Science, when it comes down to it, is all about making observations of the world around us. We might come up with seemingly abstract equations to describe things, but nothing beats a picture of the object or phenomenon in action. Sometimes writing a paper begins not with the text but with the pictures, which essentially tell the story. Thus scientists are often required to be mini-experts in desktop publishing tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator when it comes to making illustrations for talks or publications. John Nack from Adobe has published a few links (1, 2, 3) on his blog with examples of Photoshop's use in scientific illustration, having been inspired by the recent NY Times article on efforts to verify image authenticity in the wake of the Dr. Hwang Woo Suk scandal. One link to HubbleSource provides information on making breathtaking images from Hubble space telescope data using a special free software plugin called the FITS Liberator. Nack also provides a handy link on the Adobe website for a list of Photoshop features for scientists and healthcare professionals.

This may come as no surprise to you, particularly if you enjoyed the 50 and 60 degree F temperatures in New York City last month. NOAA reports that the United States had its warmest January on record, with an average temperature of 39.5 degrees F, which is 8.5 degrees F (4.7 degrees C) above the 1895-2005 mean of 31.0 degrees F, according to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.. January temperatures were even warmer than December of 2005 by as much as 9 degree F in some places. The second warmest January on record was in 1953, which was 2.3 degrees F cooler. As shown in the map here, throughout January 2006, none of the contiguous U.S. experienced below-average temperatures—each state was warmer than the long-term mean. The higher than average temperatures resulted in a record low residential energy demand for the country. NOAA scientists estimate that residential energy demand was 20 percent below average for this time of year.

So you now have your new fangled alternative energy car, but where are you going to fill it up? Luckily, the Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center has created a database and website that will help you find alternative fueling stations. The map covers stations for compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or propane), 85% ethanol (E85), electric, biodiesel, hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Just select your fuel type, address, and station search radius. The results are displayed dynamically on an interactive map where you can find more details about each station. The database is continually updated. If you operate a station that isn't included, you can write to webmaster to have it added to the database.

We've added a new category on Element List just for science podcasts from around the web. You can find links to such sources as the Berkeley Groks Science Show to Science @ NASA to the new New York Times Science Update and more. You can add your science podcast link by submitting it here.

Pardon me Element Listers, for I know that I've been absent from the blogosphere lately. I blame a bad head cold that hit me last Thursday, which makes thinking and websurfing not as fun or fast as usual. Anyway, it seems that the blogosphere is abuzz with comments about Andrew Revkin's article in the NY Times regarding the Bush Administration's latest attempt to silence any government employee who dares to admit that global warming is real or a threat, least of all climate expert and director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, James Hansen. According to Revkin, "The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists." Now, Scientific American editor John Rennie, has taken Kevin Vranes of No Se Nada blog - and (fellow) Ph.D. graduate of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University where Hansen is an adjunct faculty member - to task for his comment that Hansen went too far in advocating a particular response to observed global warming. (I'd be interested to know if Kevin ever took a class from Hansen.) I'm not going to get into the particulars of the debate here, except to provide links - like this one on drowning polar bears and this one on the Bush Admin's record of ignoring science - and point out that you know you've hit it big when the mainstream science media take the time to mention your blog, much less criticize your blog. It warms my heart to see young bloggers swinging bats with the big guys. Go get 'em, bloggers.

What's more fun than reading an encyclopedia? Writing one, apparently. Wikipedia is now more than three times the size of the online Encyclopedia Britannica, and growing everyday thanks to its authorship by people from around the world. There's also a new section called Wikispecies that is designed to be an open, free directory covering all species that users are willing to happily type into the database. The database also contains plenty of pictures of various species. Want to read up on Fungi like those pictured right? Click here. Want to discuss edits with other wiki users? Go to the Village Pump. Or maybe you don't like the Wikispecies logo. You can go here to propose a new one. Bored and looking for a new species to write about? Go to the done and to do page. It's almost as fun as collecting your own spores, molds, and fungus.

Every month the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University publishes the IRI Climate Information Digest, an online publication that covers recent climate anomalies around the globe and their societal impacts with an emphasis on climatic hazards, health, energy/water resources, and agriculture. The articles provide context for IRI seasonal climate forecasts and El Nino-Southern Oscillation updates, which can also be found on the site. This month's hot topics:

• Failed short rains in Greater Horn exacerbate food security situation
  
• Wildfires in south-central United States blamed on severe drought conditions
  
• Flooding in Malawi and Mozambique: Forecast indicates more abnormally heavy rainfall may be on the way

Too many people fail to recognize that scientific research is itself a creative endeavor, where scientists toil endlessly on problems without easy or obvious solutions. Over 30 years ago, legendary musician and music producer Brian Eno and his friend Peter Schmidt created a deck of cards called Oblique Strategies, which is meant to be used when you find yourself in a creative block. While meant for artists, the Oblique Strategies suggestions are general enough to work for scientific or any other kind of problem solving. Now the deck is available online as a downloadable widget for your Mac OS X Dashboard, PC, or PalmPilot. If you're stuck, say, trying to debug a program or finish a paper, you can just pull a card (real or virtual) for some inspiration, such as "Be extravagant" or "Retrace your steps." (via Cool Tools)

MIT World provides free online videos of lectures and public events held at MIT. The homepage currently lists several talks and panel discussions on biotechnology issues. In the index, you can find talks from top scientists, business leaders, intellectuals, and more.

• Human Cloning and Human Rights: Promises and Perils, Rudolf Jaenisch and Stephen Marks
  
• The $100 Laptop--Computing for Developing Nations, Nicholas Negroponte
  
• The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman
  
• Pursuing the Endless Frontier: Essays on MIT and the Role of Research Universities, Charles M. Vest

The addition of authors and the authors' rank in a scientific research paper's list of authors have as much to do with money and politics as they do about who did the work. Senior researchers and professors may be given honorary authorship because they helped to spark an idea that led to the results or because the honorary author has such clout that simply having their name on the paper can grease the review path to a top journal. As the journal Science manages fallout from the Hwang Woo Suk scandal, the NY Times reports that Science is considering "new requirements that authors 'detail their specific contributions to the research submitted,' and sign statements that they agree with the conclusions of their article." According to the NY Times, a statement of authors' contributions is already required by The Journal of the American Medical Association and by other medical journals. This requirement may be a challenge to implement for a multidisciplinary journal like Science, since it will require a significant change in proceedures for scientific fields otherwise untouched by the Hwang scandal. Nevertheless, we particularly liked the NY Times' sample page from the Journal of Imaginary Genomics, which humorously illustrates what future issues of Science might look like if the editors implement these new requirements.