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Dark Matter: Still Existing (One in a Continuing Series)

blogs.discovermagazine.com — Last month we mentioned a paper on the arxiv that made a provocative claim: evidence from the dynamics of stars above the galactic disk indicates that there is essentially no dark matter in the vicinity of the Sun.
Did you read that news story about dark matter not being found near the Sun? Yeah, about that… http://t.co/tyqiDZPa /via @SeanMCarroll

In The Beginning Was the Mudskipper?

blogs.discovermagazine.com — In 1893, the Norwegian zoologist Fridtjof Nansen set off to find the North Pole. He would not use pack dogs to cross the Arctic Ice. Instead, he locked his fate into the ice itself. He sailed his ship The Fram directly into the congealing autumn Arctic, until it became locked in the frozen sea.

NCBI ROFL: Finally, proof that pants are hotter than skirts.

blogs.discovermagazine.com — "The aim of this study was to look at changes in seasonal heat tolerance due to acclimatization produced by different types of clothing. A group of 12 female adults served as subjects in the study which lasted for 3 months from April to June during which the ambient temperature gradually rose.
And now you know! RT @ncbirofl NCBI ROFL: Finally, proof that pants are hotter than skirts. http://t.co/WxTChqcg

Hidden Epidemic: Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains

discovermagazine.com — A human brain overrun with cysts from Taenia solium, a tapeworm that normally inhabits the muscles of pigs. Courtesy of Theodore E. Nash , M.D. Theodore Nash sees only a few dozen patients a year in his clinic at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Oh, you don't have flesh-eating bacteria? Great, so happy to hear! What about a brain tapeworm? http://t.co/loghi7Pt

NCBI ROFL: Walking with coffee: Why does it spill?

blogs.discovermagazine.com — "In our busy lives, almost all of us have to walk with a cup of coffee. While often we spill the drink, this familiar phenomenon has never been explored systematically.
Conditions under which coffee spills for various walking speeds & initial liquid levels in the cup: http://t.co/qCZxO8ic via @discovermag

OK, one more eclipse shot

blogs.discovermagazine.com — I've posted a lot of stuff about Sunday's annular eclipse (see Related Links below), and I figured I was done... but then I got a pretty remarkable picture sent to me. During the eclipse, in northern California, two men sent a small (6 cubic meter) helium-filled balloon up to 90,000 feet (roughly 27 km).
A remarkable and cool pic of the eclipse, taken from 90,000 feet! http://t.co/ydSlFURI

Cateidolia | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

blogs.discovermagazine.com — Via my pal Miss Cellania (possibly not her real name) at Neatorama, I saw this short cat video which is really pretty funny: Ha! This is a great example of audio pareidolia; hearing (instead of seeing, as it's usually done) some recognizable pattern in a completely unrelated series of noises.
"I don't want to!" A LOLable cat video with deep psychological underpinnings. http://t.co/bBkyvYOe #ButMostlyLOLs

The American Community Survey: mend it, don’t end it!

blogs.discovermagazine.com — To my surprise there is apparently a move on the part of the Republicans in the House of Representatives to curtail funding for The American Community Survey. I am not too excited by the idea that you could get fined for not filling out a government survey form, but neither do I think that abolishing social statistics is the correct solution to this problem.
The American Community Survey: mend it, don’t end it!: To my surprise there is apparently a move on the part of ... http://t.co/mueMhWOE

GEDmatch | Gene Expression | Discover Magazine

blogs.discovermagazine.com — For genetic genealogy buffs, I highly recommend Gedmatch. It's been rolling out a lot of new features, including ancestry inference tools from the major genome bloggers. Here is my "chromosome paining" using Zack Ajmal's reference populations:
GEDmatch: For genetic genealogy buffs, I highly recommend Gedmatch. It’s been rolling out a lot of new features,... http://t.co/6B77AIYe

What Is the “Bible of Psychiatry” Supposed to Do? The Peculiar Challenges of an Uncertain Science

blogs.discovermagazine.com — The American Psychiatric Association have just published the latest update of the draft DSM-5 psychiatric diagnosis manual, which is due to be completed in 2013. The changes have provoked much comment, criticism, and heated debate, and many have used the opportunity to attack psychiatric diagnosis and the perceived failure to find "biological tests" to replace descriptions of mental phenomena.
"Think of classifying mental illness like classifying literature." Excellent by @vaughanbell on DSM 5: http://t.co/jNXEMk4f via @scicurious
RT @Gurdur: Good post by @vaughanbell on the overall problems of doing DSM generally & #DSM5 #DSMV -- http://t.co/kVEFOKyb via @edyo ...
Rarely does an article change my understanding as much as @vaughanbell's great piece on DSM, the "Bible of Psychiatry" http://t.co/R5wQ1KbT
RT @DiscoverMag: What is the “Bible of Psychiatry” supposed to do? DSM & challenges of uncertain science http://t.co/NjpBFqt4 @vaughanbell

