Research Blogging

If you blog about peer-reviewed research, then you’ve probably heard about ResearchBlogging.org by now. It’s an aggregator that pulls together posts from around the world that have added a snippet of code to identify themselves as blogging about peer-reviewed research.

The keen-eyed regulars among you will have spotted the occasional “green-tick” icon next the references I cite in my blog posts here and on the sibling sites Sciencetext and SciScoop, which flags them for the Research Blogging system.

Gratifyingly, Dr SkySkull, an editor on the RB blog frequently highlights my stuff in the Editor’s Selection section. Here’s a bunch of the most recent that drew their attention:

Balancing anonymity, privacy, and security. Having my pseudonym is fun and convenient, but how do my needs for privacy balance against the overall security of the internet and society?  David at Sciencetext gives a nice summary of the issues debated.

Fall Colors and Autumn Leaves. Before you go out to view the fall foliage this year, take a look at this post by David Bradley at SciScoop Science Forum!  Researchers are seeking an explanation as to why leaves in the U.S. mainly turn red, while in Europe they mainly turn yellow.

50 million chemicals and counting. Finally, David Bradley at sciencebase announces an unusual milestone: the Chemical Abstracts Service has logged its 50 millionth unique chemical, a mere 9 months after the 40 millionth.  But is this real progress, or an artifact of the reporting process?

We must stamp our ecological feet: Returning to Earth and its own delicate ecosystem, David Bradley of Sciencebase looks at research relating to corporate efforts at becoming “green”: are they walking the walk, or just talking the talk?

Unique urine fingerprints. With recent arguments that false DNA evidence can be manufactured in a lab, it is natural to wonder where forensic science can go next. David Bradley at sciencebase describes research that suggests that we all have a unique metabolic fingerprint – which can be detected through our urine!

Chemophobia and risk. Finally, David Bradley at Sciencebase describes a proposal to perform a more comprehensive type of chemical risk assessment, and provides some personal reflections on the subject.