原文出处： http://scistarter.com/blog/2014/01/top-13-citizen-science-projects-2013/ EyeWire: Map the Retinal Connectome Scientists need your help mapping the neural connections of the retina, and all they’re asking is for participants to play a fun game of coloring brain images. EyeWire is a great way to learn about the brain and help scientist understand how the nervous system works. Cicada Tracker WNYC Radio invited families, armchair scientists, and lovers of nature to help track the cicadas that emerge once every 17 years across New Jersey, New York and the whole Northeast by building homemade sensors and reporting your observations. Participants helped predict the arrival by planting a homemade temperature sensor in the ground and reporting findings back to to WNYC. Observations were put on a map and shared with the entire community. Digital Fishers Do you love the ocean but not the sunburns, parking, or other unpleasant aspects that come with the territory? Here’s a project that puts you in touch with the ocean and saves you the extra costs in suntan lotion. Anyone can assist by watching 15-second videos from the comfort of a home computer and clicking on simple responses. Project MERCCURI Project MERCCURI is an investigation of how microbes found in buildings on Earth (in public buildings, stadiums, etc) compare to those on board the biggest building ever built in space – the International Space Station (ISS). Participants collected microbes from stadiums, cell phones and shoes, and those samples were mailed to the University of California Davis to be sequenced and analyzed. Results will be shared on SciStarter so you can compare your samples to those from other locations, including the ISS! Panamath Panamath is a free-standing software that can be used to assess number sense – your intuitive recognition of numbers and their relationship. Test your own number sense, or download this software and adapt it for your own research or educational purposes. Dark Sky Meter The Dark Sky Meter (available for iPhones) allows citizen scientists to contribute to a global map of nighttime light pollution. Light pollution is a growing problem in urban environments, but now you can help scientists better understand its effects on the environment. By utilizing the camera built in to your iPhone, the Dark Sky Meter actually measures ‘skyglow’ and updates the data in real time. The Laughter Project The Royal Society put together a playlist of different laughs and asked people to determine if those laughs were real and fake. The results, which will be posted on the project blog soon, will help researchers at the University College of London learn how people react to different sounds. THIS science will make you LOL! Play with Your Dog Help researchers better understand relationship between dogs and owners! The Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab in NYC is investigating the different ways people and dogs play together, and they need your help by submitting short videos of you playing with your dog. By participating in Project: Play with Your Dog, citizen scientists are providing valuable information into the nuances and intricacies of our relationships with dogs. Citizen Sort Citizen Sort is a collection of interactive games in which players sort and classify photos of unidentified animals. The project is the brain child of researchers at Syracuse University School of Information. The goal is to enable scientists to use pictures of wildlife from the web to help them study changes in species populations, the health of an ecosystem or the effects of urbanization. Perfect Pitch Test Do you think you have absolute pitch? It so, try out the project Perfect Pitch. This project, conducted through the University of Toronto, examines if the timbre or source of a sound affects how accurately we identify that pitch. iSeeChange: The Almanac The iSeeChange Almanac is a socially networked weather Almanac for communities to collectively journal their climate experiences — their observations, feelings, questions, and decisions — against near-real time climate information. Hummingbirds @ Home The Audubon Society needs citizen scientists to track, report on, and follow the spring hummingbird migration in real time. A free mobile app makes it easy to report sightings, share photos and learn more about these remarkable birds. EteRNA EteRNA is a revolutionary new game scored by nature. You design RNA molecules, and we synthesize top designs and score them based on experimental results!
