I have lost count of the number of times I've had a particular conversation with young men in my American studies classes when we discuss science in American life and I bring up specific examples of how science in gendered in the U.S. I might ask students to tell me the story of human conception. They say the mightiest sperm swims toward the egg and penetrates it. End of story.

The Corn Refiners Association currently has two TV commercials abut the consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  In this commercial we view a backyard party where two moms get to talking.

Sometimes I write too much because I don’t want folks to miss anything. I don’t want to be accused of telling parts of the story. Then there are times when I know I can’t begin to convey the inspiration and knowledge that has been graciously given from one person to another.  One of my purposes on the planet is being a conduit for information so I have to make the effort even if I fall a little short of the goal.

I’m still digging into my pile of scraps of paper. From the Los Angeles Times section called The Homeroom the name of post is called Science: not a black or brown option. That got my attention.  The instructor was trying to get students to imagine a world without Anglo Americans. It is a short post, go read it and then come back.

It is hard to write today. My mind is everywhere but where I sit. So I am going to take a chance and make some loose connections with language, linguistics and emoticons. I read a post today written by Chandra on Punctuation Promiscuity  Now I'm not too bad with the exclamation points but the comma thing? Yes, I confess. 

There is a three foot pile of papers, books, bookmarks and information goodness buried on my bed. (Hey, I found a wrapped cookie!) A clear sign it is time for a little serendipity. I plunge into the center and pull out...a Nanotechnology catalog.  Oh my.

You might not know this but you might be an engineer. More on that later. Over at Why All Things Lead To Chaos there is a post entitled Engineers Demystified that shows how extensive the misperception of women in engineering can be:

It's time for another edition of Science Medley, your guide to the science posts written by women bloggers. This time we're focusing on science related to the human body. At Aetiology, guest blogger Whitney Baker looks at possible infectious agents for obesity:

Virginia DeBolt wrote a post on The New York Times placing a technology story about women in engineering and science in the fashion section.  More recently there was an article by Elaine McArdle, that I read online via The Boston Globe, that offered the premise that women are not interested in science and technology jobs. 

When I was eleven years old, a cosmetician and mom of one of the girls in my Girl Scout troop thought it would be great if we all earned the "Looking Your Best" badge. Long story short: Two days after the application of hypoallergenic makeup, I broke out in truly horrible acne and had to deal with "pizza face" for the next ten years.

Seen that spinning dancer graphic that some people say helps you determine whether you're left- or right-brained? Actually, it's not so straight-forward a litmus test. Yami sets us straight. The Orcinus Orca Collective provides us with an awesome photo of a pregnant killer whale, as well as a series of photos of orcas teaching a calf to hunt porpoise.

Over at Advice Goddess, Amy Alkon asks if we should encourage women to pursue scientific professions: Why should we push women to be, say, physicists (to correct some perceived imbalance -- as if the gender of a researcher should matter) if they'd rather be, say, veterinarians? Or...sell advertising space. Alkon links to one of Steve Sailer's posts on the Lawrence Summers controversy. In it, Sailer writes that Harvard is now "boosting less competent women, blacks and Hispanics at the expense of the more marginal men, whites, and Asians" in the sciences and mathematics.