GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
Thanks to The Republican War on Science, by my friend and fellow SciBling, Chris Mooney, I have found a word that takes on more forms in a sentence than any other I've shown to you so far. Chris's book was recently released in the more affordable and updated trade paperback. I am nearly finished with this book and will be reviewing it in the future, after I am sprung from the nuthouse. (I lack consistsent computer access right now necessary to do serious writing).
prima facie (PRAY-muh FEY-shee-ee, FEY-shee, FEY-shuh, PREE-) [Origin: Middle English, manifestly, from Latin prīmā faciē : prīmā, feminine ablative of prīmus, first + faciē, ablative of faciēs, shape, face)]
noun
- at first appearance; at first view, before investigation.
- plain or clear; self-evident; obvious.
- At first sight; before closer inspection: They had, prima facie, a legitimate complaint.
adj
- True, authentic, or adequate at first sight; ostensible: prima facie credibility.
- Evident without proof or reasoning; obvious: a prima facie violation of the treaty.
adv
- at first sight
Usage: The National Academy of Sciences did not find "any serious flaws" in the Seychelles study; industry funding certainly doesn't overturn any that assessment. As a general rule, we should never consider the funding source as a prima facie evidence of either its validity or otherwise.
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