Tag Archives: autism

Earl Grey, Hot

Leave a reply

We have made it to the weekend! The combo of vacation allergens and the return of the Portland spring/winter have kicked my butt. I’m sucking down tea, and sleeping a ton, in the hopes that I can stave off getting even more sick. At least I have fun things to read.

photo

The two dino nerds, photo credit Dylan Benito.

I’m thankful that I managed to get a few things done before I started feeling poorly. Mainly, I got to go see Brian Switek read at Powell’s! Then I took him out for beer. It was the Portland thing to do. I have been following Brian’s blog, Laelaps, for a number of years, and we recently started talking on Twitter. I was very excited to hear that he had written a second book, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and was coming to Portland on a book tour. The book is great. It is engaging, has a ton of scientific facts, and manages to be fun, and funny. It is a must have for the dinosaur enthusiast.

Thank you for coming to Portland, Brian, and letting me take a goofy photo of the two of us.

I managed to find some great links this week too. As always, there is a ton of great science in the news.

  • Per the title of this post, from Space.com, 3D food printers in space! Of course, the first thing printed will be pizza. My StarTrek dreams are that much closer to being realized.
  • Do you have blue eyes? I do, and it seems that we share a blue-eyed common ancestor. Science Daily reports the blue eyed mutation is found at the same spot for everyone, on the OCA2 gene.
  • I have two great pieces to share that Carl Zimmer wrote: the first The Girl Who Turned to Bone, a story of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.
  • The second, and your autism article for the week: the genetic cause of autism may be found on the MET gene. MET is a gene found in both humans and dogs, and may be part of serotonin transfer. MET could be a good place to research cause and effect.
  • Since we are on a Dinosaur kick, how about an article about Dino poop?
  • Straight from Wil Wheaton’s mantra, “Don’t be a dick.” Scientists have found a way to train people not to be jerks. I like this idea.

That’s what I’ve got for the week, now I’ll be going back to bed. I hope you all have a fantastic, health-filled weekend. I’ll be back on Monday with the grammar lesson for the week. Any suggestions?

As always, thanks for reading, please share. 

It’s the Weekend!

Leave a reply

This will be a short post. My wrists are acting up and typing isn’t helping. I do have some good links to share, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone by not posting. Science ahoy!

First up:

  • Valley Fever, something I had not heard of before, is on the rise, reports the Washington Post. An interesting article, especially if you live in an arid region. 
  • ScienceOnline talks about the male pill. I think birth control would benefit from having more choices.
  • If you are of European decent, you’re probably related to everyone else from Europe. My family is already big enough, so a few more members won’t phase me. Hi all!
  • Finally, a megafauna extinction humans didn’t cause. Check out this article by ScienceDaily about the Australian big game extinction.
  • As an author, and a nonconformist, this book cover, gender-flip article by the Huffington Post really resonates with me.
  • And your autism article for the week. How ‘balanced’ coverage harmed the diagnosis. This mainly relates to the idea that vaccines cause autism. An idea that has been disproven many, many times.

Your photo for the week:

science-020113-002-617x416

Image credit Shane Gross, Shutterstock. Taken from a funny article about finding ambergris, otherwise known as whale vomit. It’s worth a read.

As always, thanks for reading, please share. 

Autism Awareness Month

Leave a reply

I was going to have an awesome post about Autism Awareness Month, and then I got a migraine. I have a couple of cool links you all should check out, and I will try to properly write about this important issue next week.

With the rise in diagnosed cases, I’m sure that most of you know someone on the spectrum. If you know me personally, you know that my kid is on the spectrum, and he is rad. Just like most people with Autism. I think it’s important for neuro-typical people to understand this isn’t a disease, or bad way of being, it is just a different way of thinking and viewing the world. I will share more of our personal story and more links next week.

For now, onto the links:

  • From Download the Universe, we have a great review of two books on Autism. Asperger Love, by Amy Harmon and Straight on Till Morning, a collection of essays written by Autistic people. I am looking forward to reading both of these titles. 
  • There is an awesome Kickstarter going right now, This is what Autism Looks Like, headed by Carole Burns. The video is great, and they need some help to meet their goal by the end of May. Go contribute a dollar and spread the word.
  • And finally, a link to the Autism Society. It is a great website to check out if you want more information.

Hopefully I’ll be feeling better in the next week and I can share some really great stuff. Thanks for hanging with me.

Thanks for reading. Please share.