Hey WIRED, Why No Chemistry Love?

101 Signals, WIRED Magazine's latest compilation of "...best reporters, writers, and thinkers on the Internet" just went live. They've broken down the list, which includes blogs, Twitter, and Tumblr feeds, into chunks: Business, Design, Consumer Tech, Gov't & Security, Culture, and Science.

Here's the Science group. A distinguished bunch, but guess what?
Not a chemist among them!!!

Sure, we've got great, well-known personalities like Ed Yong (Not Exactly Rocket Science) and Randall Munroe (xkcd), Phil Plait and Robert Krulwich. I see plenty of physicists, biologists, astronomers, geneticists, and science writers, but no chemists.
And yet, two Tumblr accounts with the word "f*ck" sprinkled in (Classy, WIRED, classy).

I suppose Maggie Koerth-Baker, who has written about chemistry several times, is the closest we get to full representation. But she's plugged as the BoingBoing science editor / NYT columnist, with nary a mention of chemistry to be found.

So, what gives? Folks on Twitter have suggested a few issues with the chemblogosphere, from "in-reach" in place of outreach, to a tendency to "punch-down," or even (gasp!) that our stuff just doesn't appeal to a mainstream audience.

All valid points. Well, allow me to retort: An aspect of chicken-and-the-egg surely works behind these listicles. Although we haven't fully ironed out all of chemistry bloggers' quirks yet, not featuring our blogs in mainstream offerings just exacerbates the problem!

How can we be part of the solution,* if we can't even get in the door?

In case a WIRED staffer happens upon this post, please consider the following widely-followed, high-quality chemistry blogs to include in your next collection:

In the Pipeline
ChemBark
Elemental
The Curious Wavefunction

*Please don't say, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." We've all heard that one.

Coloring Soft Robots - "Fun" Supplemental Info?

Have you seen George Whitesides' new soft, color-changing, 3D-printable (huggable?) robots? They're out in Science right now, and Ed Yong's got a rockin' writeup over at his blog.

Source: Science | Discover | Harvard

The silicone based robots, mimics of squid, octopus, and other sea life, are pneumatically controlled - they 'move' when pumped around the lab. Colors are charged via pressurized microfluidic channels, and matched to the critter's surroundings using an algorithm. A few online videos (Harvard, and Science SI) show the robot 'dancing,' trying out its camouflage, and even glowing in the dark.

Reading through the supporting information, I had to chuckle at some of the phrasing that truly differentiates a 'Whitesides paper' from a normal chemist's jaunt. Here's some choice phrases:

"Ecoflex two-part platinum cure silicone rubber kits...purchased from Smooth-On, Inc."

"...we made aqueous solutions colored in the visible spectrum...by mixing and adjusting the relative proportions of gouache watercolor paints..."

"This chemistry is standard for commercially available glow sticks"

"Fluorescent solutions were created by dispensing approximately 2 mL of DayGlo paint...and diluting with 25 mL acetone"

Makes discussions of where you purchased your LAH and allyl bromide seem rather pedestrian, eh?

Plant Papers, Springing Up in Science

"Filter flower"

If you look around the literature lately, biosynthesis and plant metabolism reviews seem to be cropping up everywhere. The latest batch, out in Science just last week, explore several key concepts for those not yet tangled up in Vinca's vines, or dreaming of Papaver's poppies. Ten different papers discuss topics as diverse as alkaloid gene clusters, soil nutrient incorporation, metabolic diversity, medicinal compound mining, and how tomato color impacts taste.

Spend a few minutes reading through, and hopefully come away with a greater appreciation for plants - the original medicinal chemists!