The first stay at home dads?

Many dinosaurs played an active role in nurturing their eggs and raising their newborns, according to a study published Friday in Nature. A team of scientists, led by paleontologist David J. Varricchio at Montana State University at Bozeman, examined the dinosaur bones found near egg clutches. The scientists found that none of the dinosaur skeletons contained the medullary bone, a bone found only in female dinosaurs. They also looked for signs of calcium or phosphorus, byproducts of the egg-laying process, but found none.

Birds, the closest surviving relative to dinosaurs, also share parenting responsibilities between males and females. The findings were reported in this article in the Los Angeles Times.

EcoPapaparazzi and social networks, continued

Dylan Wolfe, assistant professor of communications at Clemson University, adds

"EcoPaparazzi is an interesting meld of social networking, collaborative blogging, and environmental activism. While most environmental activism online tends to be extensions of offline campaigns and organizations, EcoPaparazzi exemplifies some of the most powerful potential found in new and emerging media forms. The combination of social networking with a focus on visual elements draws upon our current media mindset: see it and spread it. We are now deeply set in a visual age and dawning on an age of unprecedented interconnection. It makes sense that those advocating changes in our world, whether they be political, social, or ecological, should communicate their messages visually and collaboratively. While EcoPaparazzi may not be THE website that enacts global transformation, it could be one of many new forms of activism that continue the evolution of environmentalism into the future."

Envy isn't limited only to humans

A study conducted by the University of Vienna in Austria has found that dogs experience an emotion similar to envy when other dogs get a better reward, according to an article in the Washington Post.

The study investigated the reactions of dogs when they, and dogs around them, were given a reward of either bread or meat for performing a simple trick, like offering a paw. The researchers found that the deprived dogs, who received bread as a treat, would start to act frustrated; they were slower to respond to commands, scratch themselves, lick their mouths, and yawn.

So far, the only animals who are known to exhibit an envy-like behavior besides humans were monkeys and chimpanzees.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

Last night, still without power from the ice storm that left 1.25 million people from Maine to Pennsylvania without power, my family and I went to go see The Day The Earth Stood Still. Although I'm told the original is better by my Dad, I enjoyed the movie. The movies main protagonist, Dr. Helen Benson, played by Jennifer Connelly, is a scientists who convinces aliens that the world can survive with humans because humans can change.

This article, from USA Today, gives a positive review to the movie because its science is so realistic. Filmmakers wanted to ensure accuracy and consulted with the SETI Institute, best known for radio signal searches for aliens.

In fact, only one scientist has criticized the scientific accuracy of the film. CalTech physicist Sean Carroll "had to slightly criticize" the fact that filmmakers had one of the physicists in the film win the Nobel Prize for biology. However, even he was excited that the filmmakers chose the physicist as an example of what is right with humanity.

The film is currently showing in theaters nationwide, or, if you are an alien, the Deep Space Communications Network is broadcasting the film at Alpha Centauri, the earth's nearest star system (which is about four light years away).

EcoPaparazzi Allows Creator to Continue Following her Bliss

Jeanette McDermott has learned one thing in her life: the most important thing to do is to find your calling, do it, and follow your bliss. For McDermott, a lifelong journalist, her bliss is using her media skills to spread the word about biodiversity hotspots and conservation efforts.

Most recently, McDermott started EcoPaparazzi, a social network that challenges its users to take action and create change for the environment through photography. The Web site encourages users to post their environmental photographs to showcase what is being done in urban and rural areas and households and with pets, food, and politics to save the world. Members can post pictures and videos, write blog posts, and join groups such as "I Speak for Canadian Rivers", "Rant", and "Moved to Action".

Its members come from all areas of the world, from New York City to Miami to Sweden, and from all walks of life. They come for all reasons, whether to champion their cause, find kayaking buddies, or just to learn more about what they can do to help.

"I joined to help raise awareness about the lives of the children in Nicaragua. Some of the poorer families in La Chureca are forced to live in municipal dumps among the trash," said Alejandro Torres, who currently lives in Miami. Nicaragua is the poorest country in South and Central America. Torres hopes to raise funding in order to provide better homes, food, health care, and education for the children. McDermott has joined in on the cause, and in January, will start a media project in January providing the local children with flip cameras so that they can document their lives for a viral video in order to raise funds and awareness. Torres also enjoys EcoPaparazzi because it exposes him to others interests and viewpoints.

Another member, Nicholas Buccalo, is a New York City architect who hopes to learn more and share tips about sustainable architecture. "I do think it's important to share ideas that help shape our lives," he said when asked about the benefits of the network.

Christina Trevino, from Scarborough, Canada, said that "The idea to take pictures to heal the Earth is a wonderful concept. Many of us need to visually see things in order to feel and then take action. I am sure those who are actively working for the environment and our planet will find EcoPaparazzi to be an informative, enlightening, and empowering network that we can all be part of."

Audie Michael Litrada, who lives on Negros Island in the Philipines, is most concerned with human-caused climate change. In an e-mail interview, he called EcoPaparazzi a great way "inform the world by posting our captured images, showing them what is happening, and come up the best solution to heal our mother Earth."

McDermott was inspired to start EcoPaparazzi while on a trip documenting the negative aspects of development in Costa Rica this fall. McDermott had known since she was eight that her calling was to be a photojournalist and foreign news correspondent. She has worked as a reporter, photojournalist, managing editor, and public relations consultant in the United States and Ireland. She has also always been involved in volunteering with environmental organizations.

