Ed Yong's Top 12 of 2011.

[Kai]

Ed Yong is by far one of the best science journalists out there. He regularly produces world class explanations of breaking science news on his blog, Not Exactly Rocket Science.


Here are his picks for the best 'longreads' of science journalism for this past year. They include the story of the whiskey feeding fungus I already posted here, an investigation of brain conjoined twins who feel each other's senses, a look into the alien mind of octopuses (I also posted this), and the excellent Carl Zimmer on the gut endosymbiont ecosystem as a 'human lake'. I recommend them all.

[Kai]

Bonus: a piece about radioactive 'cobwebs' from Savannah River National Laboratory. I did the research assistantship associated with my master's degree there; not with the radioactive materials, but with the immense aquatic insect diversity upstream of the cleanup activities. The place is a goldmine for biological research. 430 square miles of some of the best managed southern pine forest in the country; the insect biodiversity is stunning.

[Kai]

Another bonus: His top 30 favorite stories from 2011. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/30/not-exactly-rocket-science-favourites-from-2011/

But why do I keep posting this here? If you aren't following Ed Yong, WAYSA? You want stories on weird science? The man spits them out for a living. Srsly.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

OH GOD DON'T CLICK NIGEL YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE IN THREE HOURS NO DON'T DO IT NOOOOOOOO.....

[Kai]

OH GOD DON'T CLICK NIGEL YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE IN THREE HOURS NO DON'T DO IT NOOOOOOOO.....

[Cuddlefish]

OH GOD DON'T CLICK NIGEL YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE IN THREE HOURS NO DON'T DO IT NOOOOOOOO.....

That's what's happening to me now.

These are my favorite things ever, now. Do an image search, there's so many different kinds, it's mind-blowing. Some of the little ones are even kinda cute for a bug.

Edit: This one's really interesting, as well.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The creepiest of the bug hats, to me, are the ones that look like large ants with pincers, or wasps. By what mechanism a benign insect develops a physical structure that mimics a dangerous one is beyond me.