Category Archives: Science in the Media

Science in the Media is a blog where we focus on the challenges of presenting high-quality, cutting edge science content to the public. You are welcome to post comments.

Move over, Archaeopteryx!

Posted on August 16, 2011 by SciViz

For 150 years, since Darwin’s time, Archaeopteryx has been known as the world’s most basal bird. That means that all organisms we call “birds,” living or extinct, are more advanced, evolutionarily speaking, than Archaeopteryx. Since birds evolved from dinosaurs, this … Continue reading →

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Losing Perspective

Posted on August 2, 2011 by SciViz

Sometimes graphic devices can get in the way of communicating an idea. This visualization, credited to Gabrielle DeMarco of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (SCNARC), is a good example of that. In this case, … Continue reading →

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Mouse Mindmeld

Posted on April 25, 2011 by SciViz

This illustration showing mouse nerve cells connecting through a microscopic tube is an interesting combination of what appears to be a scanning electron micrograph image of a nerve cell and a 3D computer model of the tubes. I suspect that … Continue reading →

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NASA’s New Sun Images Are Awesome, the Art Is Not

Posted on April 9, 2011 by SciViz

In early February NASA placed twin probes in position around the Sun to image the full sphere of the Sun in 3D. Well, almost. The probes were positioned 180° apart and were able to capture all but a sliver of … Continue reading →

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Tsunami Visualizations

Posted on March 21, 2011 by SciViz

There have been quite a number of visualizations created to capture the drama of the recent Tsunami in Japan. Here is one of my favorites, prepared by the Environmental Visualization Laboratory at NOAA. This is the caption that ran with … Continue reading →

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Press Release Art: Should It Be Free?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by SciViz

Should big media be able to use artwork for free? I don’t think so. This artwork of a Cambrian “walking cactus” accompanied the press release information announcing the publication of a Nature article describing the new creature. I searched for … Continue reading →

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