Periodic Tabloid

Twice this year and a dozen times in the last four decades, I have had a reason to celebrate modern medicine and the chemistry behind it. So I am starting a new series of blog posts explaining how I would have died if I had the same injury 100 years ago. I will begin with my most recent brush with medical malaise: bacterial infection.

I am a dedicated aficionado of still photography and derive deep aesthetic pleasure from well crafted images. Thus, one of my favorite moments is each year’s release of the Nikon Small World competition for best scientific images. 

Most people in contemporary society experience stress and burnout from time to time. Normally we recover from these periods, but how do such states affect our crucial professional and ethical behaviors?

Andre Geim is one of two Russian scientists honored with this year's Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on graphene. But a decade ago Geim won a more dubious prize: an Ig-Nobel for his work levitating frogs with magnets.

Perusing the September 10 issue of Science, I noticed that the journal had somewhat more heft than usual. Further investigation revealed that the red-edged pages in the back of the issue were apparently responsible for the additional poundage.

CHF will host free, public events every day next week—except Monday.

It’s official: the Original Miss Sweetie-Poo, Natasha Rosenberg, will be speaking here at CHF just before our simulcast of the 2010 Ig Nobel ceremony.

Drink a beer and learn more about Beauvais Lyons’ Association of Creative Zoology.

Today CHF’s First Friday will focus on dyes from bugs. Karen Karuza of the Philadelphia Art Institute’s Fashion Design Department will discuss her work with a Mexican red dye.

Last week was the biannual American Chemical Society meeting in Boston. They’ve done 240 of these previously so one expects—and generally gets—a good show.