, but you can request a copy from another OhioLINK library and look foward to reading it in January.

If you want more suggestions for good reading, check out NPR's Science Friday archives. The December 7, 2007 show covered a slew of notable science books published in 2007.

Happy reading, and best wishes for a restful Winter Break!

Extended Hours for Reading Period

Come study here this weekend! We're open later and earlier than typical: 'til 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights; open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Thanks to our student assistants for taking on extra hours!

Complete end-of-semester library hours.

Best wishes for a good end to fall semester, and a wonderful winter break!

Climate Policy Center updates now on Earthscape

The Climate Policy Center (CPC), an independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization, is one of the newest contributors to Earthscape, published by the Columbia University Center for Digital Research and Scholarlship. The CPC was established to develop policies to counter global warming.

Recent updates on Earthscape have focused on environmental issues in mountain regions around the globe, and new U.S. climate reports by region. Earthscape also posted updates on environmental issues in Africa and Asia, as well as a collection of reports from the European Union. Earthscape continued to add to the collection of Congressional Research Service publications on environmental issues this month as well.

Try a search on Earthscape.