Welcome to Signal Boost - our weekly roundup of blog posts on the science network over the past week.
What noise does an owl make? Grrlscientist looks at an interesting video highlighting the wide variety of vocalisations that the barn owl can produce.
From dark satanic mills to dark matter. Jon Butterworth explains how the physics behind steam engines informs our understanding of the universe today.
Mind matters meeting at the Marriott. The 14th Dalai Lama met with mindfulness researchers last week - James Kingsland was there to report.
A new paper in Nature Methods this week highlighted a cunning new way of studying animals in the wild. Henry Nicholls introduces us to the penguin robot.
A new study picked up by the New York Times has breathlessly claimed that “academic science isn’t sexist”. Athene Donald takes a look, and asks whether the study is all that it’s cracked up to be.
Dr Fabiola Gianotti has been selected as the next director general of Cern, and will be the first woman to hold the post. Jon Butterworth was part of the council meeting to make the decision, and explains all.
Macau’s postage stamps have just gone meta. Alex Bellos reports on a new set of stamps celebrating magic squares - that themselves form a magic square.
For the past ten years, Simon Beck has been creating incredible snow art in the Alps - using nothing but a compass and snowshoes. To mark the launch of his new book, Alex Bellos highlights some of his astounding work.
It’s official: polar bears have smelly feet. Henry Nicholls takes a look at some of the animals that have made it into the news recently.
