biology
Category archives for biology
A New Challenge, A New Job, and A New Chance
Posted by Ethan on November 15, 2011 “If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.” -Abraham Lincoln It was nearly four years ago that I started blogging back at my old site, branching out from the hardcore research of physical cosmology and the teaching of physics and astronomy, and into…
I am a Scientist
Posted by Ethan on October 24, 2011 “Science is facts; just as houses are made of stone, so is science made of facts. But a pile of stones is not a house, and a collection of facts is not necessarily science.” -Jules Henri Poincaré The higher you fall from, the faster you’ll be moving when you hit the ground. Seems like the…
How stable is the stuff we’re made out of?
Posted by Ethan on September 1, 2011 “I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.” -Robert Browning Like everything else that we know of in the Universe — galaxies, stars, and planets — human beings are made out of atoms. And just like galaxies, stars and planets,…
Open Wide! (What do you mean, my eyes?)
Posted by Ethan on February 18, 2011 “I’ll do my dreaming with my eyes wide open, and I’ll do my looking back with my eyes closed.” -Tony Arata Would you believe me if I told you that — in terms of your own eyes — you saw better at night than you did during the day? It’s true! But it doesn’t have…
Natural Selection and Macroevolution in your lifetime
Posted by Ethan on October 22, 2010 “I don’t think we came from monkeys. I think that’s ridiculous. I haven’t seen a half-monkey, half-person yet.” -Glenn Beck I don’t often write about biology here, but as many of you know, I often write about the history of the Universe, and that includes the Sun, the planets of the Solar System, and the…
A planet with liquid water?! The first real candidate!
Posted by Ethan on September 29, 2010 “Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl. ‘This porridge is too hot!’ she exclaimed. So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl. ‘This porridge is too cold,’ she said. So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge. ‘Ahhh, this porridge is just right,’ she said happily and she ate it…
“Your Theory Doesn’t Do Everything!” And That’s Okay.
Posted by Ethan on June 12, 2010 “If we lived on a planet where nothing ever changed, there would be little to do. There would be nothing to figure out. There would be no impetus for science. And if we lived in an unpredictable world, where things changed in random or very complex ways, we would not be able to figure things…
How Well Can You See? An Astronomy Test!
Posted by Ethan on June 2, 2010 “Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” -Vaclav Havel It’s arguable that vision is the most important tool that an astronomer can have. This was particularly important back before the invention of the telescope, as the greatest…
Don’t you hear that?
Posted by Ethan on May 10, 2010 “Music is perpetual, and only the hearing is intermittent.” -Thoreau A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went to the circus together. Someday, I vowed, I’ll be strong, flexible, and stable enough to do the amazing hand-balancing tricks we saw. And all the while, the six-year-old girl behind us screamed her piercing, high-pitched…
When I make an assumption…
Posted by Ethan on November 10, 2009 Yesterday, I talked about why we should look for a history of life on Mars, and had an article for SEED magazine to that effect. After all, we’ve made some recent geological finds that are surefire indicators of past liquid water on Mars, and possible indicators of past life. While most of the article was…
