Profile
bioephemera is art + biology - anything and everything from representations of science in art and literature to the neuroscience of aesthetics. Along with lots of other stuff that's just plain interesting.
Jessica Palmer is a biologist & artist currently based in Washington, DC. She spent the last few years teaching at a small state college out West, and now plays with science policy. Her homepage includes the bioephemera archives & a gallery of her work.
Note: the contents of this blog are the personal opinions of the author, completely independent of any organizations with which she is affiliated.
Search this blog
Recent Posts
- Another AAAS meeting! Hooray.
- "Between me, the rock, and my diamond chainsaw"
- Increase Your Dynamic Range and Sensitivity!
- Animal Logic
- Invading Hands, Sleeping Beauties (bioephemera archive)
- Heart fibers
- Mmmmm, ice cream.
- Cabinet of Curiosities: Edition #6
- The Senate Likes DNA Too!
- Is the World a Better Place? Is This a Better Graph?
Categories
- Artists & Art
- Biology
- Blogs and Blogging
- Books
- Cephalopodmania
- Conspicuous consumption
- Department of the Drama
- Destinations
- Education
- Ephemera
- Film, Video & Music
- Frivolity
- Littademia
- Museum Lust
- My Artwork
- Photography
- Poetry
- Retrotechnology
- Science
- Science in Culture & Policy
- Wonder Cabinets
- Words
Recent Comments
- Gray Gaffer on "Between me, the rock, and my diamond chainsaw"
- Gray Gaffer on "Between me, the rock, and my diamond chainsaw"
- M on Cabinet of Curiosities: Edition #6
- idlemind on Increase Your Dynamic Range and Sensitivity!
- markmier on Another AAAS meeting! Hooray.
- Jessica Palmer on Increase Your Dynamic Range and Sensitivity!
- floatingrunner on Cabinet of Curiosities: Edition #6
- Trevor on Increase Your Dynamic Range and Sensitivity!
- Jan-Maarten on Increase Your Dynamic Range and Sensitivity!
- Anon on "Between me, the rock, and my diamond chainsaw"
Archives
Blogroll
- 3 Quarks Daily
- A Repository for Bottled Monsters
- A Snail's Eye View
- Agence Eureka
- Athanasius Kircher Society
- Beagle Project
- Bibliodyssey
- Biocurious
- Biologists Helping Bookstores
- Biology in Science Fiction
- Biomedicine on Display
- Biosingularity
- BLDGBLOG
- Blog of a Bookslut
- Boing Boing
- Brass Goggles
- Cabinet Magazine
- Cabinet of Wonders
- Cognitive Daily
- Collision Detection
- Cosmic Variance
- Crooked Timber
- Curious Expeditions
- Daily Dose of Imagery
- Dandelion Diva
- DCist
- Drawing the MotMot
- Dream Tree
- Ectoplasmosis
- The Edge
- Edward_winkleman
- Evilutionary Biologist
- Endicott Redux
- Female Science Professor
- feuilleton
- Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog
- Hairy Museum
- Hungry Hyaena
- In The Middle
- Inky Circus
- Language Hat
- Language Log
- Laughing Squid
- Lawgeek
- Madam Fathom
- Making Light
- Mapping the Marvellous
- Mind Hacks
- Mixing Memory
- Monster Brains
- Morbid Anatomy
- Name Inspector
- Nanopublic
- Neurocritic
- Neurontic
- Neurophilosophy
- NextNature
- Noutopia
- Omics! Omics!
- Patent Baristas
- Phantasmaphile
- Pharyngula
- Poetry Daily
- Pure Pedantry
- Rag and Bone Blog
- Rigor Vitae
- Science Musings
- Scientific Activist
- SCQ
- Simplistic Art
- Street Anatomy
- The Becker-Posner Blog
- The Loom
- Thus Spake Zuska
- Via Negativa
- Witless Wanderer
- The Worlds Fair
- xkcd
- Zooillogix
- Zymoglyphic Curators Blog
Shiny Objects
Recently Read
About
A biologist-artist with an excruciatingly abbreviated attention span, I ask many annoying questions, and dabble in pretty much everything except music and math. My addictions include watercolors, illustrated books, old houses, jogging, The New Yorker, my iPod nano, collecting insects, and rambling conversations with clever people.
On some inarticulate level, I meant to become a Victorian-style naturalist with an extensive library of classics, who sits in the sun drawing insects and leaves, and perhaps writing the occasional sonnet. Unfortunately, I'm also a reductionist with the urge to dissect cellular mechanisms down to genes and proteins. I somehow didn't realize until well into my PhD that molecular geneticists work not in bucolic fields or quiet libraries with leather armchairs, but in sterile labs with very peculiar odors. They don't usually draw, and sonnets are right out. Oops.
For the past several years I've been teaching anatomy and physiology, developmental biology, genetics, and introductory philosophy of science at a small college in a rural state. Last year, I remodeled my house, sold it along with most of my belongings, packed the station wagon, and moved back to civilization* (*primarily defined as ready access to sushi). I've now left the West coast for the East coast, to explore a different side of biology - a side involving neither minipreps nor fly pushing. Ah, there's nothing like starting one's career all over at 31.
Bioephemera is my outlet for random observations and connections about pretty much everything. We'll always circle back to biology and art, but the trajectory will be roundabout, cephalopods and medievalists lurk in the undergrowth, and you should probably pack a picnic lunch.
Caveat lector.