由全球最具影响力的科普书所想到的 （王德华） 据报道：《新科学家》杂志网络版评出迄今为止最具影响力的 10 本科普图书（链接： 英杂志评最具影响力科普书：《物种起源》居首 ）， 具体如下（文字转自网络新闻）： 1. 《物种起源》 （ On the Origin of Species ），作者：达尔文（ Charles Darwin ）， 1859 年出版。 《物种起源》是达尔文极具影响力的一本书，被誉为“有史以来最重要的思想”。（博主： 达尔文提出的物种起源的自然选择思想最有争议的思想 ） 2. 《时间简史》（ A Brief History of Time ），作者：史蒂芬·霍金（ Stephen Hawking ）， 1988 年出版。 《时间简史》应该是世界上关于宇宙学的最经典著作，是一部将高深理论物理通俗化的科普范本。（博主： 由最著名的物理学家撰写，阐述宇宙中的最大的科学问题 ） 3. 《自私的基因》（ The Selfish Gene ），作者：理查德·道金斯（ Richard Dawkins ）， 1976 年出版。 《自私的基因》将进化论推向一个新的高度，道金斯认为，生物体是基因为了更好的繁殖而和其他基因共同合作而产生的生存机器。（博主： 作者认为，生物体只是各种自私基因的载体，是生物体承载的基因的“生存机器”而已。本书作者还创造了一个新的概念，文化基因 - 弥姆 ）。 4. 《双螺旋》（ The Double Helix ），作者：詹姆斯·沃森（ James Watson ）， 1968 年出版。 《双螺旋》讲述的是发现 DNA 双螺旋结构的故事，首次采用谈话的形式描述进行科学发现的详细过程。（博主： 由诺贝尔奖获得者 James Watson 执笔，讲述亲身经历 ）。 5. 《寂静的春天》（ Silent Spring ），作者：蕾切尔·卡森（ Rachel Carson ）， 1962 年出版。 《寂静的春天》首次揭露了农药残毒对食物链产生的破坏性危害，引发了社会的激烈讨论。（博主： 揭示了化学杀虫剂对环境的影响，迄今依然有很重要的现实意义。 ） 6. 《裸猿》（ The Naked Ape ），作者：德斯蒙德·莫利斯（ Desmond Morris ）， 1967 年出版。 《裸猿》是最早将人类描述为动物（没毛的猿）的书籍之一，当时引起了极大轰动。（博主： 以动物行为学家的眼睛，观看人类的生物学本性和文化发展 ） 7. 《混沌》（ Chaos ），作者：詹姆斯·格雷克（ James Gleick ）， 1987 年出版。 《混沌》是第一本解决混沌理论新兴领域问题的流行科普书籍，帮助人们解决了该领域的诸多问题。 8. 《盖亚》（ Gaia ），作者：詹姆斯·拉夫洛克（ James Lovelock ）， 1979 年出版。 《盖亚》阐述了盖亚理论，即地球内外的所有物体都是相互联系的。换言之，生命与环境的相互作用之下，能使得地球适合生命持续的生存与发展。 9. 《人口理论概要》（ An Essay on the Principle of Population ），作者：托马斯·马尔萨斯（ Thomas Malthus ）， 1798 年出版。 《人口理论概要》提醒人们注意人口与生活资料比例协调， 防止人口的过速增长。 10. 《人类的进化》（ The Ascent of Man ），作者：雅各布·布朗劳斯基（ Jacob Bronowski ）， 1973 年出版。 《人类的进化》阐述了人类的创造性，从最初的使用工具到现代科学。 这 10 本书中，多数我都见过、读过或听说过，很多也曾是自己很喜欢的书籍，如《物种起源》、《寂静的春天》、《自私的基因》、《裸猿》、《双螺旋》等。 这些书籍的特点有： 1 ）多为知名科学家执笔； 2 ）曾对人们的思想产生过很大的冲击； 3 ）曾引起激烈的争论； 4 ）改变了人们对自然界的认识和行为方式。 这样水准的书籍，我们国家也有，如竺可桢的《物候学》一类的科普书籍，但总体看十分奇缺。由于当今科研考核体制的影响，几乎断送了知名学者（科学家）撰写科普书籍的“理想”，时代似乎不允许。很幸运，一批学者翻译了大量的有影响力的科普书籍，但不可否认的是很多的科普书籍翻译质量堪忧，这样就大大影响了（降低了）原著的质量（水准）。国家对于科普的政策，科学家对于科普的态度，对于一个国家的整体科学理念的提高、科学素养的提高是有着不可估量的影响的。这种影响可能会延续几代人。社会发展过程中人才的断层很可怕，实际上思想的断层更是可怕。国家的执政者、当权者，应该意识到这个问题，并着力去解决这些问题。 我们所谓的科普书，实际上就是大众科学 (popular science) 。“大众科学”，应该就是与大众的生活、思想、健康等密切相关的科学，人们感兴趣的科学，人们应该知道、想知道的科学。所以，专业科学家应该成为宣传“大众科学”的主力。从某种意义上说，科学家应该有这种社会责任。宣传大众科学，可以撰写书籍，可以演讲（讲座）等，方式很多。这需要热心人去组织，需要有责任的学者去参与。 凭直觉，我们国家的科普工作很艰难，大众的科学理念长进缓慢。从近几年发生的一些事件中，如日本核泄漏引起的抢盐事件，张悟本引起的绿豆和长紫茄子事件等，就可以反映出大众对于科学知识和科学理念的需求。提高人们的认识和科学素养这类的工作，不是一天两天的事情，是一个长期的、坚持不懈的工作，需要国家的持续支持、需要一批人的热心参与。 从国际上选出的这 10 本科普书籍看，有点武断地判断，我们国家当今的大学生、研究生，甚至一些教授，都不见得认真读过几本。就说《物种起源》这本巨著，从我在中国科学院研究生院（现改为“中国科学院大学”）讲述生态学课程和自己所指导的研究生看，认真读过《物种起源》的很少。这本书不好读，有些翻译很生涩，要完整、认真读下来，确实不是很容易的事情。我们国家有几个翻译的版本。 