Citizen Science Center

Hummingbird (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve always had a soft spot for hummingbirds; they are tiny, pugnacious, fast, and beautiful. They are tough too; many hummingbirds migrate incredibly long distances.

All of that comes at a cost, however: hummingbirds must eat several times their weight in nectar daily to stay alive. This means they may be especially vulnerable to climate change, as changes in local flower crops can mean starvation for the bitty birds. Recent studies suggest that there could be a mismatch between flowering times and the arrival of hummingbirds in their breeding areas.

The Audubon Society wants to know how this may be impacting the hummingbirds. To that end, the organization has started Hummingbirds@Home and it wants you to help. All you need to do is register with the site, find a patch where hummingbirds are likely to visit, and observe it regularly. Then you can report your data via an iPhone or Android App, or simply visit the main website and login there. There is no cost to download or join, and you don’t need to have a hummingbird feeder either.

The project will also help you to learn about hummingbirds and flowers, as the program provides images of the most likely species you will see in your observations. As data starts coming in, the Society will build an interactive map that you can explore as well. The project is likely to continue over several seasons as well.

And hey — in addition to helping science, this project provides another excuse to get out in your garden this spring. What more could you ask for?

A screen capture of the Marblar website

Something a bit different for today’s entry, as this one isn’t strictly citizen science, but does tap into the scientist and inventor in all of us.

Marblar is a new platform designed to help find new uses for unused inventions. Anyone with a bit of lateral thinking ability, or a flair for marketing and commercialization, is invited to login and come up with ideas on how to deploy a technology. It has a game-like design, wherein you collect points, or “marbles” for submitting your ideas, and you have a chance to win cash as well.

All of the technology has been patented and published and is in the open domain. The site is funded by listing fees from the tech holders.

The site is the brainchild of Daniel Perez, and Mehmet Fidanboylu, both of whom are PhD students at Oxford and King’s College London, respectively.

“It is like a big game where many minds work together to realise the promise of science. Working with tech holders, we find the best technology deserving of a second look and transform these into challenges for the crowd of Marblars,” they say via the site FAQ. “The best ideas win points, kudos, and prizes. Best yet anyone can tackle any challenge. We don’t care what your background is…we care about your applied brilliance.”

For more information about Marblar, have a look at their learn more page.

What you’re missing: The constellation Orion, imaged at left from dark skies, and at right from Orem, UT a city of about half a million people. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

City dwellers might not realize it, but they’re missing out on some great views… of the sky. Light pollution from sources like street lights and advertising marquees washes out all but the brightest of stars.

A new app just released for the Android OS, called “The Loss of the Night” is designed to find out exactly how bad the light pollution is. The app helps measure skyglow by learning which stars are visible or invisible to the naked eye at the user’s location.

According to Christopher Kyba of the Institute for Space Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin, it works like a game — it guides you to a certain star and asks if you can see it. Based on your response it then asks you for a new star that’s either brighter or darker.

In addition to helping scientists quantify the problem, there’s a benefit to the user. “People who use the app also find that they end up learning the names of stars and constellations that they didn’t know before,” said Kyba.

Android users can download the app from this link at Google Play. The “Loss of the Night” app was produced by the Verlust der Nacht collaboration.

iPhone users, meanwhile, can also contribute. The Dark Sky Meter project, set up by Norbert Schmidt, Mario Hodzelmans, and Harro Treur, helps measure the sky directly using the iPhone camera, and there’s a lite version and a pro version to chose from.

A frog in the evening sun, Quebec, Canada.  (Photo credit: ecologyweb)

Today, I’d like you spare a thought or two for the humble frog.

While they’re not the brightest of beasts, given that frogs live on land and in the water, and have semi-permeable skin, they are very sensitive to pollution and other changes. This makes them a good bellwether for the environment.

That’s why FrogWatch Canada wants your help. Researchers have set up a nationwide program to gather data on frogs (and toads), in an effort to track populations over time. According to the FrogWatch site, the most effective way to track changes in frog and toad populations is to listen for their calls during mating season in the springtime.

To participate in this citizen science project, you first need to go to the website for FrogWatch and select your province, and then click the How To FrogWatch link in the menu. Then you’ll be presented with instructions specific to your area. In Ontario, for example, frogs and toads are active between March and August, and the site suggests that you monitor from spring in your area until about June. All you need to do is listen for them once or twice a week, and then fill in and submit a FrogWatch observation form. You’ll report on roughly how many frogs you hear, and when you hear them.

If you live near a waterway already, or plan to spend time at the cottage this spring, this is a really easy way to contribute to conservation efforts. It’s also a great project to do with your children.

Mosquito nets help, but only so much (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases on the planet. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2010, malaria caused an estimated 660 000 deaths, mostly among African children. That roughly translates into one child death every minute, or the same amount of time it will take you to read this post. Sadly, this does not need to happen: malaria is both preventable and curable.

There are several initiatives around the world to try to reduce malaria mortality, most notably the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Citizen scientists can also do their part by joining Go Fight Against Malaria, via the World Community Grid.

Participating couldn’t be easier: all you need to do is sign up, download the software, and select the projects you want to run. Then you let your computer do all the hard work.

The computer software will evaluate millions of candidate compounds against some 15 different molecular drug targets to discover new inhibitors that can block the activity of  multi-drug-resistant mutant superbugs.