Tag Archives: New York Times

Not enough science in “The Science of ‘Inside Out'”, and other musings on “Gray Matter”

An op-ed column called “Gray Matter” appeared a few years ago in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times with little fanfare or explanation, with the subtitle “Science and Society.”  It quickly became clear that it was intended … Continue reading

Posted in cognitive neuroscience, communication, mathematics, news media, physics, psychology, reporting, science writer, scientist | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Feeling guilty about “smushing” an ant, and other musings about our relationship to animals

I have been following the regular postings on a new Opinionator blog at the New York Times called Menagerie, about our relationships with other animals.  Some of the essays are a little sentimental for my taste, and one was even … Continue reading

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Measles surge years after vaccine-autism scare: science denial comes home to roost

The AP reported this past week that the incidence of measles has surged in the UK since Andrew Wakefield and colleagues first made their report in 1998, now considered fraudulent, that cases of autism are linked to administration of the … Continue reading

Posted in biology, controls, doubt, medicine, news media, science denial, science writer, scientific method, scientist, unintended consequences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What tooth chemistry says about Neanderthal behavior: a classical example of science sleuthing

It’s only one case.  One tooth from a Neanderthal infant.  One tooth that provides a suggestive piece of evidence for when that infant may have transitioned from mother’s milk to solid food some 100,000 years ago. But the foundation of science built … Continue reading

Posted in biology, controls, evolution, hypothesis, news media, paleontology, science writer, scientific method, scientist | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Say it isn’t so, CJR

The Columbia Journalism Review may be cutting back or dropping The Observatory and its editor, Curtis Brainard, according to a post by Paul Raeburn at the Knight Science Journalism Tracker, based on an article by Joe Pompeo at Capital New … Continue reading

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