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(by virginiatech) Via wildcat2030

A tiny molecular machine used by bacteria to kill attacking viruses could change the way that scientists edit the DNA of plants, animals and fungi, revolutionizing genetic...

The rapid decline in girls’ enrollment in science, technology, engineering, and math classes – and how to fix it.

(More at Nature News)

“I’m thrilled that Academy visitors will have the opportunity to view this fascinating animal up close in the aquarium, where they’ll see just why its beauty, unique mating technique and social habits are intriguing the cephalopod community,” said Richard Ross, a biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, in a statement. (via Rare Kissing Octopus Unveiled | LiveScience)

(via jtotheizzoe via Colossal)

1) Sea Pig  2) Mudskipper Fish 3) Barrel Eye Fish  4) Coconut Crab  5) Fennec Fox   6) Pangolin  7) Lampreye Eel  8) Vampire Squid  9) Tarsier  10) Star Nosed Mole

“They should have sent a poet,” whispers Ellie in the 1997 film Contact. She is a radio astronomer, and when sets eyes on an alien galaxy for the first time, she has no words for its beauty. Despite being fiction, I think this interestingly highlight for pursuits in arts and sciences to be cross-disciplinary. Many students lose interest in science at an early age because it’s largely “taught to the test”, and so there is a decreased focus on creativity and imagination. Even practical experiments allow little room for creativity, as students all expected to get the same results—and although this is important for teaching the scientific method, careers in science are not entirely like this: they require creativity and innovation. The infographic above shows the results of Creativity and Education: Why it Matters, a survey by research firm Edelman Berland (note: it is not specifically science-related). The research shows that that 85% of participants think creativity is crucial for problem solving in their career, yet 32% don’t feel comfortable thinking creatively. Yet, creativity is what keeps science moving forwards, because it fosters new connections and therefore gives rise to not only practical innovation, but also the creation of new knowledge. Scientists and engineers frequently encounter problems where they must use abstract, creative thinking, and they should be equipped to do this. From an early age, students should be encouraged to let their imaginations run wild, and also to use scientific reasoning to assess and test their ideas—and this approach of being open to multiple disciplines would be beneficial not only to science, but also foster innovation in other disciplines too. In Einstein’s words: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”