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Joshua Rosenau spends his days defending the teaching of evolution at the National Center for Science Education. He is also a graduate student at the University of Kansas, completing a doctorate in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. When not modeling species distributions or battling creationists, he writes about developments in progressive politics and the sciences.
The opinions expressed here are his own, do not reflect the official position of the NCSE. Indeed, older posts may no longer reflect his own official position.
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Biology:
This is the third of four videos NCSE commissioned to help explain how evolution works, and to help people understand the threats posed to accurate science education. It's remarkable what you can fit into a brief video. It's also worth noting that a lot won't fit into a video. If the issue of eye evolution is of interest, check out this recent article from LifeScientist. The Nature Reviews Neuroscience paper they discuss is more technical, but is a really good review....
Posted on May 6, 2008 6:41 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Seeing the sun set across Pinnacles National Monument, while the full moon rises out past the San Andreas fault (below the fold) is pretty awesome. It would've been nice to see some condors, too. Though the horned lizard was pretty excellent....
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Posted on April 21, 2008 11:12 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
My birthday is mere months away, and Stephanie Metz's beautiful art would be a lovely gift for me or anyone else whose opinion you respect. I happen to think the teddy bear skulls are a bit twee, but this is badass: Yes, children, I said a dirty word, but no other word can accurately describe any skull that has been lovingly crafted out of felt. The posters showing embryos made out of felt would also make nice gifts....
Posted on April 10, 2008 7:02 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Daigoro is a bipedal alligator, and according to the Mainichi (Japan) Daily News, has "walk[ed] into the hearts of aquarium visitors" at the Marine Plaza Miyajima in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture. The dwarf caiman alligator has been standing on its hind legs occasionally for a couple of years. Daigoro is, presumably, planning to follow the course of all bipedal reptiles, to either be killed by a giant meteorite, or go to law school. It is left as an exercise for the reader to determine which outcome would be worse for the rest of us....
Posted on April 7, 2008 7:44 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Congratulations to Dakota Abbot, this year's champion muskrat skinner, and the new Miss Outdoors: "Oh my God!" a boy in the audience yelled, at the sight of a woman in perfect makeup with her hand inside a muskrat. Then, from another part of the crowd: an older woman's voice: "She's good." I wish Ms. Abbott the very best of luck in her pursuit of a marine biology degree. She's clearly well-qualified. While you're at it, check out the video of the event. Hat tip to: Digital Cuttlefish....
Posted on March 21, 2008 7:20 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
G. Wayne Clough, president of Georgia Tech, was tapped to run the Smithsonian Institution. As we've reported, he steps into a deeply troubled organization. His predecessor allowed infrastructure to crumble, appropriated museum artifacts for personal use in his offices, and focused more on cozying up to corporate sponsors than on the scientific and educational mission of the Smithsonian. In many ways, Clough seems well-suited to restoring faith in the Smithsonian. He comes with an academic background, which means he will understand the needs of his staff, and appreciate the balance between the public face of museum exhibits and the important...
Posted on March 17, 2008 4:20 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
A fatal feline attack in San Francisco leads to thoughts Robert Frost and national politics.
Posted on December 26, 2007 5:23 PM • 3 Comments •
Origins of life researcher Leslie Orgel died a few days ago. He was trained as a chemist, and had produced a number of important insights into the likely paths toward the origins of self-replication. His greatest cultural impact probably came from the promulgation of "Orgel's Rules," especially the second: "Evolution is cleverer than you are." The first is the decidedly less prosaic "Whenever a spontaneous process is too slow or two inefficient, a protein will evolve to speed it up or make it more efficient." The 80 year-old researcher passed away in San Diego, where he had worked for many...
Posted on November 1, 2007 4:52 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Help needy kids experience nature.
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Posted on October 1, 2007 12:01 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Reposted from the old TfK, in honor of the late, great Greg Beck. Over at Death's Door, there is a certain degree of consternation about the possibility that mallard ducks would be gang raping each other. There is a bunch of confusion wrapped around that so let's start slow. I also wasn't aware that duck's had duck cocks to gangbang with. I never eaten a duck but I've eaten a lot of chicken, and when you buy the chicken in the store and pull out that little pouch of giblets and shit, I've never seen a tiny chicken cock sittin...
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Posted on September 18, 2007 12:47 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
