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Sci on the Fly
April 6, 2026
Surviving and Thriving during the AAAS STPF Executive Branch Finalist Week
Congratulations on making it to finalist week! Finalist week can be very busy and hectic, particularly as you request and navigate interviews with host offices you are interested in. My goal with this post is not to overwhelm you, but to offer several strategies for starting finalist week off on the...
Sci on the Fly
May 31, 2013
Old drug finds potential new use in treating pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a particularly deadly form of cancer. Not only is it the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the US (lung, breast in women, prostate in men, and colon are the only cancers with higher rates), the mortality...
Sci on the Fly
June 10, 2013
The Missing Manual: A User's Guide to the Mind
Whether it’s a computer, a car, a screwdriver, or a pen, you probably have a tool that you’ve used for years—and can use more effectively because you know it inside and out. But there’s a tool we carry with us everywhere, and use for almost everything, whose...
Sci on the Fly
December 13, 2013
Biomimicr-E: Nature-Inspired Energy Systems
Biomimicry (also known as biomimetics) is the process of using natural-world mechanisms, many of which have evolved over billions of years, to inspire man-made designs and technological innovations. The following examples highlight pioneering energy ideas and...
Sci on the Fly
December 31, 2013
Biomimicry Energy Systems: What's Next?
Biomimicry (also known as biomimetics) is the process of using natural-world mechanisms, many of which have evolved over billions of years, to inspire man-made designs and technological innovations. The following examples highlight pioneering energy ideas and...
Sci on the Fly
March 15, 2015
World Water Day: Powerful Water, Thirsty Energy
It’s World Water Day. Designated in 1993 by the United Nations General Assembly, March 22 now represents a day to celebrate water. A day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water-related problems. And a day to prepare...
Sci on the Fly
December 15, 2015
Science and Technology Innovation: A Star Wars Retrospective
It’s a moment that a whole generation of kids have never forgotten. A simple phrase on a black screen, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….,” followed by a crash of cymbals and trumpets sounding the main title theme of Star Wars as the opening text...
Sci on the Fly
January 20, 2017
Book Review Section
Our Reading List Welcome to a new feature of the Sci on the Fly Blog! Are you looking for your next great read? Are you in the middle of a great read and want to tell everyone about it? Please do! These are the books we, the blog editors, are reading now: The...
Sci on the Fly
January 30, 2017
Can you spare the time?
For centuries, we’ve survived with wristwatches that kept time accurate to within a few minutes per year. Yet early in 2016, a timing signal broadcast an error of only 13 microseconds, which in turn disrupted telecommunications and other networked computers...
Sci on the Fly
February 4, 2017
Embrace a Career Sidestep: Write a novel
Ever thought about taking a career sidestep to write a novel? Seriously. Issac Asimov was a biochemistry professor before he started to write science fiction ( I, Robot; Fantastic Voyage; and 500 more novels). The astronomer Carl Sagan wrote Contact. Michael...
Sci on the Fly
February 5, 2017
Federal Data Sharing
This post accompanies the Sci on the Fly podcast “ Data Science.” In the last Sci on the Fly podcast on data science, several data scientists were asked “What is data science?” Although each data scientist thinks of data science differently, one conversation...
