The Science Creative Quarterly (SCQ) is not a quarterly, but instead publishes new material at a non-linear rate. Currently, it is sleeping and in a sort of stasis (turpor?) It used to seek science writing of any genre, and your contribution would have involved checking out our submissions guidelines.

The Science Creative Quarterly (SCQ) has a single print edition so far (half SCQ pieces, and half fake science journal – see here for more details). Also, badges?

Stay safe everyone!

THE RNA TIE CLUB AND LESSONS TO BE LEARNED IN HOW TO WIN A NOBEL PRIZE

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – (It’s Nobel season! Please enjoy a few from our archive on this topic) As of November 2005, 776 Nobel Prizes have been awarded (758 to individuals, 18 to organizations) in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economics. In that same month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census, there were an estimated 6,469,818,677 people alive in the world. Consequently, the average person (or even the average scientist) has a very small chance of winning a Nobel Prize or even ever knowing anyone who has done so. However, there is a very small group of people…

SHAFTED AGAIN BY NOBEL

– FROM THE ARCHIVE – (It’s Nobel season! Please enjoy a few from our archive on this topic) I didn’t win the Nobel Prize in Physics again this year. What’s a guy got to do to win that thing? I was made to win that prize, but for like the umpteenth time in a row I’ve been given the shaft. Annoying! Who cares if I’m not a physixcist or however you spell it? I’ve been doing lots of cool physics-type stuff forever and deserve some recognition and money. Since a teenager I’ve done this kick-ass trick where I put a…

ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF EFFICIENCY

(This is the fourth installment of the The Wasteful American series. To read the others, click here, here and here) – – – How much energy is wasted as a result of fortifying foods with vitamin D instead of giving everyone a short bath of scrumptious sunlight during the day? Vitamin D3, added to most dairy products to prevent rickets and (incidentally) reduce the risks of osteoporosis, other bone disorders, and several types of cancer, surely costs something to manufacture and distribute industrially, while the human body synthesizes it naturally when skin meets sunshine. (Moonshine, on the other hand, causes…

A SCIENTIST’S GUIDE TO VOTING IN THE CANADIAN FEDERAL ELECTION (IN FLOWCHART FORM) – A SCIENCE CREATIVE QUARTERLY PIN UP (NO. 4)

(CLICK HERE FOR PIN-UP POSTER – pdf file ~177k) – We suggest photocopying at 129% – LTR to 11×17 – With the Federal Canadian Election is coming up fast! (October 14th), I thought it would be handy to provide a flowchart pin-up detailing the choices you can make based on: i. Wavelength of the Party’s colour. ii. Albedo of the party leaders’ hair colour. iii. Environmental platform. For a good overview of the policies that each political party favours, go read this. *Note that the Parti Quebecois is not included in this graphic as I was unable to find out…

SOME GRANT PROPOSALS FOR NEW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Dear National Science Foundation, I was happy to read that you’ve launched a new transformative R01 program to support “exceptionally innovative, original or unconventional” investigator-initiated research. It’s about time! I’m here in the lab in my parents’ basement and look forward to hearing back from you or the President or Congress on these proposals that clearly merit funding. 1. “Finding a cure for the ice cream headache.” In our lifetime we can beat this debilitating condition. The work is intensive and requires commitment so I’ll ask everyone to wear a brown, pink, and white rubber bracelet while my team and…

ELLIPTICAL THOUGHTS

The lives of parallel lines are uneventful: no sudden twists or unexpected turns disturb their single track monotony. And yet they dream of non-Euclidian space where rules are bent and of that infinite horizon where, at last, they’ll coincide. Concentric circles, on the other hand have no such hyperbolic hope. They know their limitations. Destined to be solitary cranks, they circumlocate, make roundabout excuses and observe their fellows from a distance. They never socialise.

TERRY TALKS: APPLICATIONS TO SPEAK (ONE WEEK LEFT!)

(a message from our sister site) THINGS TO AVOID WHEN SPEAKING PUBLICLY Egad! Is it already that close to October 6th! This is our deadline for applying to be one of the inaugural speakers of the Terry talks student conference. Well, the short answer is yes – in fact there is just under a week or so left. And in case this is brand new news to you – the Terry talks can be encapsulated in the following manner: “Imagine UBC’s most fascinating and engaging students coming together for a day, giving ‘the talk of their lives,’ sharing their ideas…

THE TITLE PRETTY MUCH SAYS IT ALL: EJACULATION AS A POTENTIAL TREATMENT OF NASAL CONGESTION IN MATURE MALES

Ejaculation as a potential treatment of nasal congestion in mature males (pdf) The Journal of Medical Hypotheses, 71(2), 2008. In which we learn that a trip to the pharmacy is not always necessary. – – – TEXT: Nasal congestion is defined by the blockage of the nasal passages usually due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen from inflamed blood vessels [1]. This occurs when the nasal blood vessels expand in response to exercise, cold air, spicy food, even stress. Common causes of nasal congestion are common cold, influenza, Hay fever and chronic sinusitis [1], [2] and [3]. It impairs…