April 10, 2012

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ScienceSeeker Editor's Selections: Electric Animals, Hyenas and Lent, The Hunger Games, Fiery Dinos

By Jason G. Goldman

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

First, a quick announcement: after more than two great years serving as Psychology and Neuroscience Editor at ResearchBlogging.org, I've stepped down, opening up the spot for somebody else.

I'm excited to announce, though, that I'm starting up a stint as an editor at ScienceSeeker.org! I'm excited for the chance to read more broadly than only those posts that cite peer-reviewed research in psychology and neuroscience, and to share those posts (though I will still lean heavily on psychology and neuroscience blogs).

Previously, I published my weekly Research Blogging editor's selections on Tuesdays. At ScienceSeeker, the selection process works a bit differently - I try to pick one or two posts every few days, instead of just once per week. Even still, when possible, I'll try to post a weekly round-up of my picks on this blog, as usual, on Tuesdays. In addition, you can follow @SciSeekEds on twitter to see the selections from me and the other editors.

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My first set of Science Seeker Editor's Selections are:

Electric eels aren’t the only electric animals - at Science-Based Life. Of course, as the good Doctor Zen points out in the comments, since all nervous systems rely on electric potentials, all animals are electric!

Hyenas give up eating garbage for Lent, and hunt donkeys instead. Matt Soniak covers this story at his blog, though it was also covered by me, Elizabeth Preston, and Ed Yong. Interesting to compare the way four science writers covered the same story.

At Psych Your Mind, guest blogger Maya discusses the psychology of The Hunger Games.

Finally, if the age of the dinosaurs wasn't scary enough already, Elizabeth Preston at Inkfish points out that there was lots of fire, too.

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

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