Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Science Blogs for the Average Homo sapien!

The first science blog I would like to recommend to my fellow average Homo sapiens is Culturing Science.  The author, Hannah Waters, is a truly a "science-lovin lady" who has worked in conservation, marine tourism, science education, and in the hotdog vending industry (crappy summer jobs, anyone?).  Despite this impressive resume, Hannah as finally found her passion in science journalism.  While her blog did not immediately grab my attention (standard white background, black font), I became intrigued when I read the "about" page.  I believed Hannah when she said her blog isn't about how many page hits she gets.  She does it simply because she loves science and enjoys writing about science.  I can appreciate that in my science blogger.  The other aspect of Culturing Science that I like is that the posts feel like an email written to an equally nerdy science-lovin friend.  While her writing-style is informal, relaxed, and friendly, it's still obvious that each post is well-researched and scientifically accurate.  Also evident is the idea that just because a blog is science-based and educational doesn't mean it can't be fun!  i.e. zombie week

On her blog, Hannah devoted an entire week's worth of posts to the five-part series of Zombie Biology, in which Hannah explores the different theories of "zombie-ism, " as well as delving into the topics of Zombie Neuroscience and Zombies in Nature.  I have a "thing" about aliens and zombie-like creatures so I'll post some links to Hannah's zombie week posts and let all you zombie-lovers explore them on your own.


 All the zombie fun aside, it seems to me that a lot of us are planning on going into medicine in some way, shape, or form when we FINALLY graduate, myself included.  I googled "medical blogs" and could not believe how many doctors, nurses, PAs, medical students, etc. were out there!  They tend to vary in their formalness and writing-style.  The blogs that I found most interesting were the blogs written by medical students because often times the blogger begins during the application phase and follows through with the blog well into their career in the medical field.  One such blog, Life as a Physician Assistant, was particularly interesting and helpful to myself (as well as a few others in the room) because I plan on applying to PA programs over the next year.  The blog follows T-Rex from the application process through graduation and into the medical setting.  Not only can I gain some helpful tips for applying, but I know what to expect once I'm there.   





Monday, January 23, 2012

Science blogs to watch out for!



The first blog post is going to be about two science blogs I found that are pretty interesting and fun to read. The first is a blog called "Not Exactly Rocket Science" by a man named Ed Yong. My favorite thing about this blog is his writing style. He finds a way to cover a broad range of cutting-edge research stories with style. The link to his blog is right here
The second blog I really enjoy is called "Save your breath for running Ponies" this blog with a funny title is written by two girls named Bec and Ra. They have a hilarious writing style and cover a wide range of topics, mainly about cool organisms. The blog was even declared Australia's best science blog. The link can be found here