World Science Festival Blog

I got into this stuff because of science fiction. I was a huge nerd in high school. I remember there was a time that between UPN, TNN, and The SciFi Channel you could watch six straight hours of Star Trek on a Friday night. None of those networks exist anymore. I built a Stargate in my parents’ basement freshman year (see above)--though I never got it to send me anywhere. When my Junior English teacher told me to write a paper on John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, or another famous American author, I wrote it on Phillip K. Dick.read more

In the run-up to this year's Faith and Science panel at the 2010 World Science Festival, there was some concern expressed (here and here) about our sponsors' influence on programming. In light of such criticism, we thought it would be a good time to reiterate the Festival's absolute editorial independence, as addressed last year by World Science Festival co-founders, Brian Greene and Tracy Day, in response to similar concerns:read more

The full replay of Hidden Dimensions: Exploring Hyperspace, featuring Brian Greene, Lawrence Krauss, Shamit Kachru, and Linda Dalrymple Henderson, is now available for streaming for a limited time. If you haven't had your mind blown yet this morning, I recommend you head over to our livestream replay pages pronto, grab a tall cup of coffee, and prepare for perspective-scrambling kernels from some of the greatest living physicists.

Watch now >>read more

The fine folks at NPR's RadioLab have produced a new episode based on Strangers in the Mirror, which features Oliver Sacks and Chuck Close (and was moderated by RadioLab's own Robert Krulwich).

Have a listen over at their site. Or add to your cue wherever podcasts are sold for free (ie, iTunes). And check out their amazing back catalogue of archived shows while you're there.read more

Have a story to tell from the 2010 World Science Festival?

Maybe it was something you learned? (Like, for instance, if the Earth were to be a black hole it would have to collapse to the size of a grain of sand.) Perhaps it was a serendipitous chat you had when bumping into your favorite scientist, artist, or author over the weekend's festivities? (I had a charming chat with Dr. John Mather and his wife about the crude pocket telescopes he used as a child that ultimately inspired him to take a closer look at the cosmos.) Or maybe it was a conversation you had with friends inspired by one of the programs? (Like a heated debate with a friend on whether the empirical study of consciousness is even a meaningful endeavor. Ahem, still looking at you, Chris.)

Whatever it was, if you have a story or an observation to share, email them to wsfstories@worldsciencefest.org for a chance to win a World Science Festival prize pack. Whether you were here in person or tuned in to one of our webcasts, we'd love to hear from you.read more

Well, another World Science Festival is in the books. And what a trip it’s been. One attendee at this year’s festival suggested that, as if conjuring the gravity of a supermassive black hole, we must have slowed down the passing of time in order “to do so much in 5 days.”

Accusations of timespace manipulation aside, there were plenty of magic moments during the 40+ events throughout the run of the Festival. From Professor Stephen Hawking’s poignant speech in front of a packed house at Lincoln Center during the Opening Night Gala to the all-day celebration of science in the heart of New York City that is the Street Fair, several of the experiences we shared made this year special. Here are a handful of them:read more

When I told Laura Chang, science editor at the New York Times, that we'd be painting with E. coli at the World Science Festival, we shared a good science laugh: I suspect you won't be using E. coli strain O157:H7, she joked. (For those of you not up on your E. coli strains, 0157:H7 would be of the enterohemorrhagic variety -- the kind that causes food-borne illnesses.)read more

We'll be streaming the animal cognition program live from the Skirball Center in NYC, featuring Brian Hare, Vanessa Woods, Jeremy Niven, Patrick Hof, and Klaus Zuberbühler. And moderated by RadioLab's Jad Abumrad.

Kick-off is at 3pm today. ScienceBlogs Editor Evan Lerner will be calling the game with me in the L'Blog booth, playing Jerry the King to my JR.

Watch live and join the conversation (and/or correct our typos) in the Cover It Live forum.

Or follow us on the Twitt: @WorldSciFest @GregBoustead @evan_lerner

From the WSF Blog...

One of today's panelists, Vanessa Woods: "Your Inner Bonobo"

Carl Zimmer on Animals Like Usread more

Vanessa Woods joins us from Your Inner Bonobo at Psychology Today. Vanessa is an award-winning journalist and author who studies the cognitive development of chimpanzees and bonobos at sanctuaries in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Join Vanessa and other leading scientists in All Creatures Great and Smart, a World Science Festival program that challenges long-held assumptions about the differences between ‘animal’ and ‘human.’ read more

This morning, I caught up with Amy Chase Gulden, the Growing Impressions artist who is half of the team that is leading BioArt this Thursday at the Museum of Arts and Design. We were headed to a biology lab at The New School. Our mission? To cover 75 pre-poured agar plates with X-gal, an organic sugary solution that will provide the pigment for our bacterial masterpieces.read more