If this new-fangled Twitter thing is to be believed, there’s some big things a-poppin’ in Iran, and the world media has been calling up Columbia professors for their reactions. The man with the most screen time this time around has probably been Professor Gary Sick (at right), which is not surprising given that he was […]

  Image via Parsons’ home page Columbia physics professor John Parsons lectured Thursday night about the science behind the upcoming film Angels and Demons.  Bwog sent our Fu Foundation Bureau Chief Sean Zimmerman, who actually understands these sorts of things, to observe and report. Hollywood and science aren’t known to be fast friends, and explanations […]

  Anyone sauntering into Levien yesterday afternoon to shoot some hoops got a little more than they bargained for: a gym full of high-tech paper airplanes.  Red Bull’s Paper Wings Contest gathered a crowd of 20 or so engineering-types who spent an hour and a half battling it out for a free trip to Salzburg, […]

The march of scholarships continues. Three Columbia students have received prestigious Goldwater Scholarships, which are awarded yearly to approximately 300 college sophomores and juniors who are seeking a Ph.D in science and/or mathematics. This year’s recepients are Alex Perry CC ’11, Noam Prywes CC ’10, and Arianne Richard CC ’10. Each university is only allowed […]

Oh sure, there may be budget cuts aplenty on the way, but the Medical Center isn’t about to let the economy stop its discoveries. This time, a team led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers has linked a gene called ELP4 to Rolandic epilepsy, the most common form of epilepsy. Rolandic epilepsy’s best-known symptom is […]

Bwog has noticed that over the next week or so there will be a smorgasbord of learning opportunities for those who are not going home to spend their magnificent four days of fall break.  Whether you are interested in theater, bioethics or academic freedom, there’s something going on that’s right up your alley. Human Genetic […]

While deadly pathogens like avian flu are circulating around the world, Columbia Medical Center’s Department of Ophthamology has come up with a way to safely stiffen your eyeball. No, this has nothing to do with one of our other illustrious alumni but rather a solution to the blinding disease of keratoconus and possibly even glaucoma […]

Here are some more activities to keep Mom and Dad busy because Bwog loves you and your parents and because Bwog has secret tour guide aspirations…. Wallach Art Gallery Columbia has its own mini-museum in Schermerhorn! Who knew? The Wallach Gallery’s classy digs will undoubtedly impress your parents. Maybe you’ll even impress them with your […]

Geneva, SWITZERLAND — This just in from CERN Research Center: It was the culmination of thousands of physicists and engineers working for over a decade in what has become the greatest scientific project the world has ever seen.  The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is built to hurl thousands of tiny particles at speeds approaching that […]

For those searching for a (very) warm weather weekend activity, tipster Emma Jacobs suggests heading to Fulton Ferry Landing to check out the enormous Telectroscope. The artist/inventor/mad scientist behind the creation is Paul St. George, who explains that original blueprints for the device purport to allow New Yorkers and Londoners to wave to one another […]

Two Columbia-related articles of interest in the New York Times recently: First up, an op-ed from physics professor/Colbert Report interviewee Brian Greene sent to Bwog from tipster Lucy Tang. In a piece currently #1 on the Times‘ Most Emailed list, Greene recounts receiving from a letter from a soldier stationed overseas from whom Greene’s book […]

Tipster Michael Wymbs alerted us to last night’s episode of the Colbert Report, on which Physicas Professor Brian Greene was a guest. Greene was promoting the World Science Festival (of which he is host), which will take place this weekend in all over the city. As part of the festival, Greene will be a panelist […]

Bwog was especially delighted to stumble upon this week’s New Yorker. Not only does one Talk of the Town article discuss the decision to dismantle Columbia’s Cyclotron—which, we learned, was actually gutted in 1965 and mostly shipped off to the Smithsonian in bits and pieces—the author of the piece is Kate Linthicum, BC ’08 and […]

Columbia’s medical researchers are provoking helpless panic across the country today, but word is, it’s good for your cardiovascular health. Scientists here have upended some traditionally accepted wisdom and are now arguing (in some cases) against CT scans and abstinence. Just one more thing to worry about for two of the most lamentable at-risk populations: […]

Intrepid research correspondent Rahul D’Sa waded through a lot of science jargon to find out what Columbia researchers have been up to in their fancy-schmancy laboratories. Did you know that? Now you know! Researchers at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health recently published a study that claims rises in the annual average temperature might cause […]