Ask a Scientician

I had no idea that the Scientition blog was going to be born today, only that its arrival was on the horizon. I haven’t much else to say that isn’t already covered better in the Hello World introduction.

Please, email us, use the comments section and ask your questions. Otherwise, I’ll have to start asking myself questions and that will be followed by name calling, face punching, and a drunken stupor…actually that might be fun too.

That title’s pretty funny if you ever took a computer programming class.

This blog is about science. Primarily, the crew here wants to answer your questions. It’s rare to have scientists interacting with the community and we want to provide that communication. We want you to ask questions because the only way to learn is to ask. Please send questions to the email addresses posted in the left sidebar. We will do our best to provide answers to the how and why of how our world works.

This crew has experience in many fields ranging from biology and biotechnology to atmospheric chemistry and veterinary medicine (no, we will not provide consultations for pet problems). More general questions from physics, chemistry, or computer and social sciences are also welcome. We will provide the best answers we can, with links to as much information as possible. That way, you can follow up if you want. We are also interested in other aspects of science such as ethics, funding, and public perception. Most of us are practicing scientists and can provide some behind-the-scenes insight that you might not be able to find elsewhere. But we are not omnipotent. We don’t know everything and some answers may still be open to additional research and interpretation. We’ll do our best, but always remember that science is always changing and growing.

Your comments and input are always welcome. But please be warned…we will not tolerate long harangues or presentation of misleading ideas or evidence on evolution, climate change, or other controversial topics. We are interested in providing good science to public. This is in contrast to many media outlets that just want to tell a story or create sound bites. Our job is to answer questions based on the best scientific evidence available and to hopefully dispel common myths surrounding some of these more controversial topics. We also want to start a dialog around the science rather than just the emotional or economic impact of the science. Different interpretations of evidence and serious debate are welcome, but name calling, non-scientific theories, and general flame wars will get the kibosh. We’re here to provide the best answers we can. So start asking so we can start answering.