The Triumph of Technodorkiness: Why We’re Gladly Turning Ourselves Into Yesterday’s Losers

blogs.discovermagazine.com — By , came out in 2010. Find him on Twitter at David H. Freedman, a journalist who's contributed to many magazines, including DISCOVER, where he writes the Impatient Futurist column. His latest book, @dhfreedman. Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us-and How to Know When Not to Trust Them Computer glasses have arrived, or are about to.
"The triumph of technodorkiness" http://t.co/H9dZfzTm MT @mims Early adopters of GoogleGlasses will look like assholes http://t.co/JA44cWNv

What Is the “Bible of Psychiatry” Supposed to Do? The Peculiar Challenges of an Uncertain Science

blogs.discovermagazine.com — The American Psychiatric Association have just published the latest update of the draft DSM-5 psychiatric diagnosis manual, which is due to be completed in 2013. The changes have provoked much comment, criticism, and heated debate, and many have used the opportunity to attack psychiatric diagnosis and the perceived failure to find "biological tests" to replace descriptions of mental phenomena.
What Is the “Bible of Psychiatry” Supposed to Do? Peculiar Challenges of an Uncertain Science http://t.co/ZlGg2Pkg important by @vaughanbell

No, it’s *not* the smallest exoplanet found!

blogs.discovermagazine.com — The web has been buzzing over what everyone is calling the smallest extrasolar planet found, weighing in at about 5 times the mass of the Earth. Problem is, that's not the smallest exoplanet found, not by a long shot. That record is still held by three planets massing 0.02, 3.9, and 4.3 times the Earth's mass, orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12.
#BAFact: The first exoplanets discovered were found in 1992, circling the ultradense cinder of a supernova. http://t.co/91HrmXEz

A fake and a real view of the solar eclipse… FROM SPACE!

blogs.discovermagazine.com — First: CONGRATS to SpaceX for the successful launch of the Falcon 9 and deployment of the Dragon capsule! Everything looked great and things are apparently going smoothly. You can watch the whole thing here, and I'll have more about all this in a little while. Until then, back to your regularly scheduled blog post.]
That pic of the eclipse from the space station? Fake. But that *other* one? It's real, and it's spectacular. http://t.co/bbQNnN2H

Blind mice regain sight after scientists persuade their optic nerves to grow

blogs.discovermagazine.com — A blind man sees his fiancée's smile for the first time. Another walks around at night, navigating via streetlamps and headlights. Yet another reads his own name (and spots a typo). All three had lost their sight years before, as an inherited disorder destroyed the light-sensing cells of their retinas.

Blind mice regain sight after scientists persuade their optic nerves to grow

blogs.discovermagazine.com — A blind man sees his fiancée's smile for the first time. Another walks around at night, navigating via streetlamps and headlights. Yet another reads his own name (and spots a typo). All three had lost their sight years before, as an inherited disorder destroyed the light-sensing cells of their retinas.
Blind mice regain sight after scientists persuade their optic nerves to grow http://t.co/WinrrA5g awesome, by @edyong209

Guest Post: Marc Sher on the Nonprofit Textbook Movement

blogs.discovermagazine.com — The price of university textbooks (not to mention scholarly journals) is like the weather: everyone complains about it, but nobody does anything about it. My own graduate textbook in GR hovers around $100, but I'd be happier if it were half that price or less.
Will nonprofit textbooks change university science education? http://t.co/hnNPJjcn

Flaming Rocks That Ignited in Woman’s Pocket Were Coated in Phosphorus

blogs.discovermagazine.com — Flares have been washing up on beaches for a long time: an AP news item from February 23, 1993 Last week, several small stones in the pocket of a California woman's shorts exploded into flame, leaving her with third-degree burns.
Those exploding rocks a woman found on the beach? They were coated in phosphorus. http://t.co/NfKnuCki

Gallery: When the Moon ate (most of) the Sun

blogs.discovermagazine.com — Astronomy | annular eclipse | [zenphotopress album=361 sort=sort_order number=20]
Stunning pictures of the eclipse from around the world… and above it! http://t.co/iTMI8FnB

Hidden Epidemic: Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains

discovermagazine.com — A human brain overrun with cysts from Taenia solium, a tapeworm that normally inhabits the muscles of pigs. Courtesy of Theodore E. Nash , M.D. Theodore Nash sees only a few dozen patients a year in his clinic at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Something to inspire your nightmares: tapeworms living in people's brains: http://t.co/WX6eGid5
Let's be careful out there, folks. What with the brain-eating worms and all. http://t.co/MvY78yLz