我们的科普不要总是定位在儿童、少年这个群体上。儿童很重要、少年很重要，但不同的群体有不同的需求，不同的群体应该有不同的方式。学生时期，是一个得天独厚的时期，学校应该好好利用，培养学生热爱读书的习惯，这也是培养学生兴趣的好方式。读书多了，知识多了，思路就开阔了，兴趣自然就有了。大众科学，对象就是大众。成年人这个群体也很需要提高科学理念和科学知识，在某种程度上说作为父母的成年人这个群体需求更迫切，他们的知识水准和科学素养会直接影响到下一代。 随感。欢迎讨论。 Top 10 most influential popular science books http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2012/10/top-10-most-influential-popular-science-books.html HALF a century ago, biologist Rachel Carson sent shock waves through US society. By the time her book Silent Spring hit the shelves on 27 September 1962, it had already sparked fierce debate. In the weeks before publication, President John F. Kennedy had to field questions about the widespread use of pesticides, an issue he noted had become a central scientific concern - thanks to "Miss Carson's book" . As well as bringing scientific ideas to a broader audience, piquing fascination and providing entertainment, popular science writing helps further scientific and social discussion. Carson's book divided opinion, and drove a public conversation that shaped policy and paved the way for the environmental movement. There is a wealth of books with similarly powerful legacies - not written for academic circles, but for anyone curious enough to crack the spine. With the help of eminent scientists and writers we made a shortlist of 25 such popular science books. With close to 4000 votes cast, you helped us whittle it down to the top 10 that helped changed the world. Most influential, according to New Scientist readers, is Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species . It marked the foundation of evolutionary biology, but it wasn't just for scientists. From old ladies to philosophers, in the words of Thomas Henry Huxley at the time, "everybody has read Mr Darwin's book". 1 On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859) Penguin Classics 9.99/$13 Darwin's hugely influential book, which introduced what Richard Dawkins dubbed "arguably the most important idea ever" , was selected by more than 90 per cent of voters. 2 A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (1988) Bantam 8.99/$18 Perhaps the world's best known book on cosmology - by its best known physicist - this modern classic tackles the big questions of the universe. 