Category Archives: science

Radiate Me

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Americans are frightened about radiation. And why not? The news is chock-full of reports about elevated levels of radiation in food and water. This week ABC news ran a report that scientists found “higher-than-normal levels of radioactive Iodine-131 in milk … Continue reading →

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Doogie Howser Mice

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

While researching how discourse frames designer babies, I found an apt example of a literal designer baby: twins, in fact. The fashion maven and darling of designers, Sarah Jessica Parker, and husband Matthew Broderick, had twin girls via a surrogate, … Continue reading →

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Long Life, Short Life

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

When I heard about Americans buying fistfuls of iodine tablets to stave of the effects of radiation poisoning I wondered: are these the same folks who refuse to immunize their children against childhood diseases?

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Ethical Dilemmas and Designer Babies

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

I’ve been polishing a manuscript about my specialty: how we communicate about science, and took a look at how we talk about designer babies. I recently learned that some parents do indeed have an opportunity to select some embryos over … Continue reading →

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What’s Memorable

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Writing about how we choose brings to mind other research about decision-making. Not only do we take the choice that’s framed positively: we avoid risks except when it comes to our own sense of vulnerability.

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Good News, Bad News

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

The science writer for the Oregonian, Joe Rojas-Burke, wrote a story yesterday about framing and health, the focus of my research and writing.

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What Hat Would You Be?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

If you were a hat, what hat would you be?

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Self-fulfilling Prophecies

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

We admonish students to take great care when they’re doing research to avoid self-fulfilling prophecies.

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Almost Random

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

A colleague told me yesterday that students know little about scientific methods when they enroll in her sophomore class. It’s not that they’re dumb: they lack a certain literacy about science. And they have little idea of what methods mean.

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Just Throw the Ball

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Cynthia (Istá Thó Thó) Coleman Emery

Writer Adam Gopnik wrote a lovely thought about how a message is like a baseball: “The trouble with mental catch is that the ball you throw changes in mid-air into another.”

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