July 5, 2012

Calling All Sentient Lifeforms

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Galileo spacecraft images us (NASA/JPL)

You may notice that today is the one year anniversary of the Scientific American blog network. You may also notice that across the blogs this morning is a shared theme; time for the readers to speak up. Inspired by the blogger Ed Yong, the Sci Am blogs are asking for your thoughts.

Consider this an opportunity to send your message into the great aether of electrons that now perpetually encircles our modest little planet, not unlike sending it out into the cosmic void itself (remember this post?). It's very easy to register to leave a comment here - if you already use Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or have a Yahoo! or Gmail account it's merely a click away. That's so much easier than finding the Higgs boson...

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

Perhaps tell Life, Unbounded and its other readers who you are, your background, and what you do. What’s your interest in science and your involvement with it? How did you come to this blog (through Twitter, Facebook, or sheer blind cosmic luck?), how long have you been reading, what do you think about it, and how could it be improved?

Then let those fingers do some more walking - tell someone else about this blog and in particular, try and choose someone who's not a scientist but who you think might be interested in the type of stuff found in this blog. Ever had family members or groups of friends who've been giving you strange, pitying looks when you try to wax scientific on them? Send 'em here and let's see what they say.

Need some nifty Life, Unbounded posts to pass along? Here are some of my favorites:

An Abundance of Exoplanets Changes our Universe

Astrobiology: We Are The Aliens

The Long Hard Road to Mars

You Can't Always Tell an Exoplanet by its Size

The Molecules that Made the Universe

Jovian Attraction

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

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There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American