Science Friday: Man evolves from IDA, Man creates Google Wave, Man goes extinct (see Daily Mail for details)

It's all about IDA.

Seed has a great article on the media savvy scientists behind the blitz that may be the missing link of our primate ancestry. But if you really want to read about the stranger-than-fiction way that IDA got named (and almost un-named) read this article. On the other hand, maybe it's all "unbridled hooplah."

In other news, talent supply is good in Ireland, says the Financial Times.

I wonder if this figure is true for science and tech jobs.  Can anyone weigh-in and confirm?

"The countries where the talent shortage appears to be least problematic are Ireland (5 per cent) and Spain (8 per cent)."

Someone call Ben Goldacre...The RCSI says Men are dying out. (Er, maybe... and in 5 million years....)

Perhaps this was a clever 'hook' to get people and papers interested in a science lecture, but it sounds pretty trivial/hypothetical/pointless to me. I'm just sayin...

That picture of "the world without men" is SO the Daily Mail's fantasy.  I wouldn't be surprised if they sponsor an annual RCSI talk on this subject.

[Update- Darwin posted a blog entry on the talk here, and the RCSI's site has an abstract here]

Faster than the speed of Tweet

I saw a tweet by @aquigley on Twitter about holding a TEDx event in Dublin earlier in the week. I tweeted him back (I sometimes tweet as @sciencegallery) and said that the SG would love to be involved. A few tweets, emails, and phone calls later, plus some of the star people of the SG moving at the speed of light, and TEDxDublin was born and sold out in 50 minutes. I don't know which was quicker-- the speed with which the event was brought together, or Marie Boran's (@pixieVonDust) article on the whole process over at Silicon Republic.

Lastly, on the topic of all things coputery...

The Google I/O Keynote is worth watching. Papers this week have been waving Google's new banner, saying The browser is the computer. Speaking of waves... You might be interested in trialling Google Wave.

Ok, for real lastly-- Why Chaucer Research Matters.

From the Science Gallery forums-- A great little series of letters to the Guardian about why humanities research matters (Get a pen-- there's some good 'Two Cultures' debate fodder...).