Scientific Blogs Out There

For the scientifically curious, there are plenty of offerings in our library. We carry all the textbooks used at Govs. Our collection of non-fiction contains both books and DVDs in the various sciences, and we subscribe to several popular science periodicals and academic databases. In addition, our catalog links to e-books (available for reading on campus). For those who want more, there are several ways to find interesting writing online. Below are a few possibilities to consider.

The ScienceBlogs portal, launched in 2006, collects more than 80 individual blogs that cover various sciences and the intersection of science with politics and culture. The site classifies the blogs into ten divisions (life sciences, physical science, environment, humanities, education, politics, medicine, brain & behavior, technology, and information science). ScienceBlogs selects their bloggers based on their "originality, insight, talent, and dedication and how we think they would contribute to the discussion at ScienceBlogs," but does not edit their work or tell them what to write about. (Surprisingly many ads might turn off some readers.)

For an ad-free experience, you could head to Scientopia, a collective of people who write about science because they love to do so. This community is "held together by mutual respect and operated by consensus, in which people can write, educate, discuss, and learn about science and the process of doing science." The participating bloggers range from molecular geneticists to graduate students to computer scientists to anthropologists. Their topics and approaches are highly individualistic; there should be something of interest there for most readers.

The blog Not Exactly Rocket Science is another great destination for empty moments. The author, Ed Yong, is an award-winning British science writer. His work has appeared in New Scientist, the Times, WIRED, the Guardian, Nature, and more. This blog is his attempt to "talk about the awe-inspiring, beautiful and quirky world of science to as many people as possible."