Here’s a quick round up of interesting weird and wonderful things from the past week or so.  The best bits are below:

Sciencey:

• Biology rocks! Bob Goldstein, a UNC evolutionary and developmental biologist, spoke with The Scientist about how the school’s biology posters end up looking like collector’s items, and not just lackluster placards that get tacked up at most academic conferences.   Watch Biology Rocks or take a look at the flickr photostream
• Nano-origami MIT researchers are developing what they call “nano-origami,” a technique for folding materials into tiny 3D structures with edges that are a hundred times thinner than a human hair. Someday, their work could lead to minuscule motors and components for faster microprocessors.
• James Watson disses today’s high school teachers Last night in a room with a double helix woven in the carpet, the cantankerous geneticist James Watson, Nobel Prize winner and provocateur–made clear his opinion of today’s high school teachers: they’re not too bright.
• Spit bacteria could be as distinct as fingerprints Even though humans have been swapping spit for eons, a new worldwide survey of the bugs in human saliva reveals unsuspected variation
• Ensembl 54 will be released in April 2009
• NIH vs. NSF in a Stimulus $$ smackdown
• Bad News for Teachers: Research Says Doodling Boosts Concentration
• How NPR Stays on Air as Sun Blanks Sat Transmission
• How to spot a hidden religious agenda References to pseudoscientific concepts like intelligent design are heavily veiled in the more recent books, so here are a few tips for spotting what may be religion in science’s clothing
• Beaker-Ready Projects? Colleges Have Quite a Few Colleges across the country have hundreds of projects in the sciences that could collectively cost tens of billions and begin within weeks.
• Google Spreadsheets Data Validation
• Bitesize Bio links:
  • Navigating the Sea of Human Genetics, Part I
  • Help! Excel Transmogrified My Gene Names! …Excel polymorphed my gene names into the text equivalent of the mutton vindaloo beast.
  • Using a Genome Viewer to Scope your Sequencing Data

Not-So-Sciencey:

• A Waitress Sketches Her Clientele Artist Anna Magnowska may be taking down your order, but she’s also noting your facial contortions and talk bubbles. “Check this ring out…that would cost a year’s wages for you! See what you get if you find yourself a rich man (another glass of bubbly please).” Tipsy/well-fed people say the darnedest things. Her series of sketches reminds me of the HBO hidden-camera series Taxicab Confessions. [via Made in England]
• The Perfect Pancake Formula seems to be 100 – [10L - 7F + C(k - C) + T(m - T)]/(S – E)
• Free Music Friday: Iggy Pop, Spindrift, Monument to Masses, More
• Walkers’ Crazy-Flavored Crisps Competition The Brits are known for some wacky potato chips flavors—think Prawn Cocktail and Roast Chicken. When I first moved to England I committed myself to tasting them all, the only flavor I absolutely fell in love with being Sweet Chilli, as in Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.  Now, powerhouse British “crisp” producers Walkers is asking the nation to vote for the next big flavor in its “Do Us a Flavour” competition that lasts until May 1.  Cajun Squirrel anyone?  Dave?
• Dad makes son read Geneva Convention before being allowed to play Call of Duty
• Steve Martin ironing a kitten
  
• Six word Sci-Fi stories
• The 15 Strangest College Courses In America
• Faraday + Imperial March = Awesome!