October 18, 2011

Google Logo Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

Editor's Selections: Nutrition, Pheromones, and Toe-Wiggling

By Jason G. Goldman

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

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.

Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week.

  • Imagine you are alone on a desert island for one year and you can have water and one other food - and you have to choose on the basis of health (rather than, say, what you like). What you choose, for example, alfalfa sprouts or hot dogs? The "right" answer might surprise you. Find out as Psych Your Mind discusses the psychology of nutrition.

  • "A male fruit fly displays a scripted set of actions when courting a female," writes Elizabeth Preston at the Inkfish blog, "beginning with a buzzy sort of love song and ending with the deposition of his extraordinarily long sperm." Oh, and for this experiment, the female flies were frozen to death or decapitated. Who Needs Pheromones When You've Got A Rotten Banana?

  • At Oscillatory Thoughts, neuroscientist Bradley Voytek has a question for you: can you wiggle just one of your toes? (The correct answer is: no. Find out why.)

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

More by Jason G. Goldman

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.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

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

Subscribe