Blog: Citizen Science Projects, People, and Perspectives
While you kick back and relax after your Thanksgiving dinner, your gut microbiota – the collection of beneficial microbes, mostly bacteria, that inhabit your lower intestine – will be hard at work breaking down the food you ate and carrying out all kinds of other essential functions. … Read more
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Health
Going out of your way to attract mosquitoes seems like the last thing anyone would want to do, but that is exactly what the national Invasive Mosquito Project is hoping volunteers will do in the name of public health. Managed through the United States Department of Agriculture, the Invasive Mosquito Project aims to track the spread of … Read more “Enlisting youth citizen scientists to combat Zika”
Categories: Analyzing and interpreting data, Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering), Biology, Citizen Science, Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering), Ecology & Environment, Education, Insects, Nature & Outdoors, Planning and carrying out investigations, Project Profile, Science Practices
A recent article in the New York Times highlights the way urban environments are affecting evolution in a variety of species. From European blackbirds with high-pitched calls to beat the sound of traffic to spiders adapted to build their webs closer to light poles, the dynamic and harsh urban environment is changing our biodiversity. Citizen scientists are … Read more “Urban Citizen Science”
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
Dive into Shark Week with SciStarter It’s shark week! Celebrate by getting involved in one of the many citizen science projects that study and protect sharks. Find even more projects with the SciStarter Global Project Finder. Cheers! The SciStarter Team
Categories: Animals, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Newsletter, Ocean & Water
In Arizona and the surrounding Southwestern United States, over 400 people are participating in a nine-year ongoing game of tag. But these folks are not tagging each other. They’re actually romping about in meadows with small nets, hoping to catch and tag a Monarch butterfly. In 2003 Chris Kline began the Southwest Monarch Study in order to … Read more “Southwest Monarch Study Taps Citizen Scientists to Track Butterfly Migration”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile
Photo: Wendy Caldwell This week we celebrate National Pollinator Week, in honor of the bees, butterflies, beetles, and other animals that provide essential services to ecosystems and agricultural lands everywhere. Citizen science is at the forefront of pollinator research, and below we highlight six projects that you can join to help study and protect pollinators. … Read more “Celebrate Pollinator Week with Citizen Science!”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
Autoimmune Citizen Science is an app to help people with autoimmune diseases track their symptoms, lab tests, and treatments in order to see what’s working and what isn’t. Individual data is aggregated in order to see what’s working for the community as a whole. Check out the project on SciStarter and sign up for the … Read more “Autoimmune Diseases Affect Millions of Americans: Here’s How Citizen Science Can Help”
Categories: Apps, Biology, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Guest Contributor, Project Profile
Photo: USFWS Those Elusive Flying Mammals! Bats can be tricky to spot and observe but let’s try because they need our help. As disease, habitat loss, and climate change decimate some bat populations, we can help scientists monitor and protect them. Below, our editors highlight five bat-related citizen projects from around the globe. Find more … Read more “Citizen Science for Bat Fans!”
Categories: Animals, Bats, Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Newsletter
Citizen Science Techniques Each of the thousands of citizen science projects are unique, yet many rely on similar techniques and methods. Below, we highlight five that use some of the most popular methods including: the use of low cost, portable sensors; bioblitzes; bird banding; standardized surveys; and photography. Find more than 1,600 projects and events … Read more “Methods Matter: Citizen Science Techniques For Exploring Our World”
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Newsletter
We started this year by making you curious about WeCureALZ – a groundbreaking new project that is set to fight Alzheimer’s. Now we want to tell you all about the 'science' in this citizen science project. … Read more
Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Project Profile
