The Scientific Toolbox

Are you looking for a special gift for the scientist in your life? Here are just a few gifts that you can buy at The Discovery Channel Store:

Discovery Whodunit? Forensics Lab ($79.95)
Winner of the 2003 Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award.

“Learn how to use science to fight crime! With advances in forensic science, more and more crime work is being solved in the lab. Now you can introduce your child to a fun and fascinating side of science, with this complete at-home forensic lab. You’ll face six tough cases - each harder than the last. Use the state-of-the-art lab instruments to analyze handwriting, decipher blood type and examine mysterious fibers in your search for answers.”

Discovery DNA Explorer Kit ($79.95)
Named to Popular Science’s 2003 Best of What’s New List.

“Explore one of the newest frontiers in science - DNA mapping. From science labs to courtrooms, few discoveries are as exciting as the world of DNA. With this deluxe, first-of-its-kind kit, you can extract, view and map real DNA yourself. Ideal for budding forensic-scientists or secret agents, the working lab and tools are just like the real thing. Plus, you’ll have all the supplies needed for six fascinating DNA experiments. Extract DNA from vegetables, find out what actually makes ink colors and even grow crystal stalagmites!”

Remote Control Vectron UltraLite ($39.95)
Featured in the December 15^th issue of The Scientist in the article “Presents for Profs: Holiday gift ideas for the scientist who has everything”

“Control your very own UFO as it glides, hovers and flies! The Vectron UltraLite is an infrared, remote control flying disc that’s ready to fly right out of the box. Just set it on the docking base, charge it for approximately 10 minutes, then stand back and watch it lift off, hover and fly around like an alien spacecraft. The special proportional controls mean the harder you press the trigger, the higher it flies. Just ease off the trigger to make Vectron descend. Designed for indoor use, this unique design is completely safe - the propeller stops instantly and automatically upon contact with any object.”

I would like to conduct an informal poll to find out the following:

1) How did you first find out about site?

2) Do you have any suggestions for improvements?

3) Other comments?

Either leave your response(s) as a comment to this post or send me an e-mail.

Science textbooks can be very pricey (as I am sure a lot of you already know.) The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has aquired the rights to publish some well-known biomedical text books on-line. The books include:

Biochemistry.
Berg, Jeremy M.; Tymoczko, John L.; and Stryer, Lubert. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.; 2002.

Introduction to Genetic Analysis. 7th ed.
Griffiths, Anthony J.F.; Miller, Jeffrey H.; Suzuki, David T.; Lewontin, Richard C.; Gelbart, William M. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co.; c1999.

For a complete list of books, check out the main page of the NCBI Bookshelf.

Ms. Frizzle has written a really clever song about hydrogen to be sung to the tune of a popular Christmas carol. Here is an excerpt of the song:

Hydrogen (Sing to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)

Hydrogen, hydrogen
Atomic number one
Oh what a bang it is to be the fuel inside the sun
Hydrogen, hydrogen
atomic number one
Oh what a bang it is to be the fuel inside the sun

To see the complete lyrics, check out Ms. Frizzle’s Web site.

More than 45,000 students from the U.S. and around the world are participating in a 23-day expedition (November 29 through Dec 21) to the depths of the ocean floor led by University of Delaware scientists. Teachers and students in Extreme 2003 classrooms (grades 6

The NSF has issued a press release summarizing the results of a nationwide survey on the number of doctoral degrees granted in science and engineering in 2002:

ARLINGTON, Va. - Same story, different year, some might say of new data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that shows almost across-the-board reductions in the numbers of doctoral science and engineering (S&E) degrees earned in 2002. The 24,500 degrees nationwide represent the lowest number since 1993.

A nationwide survey reports the number of research doctoral degrees in all fields earned by students attending U.S. universities declined by 2 percent last year, dipping under 40,000, which marks the first time in nine years doctorates fell below that threshold. Overall, 413 universities across the United States and Puerto Rico awarded 39,955 doctorates.

The new data are reported in the 2002 Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED), an annual census of research doctorate recipients conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago under a contract with NSF’s Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS). The full report is available at: http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/issues/docdata.htm

To read this press release in its entirety, click here.

The Society for Amateur Scientists is working to develop a “national program that will teach science, self-esteem, and community service to America’s young people.” The LABRats program is described as a scout-like program that will teach science and reasoning skills, rather than camping, etc.

From the LABRats Web site: “LABRats will be open to all young men and women, grades 6 through 12. Every young person who goes through the LABRats program will receive a broad-ranging inquiry-based introduction to all of the major fields of science. Each member who stays the course will advance through a series of ranks. To do so, each member will have to demonstrate an ever-increasing level of competence in basic science skills, as well as show an increasing awareness of how science serves humanity. Along with the core studies, the members will be able to tailor the program to their own interest by earning elective science badges in whatever field intrigues them. What