Science News - Talk Science To Me

Why Do Whales Breathe Air?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 18:14:41 +0000

It’s a fair question. Most multicellular life on Earth requires oxygen to sustain metabolism, and those organisms get it from the fluids around them. (Yes, even plants.) But while organisms that breathe water but live on land are few and far between, aquatic and semiaquatic air-breathers are abundant. Many frogs, salamanders, crocodilians, caiman lizards, sea… Read More »Why Do Whales Breathe Air?

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Art and Science: What Is a Tattoo?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:50:40 +0000

Few subjects have their relationships portrayed as wrongly as science and art. Popular culture presents art and science as natural opposites, one the domain of emotion and the other of hard math, with nothing to say to each other. We here at Talk Science to Me disagree completely. Art and science are the most natural… Read More »Art and Science: What Is a Tattoo?

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What Gender Is a Coconut?

Alyssa Gonzalez — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:13:21 +0000

Sometimes seemingly nonsense questions have interesting answers. Few plants are as emblematic of the tropics as the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera. This tree can be found on just about every postcard depicting a tropical beach, anywhere in the world, and for good reason. Coconuts are improbably suited to human cultivation in places where few other… Read More »What Gender Is a Coconut?

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We Won’t Do Your Homework But We Will Tell You About The Martian Lichens

Alyssa Gonzalez — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 19:15:00 +0000

We at Talk Science to Me receive a fair bit of email through our contact page, most of it inquiring about our services and often leading to fruitful client-provider relationships. Every now and then, though, someone tries to get us to talk science to them a little less honestly. Today, we endeavour to provide an answer.… Read More »We Won’t Do Your Homework But We Will Tell You About The Martian Lichens

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Gaslighting Isn’t Just Psychological Abuse, It’s A Sociological Phenomenon

Jetta Robertson — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:28:00 +0000

In 1944, Ingrid Bergman starred in a film directed by George Cukor about an opera singer who inadvertently marries her aunt’s murderer. You might’ve never heard of this movie, or the 1940 British film (and 1938 play) it’s based on. Nonetheless, it’s almost certainly influenced conversations you’ve had, as people around you describe partners, friends,… Read More »Gaslighting Isn’t Just Psychological Abuse, It’s A Sociological Phenomenon

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Reflecting Self

Amanda — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 20:37:00 +0000

Selfies. Definitely notorious in the digital world. Who hasn’t wrinkled up their nose in disgust at a friend’s shameless self-promotion or puckered up a duck face for the camera? Or maybe selfies power your voyage of exploration for personal acceptance, understanding and confidence. Universally reviled, or defended as an act of self-expression. A moment of attention-grabbing… Read More »Reflecting Self

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Death of the stethoscope?

Amanda — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 18:22:20 +0000

It’s not just zombies that rise from the dead—science news stories can also come back to haunt the reader. Take “Death of the stethoscope,” which surfaced in my RSS feed in the middle of 2015. As a former stethoscope user, the clickbait headline immediately intrigued me. No stethoscope? How would clinicians survive? Historical First off:… Read More »Death of the stethoscope?

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Fear of Brave New Worlds, or Uninspired Headline Writing?

Amanda — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 21:18:00 +0000

Summer 2016 marked the 85th anniversary of novelist Aldous Huxley completing his manuscript for Brave New World. The widely read novel, a dystopia of happiness-led oppression (in contrast to the fear-controlled populace in Orwell’s 1984), anticipates global adoption of advances in science and technology such as subliminal learning and reproductive medicine. Published in 1932, the book is still a… Read More »Fear of Brave New Worlds, or Uninspired Headline Writing?

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Around town: Operation Med School

Amanda — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 22:21:35 +0000

This one’s for you if you have a high school student around the house who is thinking that med school could be a good option for post-secondary. A group of enterprising Grade 11 and 12 students is putting on a one-day pre-medical conference for high school peers. Run as an annual event, Operation Med School… Read More »Around town: Operation Med School

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