3 The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (1976) Oxford University Press 8.99/$19.95 Taking evolutionary theory to a new level, Dawkins argued that individual organisms are "survival machines" for the genes that they carry. The book also introduced a now familiar cultural idea: the meme. 4 The Double Helix by James Watson (1968) Orion 8.99 An account of the discovery of DNA's double helix by one of the Nobel winners behind the breakthrough. 5 Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962) Penguin Classics/Houghton Mifflin 9.99/$14.95 Fifty years on, Carson's exposé of the impact of chemical pesticides continues to have a profound impact. 6 The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris (1967) Vintage 7.99 One of the first books to portray humans as the animals that we are, The Naked Ape caused quite a stir when it was first released. 7 Chaos by James Gleick (1987) Vintage 10.99 This finalist for the Pulitzer prize was the first popular science book to tackle the emerging field of chaos theory, and helped kick-start the subject across many fields. 8 Gaia by James Lovelock (1979) Oxford University Press 8.99/$19.99 Lovelock's book introduced the Gaia hypothesis - that everything on and of the Earth is an interconnected, evolving and self-regulating system. 9 An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus (1798) Oxford University Press 8.99/$14.95 This highly controversial work examined the possibility of humans outstripping natural resources. 10 The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski BBC Books 9.99 The work celebrates human ingenuity, from the early use of tools to breakthroughs in modern science.
The Hair of the Dog: And Other Scientific Surprises 作者 Karl Sabbagh 出版社 John Murray (精装本2009年11月12日出版) 定价 12.99 页数 304 页 ISBN 978-1848540880 这本书的副题是 And Other Scientific Surprises，不过这本书并不仅仅是讲科学研究中的惊人发现或是意外发现，有不少其实是针对日常生活中的问题作出的简单或是复杂的解释，有时相当令人惊讶。 这本书的正题就是一个例子：the hair of the dog 这个词组的典故，是指如果你被一条狗咬了，那么这条狗身上的毛发可以防止任何可能带给你的厄运，后来这个说法被用来指治愈宿醉的办法是再喝一杯。这本书的 一节，是讲解为什么这个说法其实是有道理的：原来人的平衡感是由内耳平衡器控制，内耳平衡器是三个半圆形的管状结构，其中液体的渗透压(浓度)必须和血液 一致，在大量饮酒之后，血液被酒精稀释，造成与内耳平衡器内的渗透压的不一致，结果是大脑收到的信号紊乱。在这之后，内耳平衡器内的液体渗透压会自我调 整，恢复到与血液一致。可是在酒醉后的第二天，血液中的酒精已经被肝分解，渗透压恢复正常，这时候就是内耳平衡器内的液体比血液稀了，又造成大脑信号紊 乱。The hair of the dog 这个说法背后的科学依据，就是指如果这时再喝一杯，能暂时恢复血液与内耳平衡器渗透压之间的平衡。 这本书就是由许多这样的小故事组成，包括宇宙、数学、健康、大脑工作原 理等几个松散的章节，看起来饶有趣味。有些故事我过去就已经听过，比如因为发明聚合酶链式反应(PCR)而获得诺贝尔奖的Kary Mullis，他的灵感一现的故事，来自于他的获奖演讲，曾广为流传：这一改变了现代分子生物学发展步伐的技术发明，灵出现于他在森林公路上驾车之时。另 一些我还是第一读到，比如有致癌作用的加铅汽油和破坏了臭氧层的冰箱制冷剂氟利昂，原来是由同一人发明的。 这样的文章要写得好看，必须在趣味性和科学性之间找到平衡，英国作家 Karl Sabbagh 能够用简单生动的文笔，把科学原理讲得清清楚楚，既容易理解、又绝不沉闷，确实有一番功力。在 专门为本书开设的一个博客 上，作者还列出了左右的参考文献。
标签: 大众科学
