Keeping up with the Precambrians

Here's an update on the planned presidential science debate. Organizers have still yet to hear from any of the presidential candidates, but they still hope to hold a science and techonology-themed debate involving McCain, Obama and Clinton this spring.

And on the topic of science and politics: since 1939, one person in the White House has had the formidable task of informing the president and his staff on science and technology policy. This person, the Presidential Science Advisor, has a big job and a big responsibility. Learn more about the PSA and his office from Wikipedia.

In one of the quirkier stories from the world of science, fifth-grader Kenton Stufflebeam pointed out something that escaped scrutiny for 27 years at -- of all places -- the Smithsonian Institution. An exhibit on the history of the Earth erroneously referred to the Precambrian "Era." The Precambrian, as the geology folks know, is a vast stretch of time composing some 7/8 of Earth's history, not an era by the geological definition. More details from USA Today.

Breaking the Ice

Climate change is in the news once more this week, as a gigantic ice shelf in Antarctica broke up. The Christian Science Monitor has more.

Space shuttle Discovery returned to Earth this week after a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. It was the longest such shuttle/ISS mission to date. The seven-member Discovery crew didn't just float around; they completed many tasks necessary to the maintenance and upgrade of the station. More from MSNBC.com.

An ancient jawbone discovered in Europe is now believed to be that of a 1.2 million-year-old human. The finding means that jawbone is the oldest known human remain. National Geographic has the story.

Lar Lar Lar DIE!

Greetings and salutations, science fans! Your ole' pal Brandon comin' atcha again with some juicy jabberwockies and tongue-twisted tidbits from the world of...SCIENCE!

A NASA probe in orbit around Mars captured some amazing pictures this week. The images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show landslides in action, flowing down a mountainside near the Martian north pole. Check out the the images, plus a fascinating explanation, at the Science@NASA website.

The long-held stereotype is that girls excel in the arts, and boys are better in math and science -- and as far as we knew, it was because girls were more interested in artistic pursuits and boys liked numbers. Well, that myth is being put to the test in a new survey that shows girls do like math and science, even more so than language arts and history. Get more from MSNBC's LiveScience.

One last note about space: the Cassini orbiter around Saturn discovered what appears to be rings around Rhea, the planet's second-largest moon. If the evidence holds up, Rhea would be the first known moon to host a ring system.

Big Week!!!!!!!!111!!11one LOLZ

It was a big week for science. Yep, real big. Huge stuff happening.

But you won't read about it here.

On the Subject of Science

Many of us cast votes based on religion, economics, war, peace, international relations and many other factors. But I bet very few pay attention to candidates' knowledge and application of science. Some presidential administrations have been friendly to scientists and researchers, other not so much.

To find out more about this year's slate, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia is inviting the top four presidential candidates (Clinton, Obama, McCain and Huckabee) to a science debate slated to take place in April. So far, none of the contenders have accepted.

I hope they all do; science is a big deal. From stem cells to forensics to space tourism and more, the present and the future will be shaped by the state of our scientific knowledge. Knowing how the candidates stand on the issue of government science (entities such as CDC, NOAA, NSF and others) is vitally important.

There's more from MSNBC science blogger Alan Boyle here.

Columbus Sails a New Ocean

After two months of delays, the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off Thursday on a mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis is carrying a $2 billion science lab called Columbus. The module will be joined to the ISS to increase working space and broaden the scope of science experiments carried out by the ISS crews.

From MSNBC: Test your shuttle knowledge.

Valentine's Day is next Thursday. Of course, there is no science to relationships. But by gum, there can be science in relationships: here's a list of Valentine's Day chemistry experiments for those science wonks in love.

Mercury, Milestones and the Music in Your Head

Yesterday, January 31, marked the 50th anniversary of America's first satellite, Explorer 1. The four-foot long tube-shaped satellite was built at Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal. Find out more about Explorer 1 from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich filed one of his delightfully inventive pieces for Morning Edition on Tuesday, this one about a woman whose brain hallucinated sounds. Listen to her tale and see what it tells us about the amazing human brain at NPR.org.

NASA's MESSENGER space probe flew past Mercury on January 14, beaming back some impressive images of the closest planet to the Sun. What those first images show us is already helping to rewrite the history (and present understanding) of the planet and its space environment. Get more at Science@NASA.