It's Nobel Prize week, but since those announcements are in the future for me, I'd like to go back a month to the 2024 IgNobel prizes. While they might seem at first glance like the Razzies for science, the IgNobel awards are more celebratory and seek to spotlight science which is rigorous but not quite as prestigious in its applications or aspirations. And yes, sometimes there is a bit of a scatological bent, but even our baser bodily functions need to be understood with clarity. The prize that stood out to me was less … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Suddenly See More
plants
Science Corner: Nectar of the Plant Overlords
Last year I discovered Sue Burke's Semiosis at the library and found it an intriguing read. Human colonists arrive on a new planet and over the course of several generations develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the intelligent creatures native to that world. All of the usual first contact challenges apply. How do you communicate without a shared language? How do you establish trust when your very presence could be seen as invasive and hostile? How do you navigate cultural differences? In Semiosis, all of … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Nectar of the Plant Overlords