In 2004, she realized that she wasn't happy with where her life was going, so she sold all of her worldly belongings and moved to a friends farm in eastern Kentucky. During her time there, she heard that famed ecologist and entomologist E.O. Wilson was giving a talk at a nearby university. McDermott was transfixed by his talk on biodiversity hotspots, the 34 regions of the world that possess the greatest diversity of organisms but were also some of the highest at risk for wildlife extinction, deforestation, and other threats. She also noticed that many of his slides were boring. There were pictures of monkeys in trees so far away that you could barely see the monkey. There weren't any videos. There was very little to catch the eye.

McDermott stayed after the lecture to talk to Dr. Wilson and asked him about his visuals. He explained that as a scientist, he had barely enough resources to do research, much less create fancy and eye catching visuals. At that moment, McDermott finally knew what her calling was. She wanted to use her media and journalism skills to raise awareness about the hotspots.

McDermott now lives off the grid, meaning without any power or plumbing, at Campanario, located on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Campanario, one of the biodiversity hotspots, is especially crucial because it is the last remaining contiguous lowland rainforest on the pacific slope in South and Central America. She and the executive director of Campanario were on a road trip documenting the negative aspects of development in Costa Rica when the chairman jokingly called McDermott a member of the paparazzi, only instead of stalking celebrities, McDermott photographs every move of the people destroying the earth. They then decided to take the idea further and in October, they created a web site for other people to document ways in which the environment is being destroyed as well as what people are doing to fix it.

Tish Grier, a self-proclaimed problogger and current Chief Community Expert of Placeblogger, a Web site where users can search for blogs near where they live, work, and travel, said by e-mail that communities such as EcoPaparazzi can help build community around an issue. "When a social network is set up for a specific reason, like EcoPaparazzi.ning.com, they become places where people with like minds, no matter where they are geographically, can share information and support one another. From that basis of like-minded support, individuals can venture out to start their own grassroots efforts, and check back with the group on their progress or ask for help. The social network becomes, in a sense, like a face-to-face social club. But if the message of the social network is going to spread, as in get more members, the personalities involved are going to have to make that happen. A social network can get good press, but good word-of-mouth from members and other participants is what makes them grow and flourish."

And that is exactly what McDermott plans to do to help EcoPaparazzi grow. The social network currently has 185 members and counting, but McDermott is more pleased with the quality and diverse causes and interests of her members over the quantity. She hopes that in the future, different groups will be able to join together in order to create social change for the world. She sees media evolving into a more democratic media through new media functions such as blogging, pictures, and especially video. The true value of new media, she says, is "about hearing opinions, ideologies, ideas, and stories about globalization and acting locally. When we pull these energies together, that's where the real power can come from. We need the strength of the voice."

Universal Hub

Adam Gaffin, from Universal Hub, was kind enough to visit our Reinventing the News class on Wednesday, December 3. Adam Gaffin is kind of inspirational to me. He creates the content for Universal Hub daily, AND works full time at a technical trade publication, like I do. And, he seems to be fairly successful at what he does.

He started Universal Hub after he noticed that, despite an abundance of Boston area bloggers, there was no collective space for all the blogs to be heard. Universal Hub rounds up all the local blogs in one convenient place.

Adam urged the class to find their own niche in order to be successful. That niche could be an interest, a location, or anything really. He also told the class that he thought that today's journalists need to be wellrounded; able to do everything from writing, editing, taking photos, editing photos, marketing, and selling ads.

Start working on your Christmas lists, boys and girls...

This article, from USA Today, made me start thinking about what I want for Christmas. (And not just because I know that my Mom checks this regularly. Hi Mom!) The article lists some of the best visual science books of 2008.

The fist book recommended was Voyages of Discovery: A Visual celebration of Ten of the Greatest Natural History Expeditions. The book includes hundreds of reproductions of naturalist drawings from the Natural History Museum in London. Drawings include images from Darwin's first voyage to the Galapagos Islands to the HMS Challenger's early expedition to map out the oceans floor.

Another book recommended is Thinkers of the Jungle: The Orangutan Report. This book pays attention to the forgotten primate cousin, the Orangutan. The book even includes a chapter on how to introduce oneself properly to an Orangutan. Helpful information, surely.

Twitter

Twitter, a form of micro-blogging, has grown in numbers in recent months. In fact, Time magazine called it the "next killer app", which I guess in computerspeak means it's going places. Newspapers are trying to get in on Twitter and find uses for it in the journalism world. (The blog GraphicDesignr has a list of newspapers using twitter. The data is a few months out of date, but it seem to be the most complete list I can find. Ignore the messy code at the top of the blog).

However, it seems like a lot of newspapers are just using their twitter feed as a modified (or even just an additional) RSS feed. Examples of this is the Detroit Free Press, freep, and the Wall Street Journal, whose account is cleverly titled, wsj. Every one of their posts is an announcement of their latest story. Just like an rss feed.

The Chicago Sun Times has 4 twitter feeds. Their main one, suntimes looks like it posts news, but it also converses with the audience. I like this, although the feed does make me feel like the Suntimes is a person, not a large newspaper. One of their twitter feeds, cst_roeper, is also quite active, but cst_ent and cst_fashion haven't seen any action since February. It's not clear if these only twitter certain events or have been abandoned for other projects.

My conclusion: I'm not sure twitter is for me. At least, I'm not sure rapid fire twittering is for me. It's too much of an overload of information for me, although I do enjoy the ones that are a conversation more than 'here's our latest news story'. I could see twitter replacing live-blogging, for instance at an event or at a football game. But for news? I'd rather have an rss feed.

Edit: While at work today, I discovered this twitter feed from the Jackson Free Press. I like it. It works as commentary, and I presume that the feeds make sense to those in the Jackson area. Of course, it's more of a supplement to the news for those who are up-to-date on what's happening and wouldn't work for the uninformed, but, it's the twitter feed I like best so far.