Science Friday: Birds gotta fly, banks gotta fail, & aortal kombat

SYNERGISTIC ART: "Artists' engagements with science can sometimes seem superficial and simply an appropriation of scientific imagery..." The Lancet covers Visceral. And don't miss the article in WIRED magazine, or the punny comments that came with a front-page posting on Reddit: think AORTAL KOMBAT, and "Use the force, leukocyte..."

THINKING CAPS ARE PSEUDOSCIENCE, according to the Guardian.

Articles earlier this month in many newspapers were touting the potential for transcranial direct current stimulation to have positive effects on individual's ability to think creatively.  It even appeared in... well this is awkward... The Guardian.

FISH GOTTA SWIM, and birds (due to the gene ADCYAP1 which may account for variations in nocturnal activity) gotta fly...

If you've seen birds coming and going with the changes in the weather, New Scientist has the rundown on some research that sheds a bit more light on that process:

"The gene may do more than simply encourage night-time fidgeting: it encodes a protein called PACAP, which plays a major role in melatonin secretion, energy metabolism and feeding. These functions are crucial for preparing birds for long flights. "This is the first step to bringing research on avian migration down to the molecular level," says Mueller."

SHOULD BIOLOGISTS BE RUNNING THE BANKS?  BBC Radio 4's Scientists of the Subprime asks:

"Could an understanding of biology have prevented the credit crunch? The complex world of banking evolved - and profited - thanks to the work of analytically gifted maths and science graduates. But when the crash came, something new was needed. Now banking regulators are turning to a different kind of science, asking if an understanding of ecosystems or the spread of infectious disease could help reform world finance."

THE IRISH ARE IN WASHINGTON. Yes, there is a delegation at the AAAS annual meeting, but smack dab in the Smithsonian, there is another Irish 'delegation' at the Crochet Coral Reef exhibition: