July 26, 2006
Global Warming Threatens Biodiversity In Australia's Wet Tropics:
"There is a common, though incorrect, perception that the impacts of climate change will be worse in temperate regions than in the tropics," said Williams, principal investigator of the Earthwatch-supported Climate Change in the…
July 26, 2006
This is a long post from January 23, 2005, trying to tie in Creationism and conservatism through psychology:
I always loved animals and always loved science. I read the kids' science and nature books and encyclopedias, as well as adult stuff, like huge volumes about animals e.g., "The Life of…
July 26, 2006
Since my move here to SEED scienceblogs, I made a mistake of assuming, quite wrongly, that most of my visitors are aslo science bloggers (or people interested in science) who, almost by definition, regularly read all of the other SEED sciencebloggers as well.
I forgot that some of the readers are…
July 25, 2006
You and I, as well as all of our mammalian brethren, have just a few photopigments, i.e., colored molecules that change shape when exposed to light and subsequently trigger cascades of biochemical reactions leading to changes in electrical properties of sensory neurons, which lead to modulation of…
July 25, 2006
Grand Rounds Volume 2, Number 44: The Garden is up on Medical Humanities.
School House Rock edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling is up on The Lilting House.
July 25, 2006
Elephants Avoid Costly Mountaineering:
"Using global-positioning system data corresponding to the movements of elephants across the African savannah, researchers have found that elephants exhibit strong tendencies to avoid significantly sloped terrain, and that such land features likely represent a…
July 25, 2006
Sawing The ZZZZZs: Getting Old Needn't Keep You Awake, Geriatricians Say:
"Patients must be educated on normal sleep-related changes but also made aware that sleep problems are not a part of normal aging."
Again we have the problem with the use of the word "normal"! Fragmentation of sleep in old…
July 25, 2006
I wrote this on the Edwards campaign blog on December 15, 2003 and copied it on www.jregrassroots.org a few months later, then posted it again on Science And Politics on August 23, 2004:
An individual can be a President of USA for 4-8 years.
Human civilization is, depending on your definition of…
July 24, 2006
My daughter is getting really good at taking pictures with our digital camera lately. Every now and then, I'll post one or two. Her favourite subject: our cats - below the fold:
Our older cat, Bisquit:
Our kitten, Marbles:
July 24, 2006
The obligatory reading of the day: That right-wing logic:
OK, so I laughed at this one. Because this is what passes for logic not just among rural hicks, but nearly the entire right wing in this country.
July 24, 2006
Norse cult gains among inmates:
A pagan religion that some experts say can be interpreted as encouraging violence is gaining popularity among prison inmates, one of whom is scheduled to be executed this week for killing a fellow prisoner at the foot of an altar.
Michael Lenz is scheduled to die…
July 24, 2006
Including screwing with the people who touch themselves for a charitable cause:
"Overall I think a well-intentioned event has been hijacked by a corporation who don't really care if we have good sex and enjoy masturbation, but just want more viewing figures. I hope people do join in and support the…
July 24, 2006
Found on the Talk About Sleep forums:
We here at Talk About Sleep have recently learned of a very interesting study of sleep and sleep disorders being conducted by a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota. Matthew Wolf-Meyer is a medical anthropologist and is interested in hearing about your…
July 24, 2006
If you are in North Carolina you can listen to State Of Things on your local NPR station. Just about to start (12noon EDT):
What Your Vote Says About You: So you think you're a conservative? Or a liberal? New research shows that you may not know how you fall on the political spectrum after all,…
July 24, 2006
Kevin is popular with the ladies....too popular...
It's been awhile since I've written anything so I decided to write up some stuff. Many cultural things have happened, but very few herps. Nearly everything is from Muyu with an occasional trip here and there.
13 July
This is where I last left off.…
July 24, 2006
Are you listening to the show?
July 23, 2006
Carnival of the Green #37 is up on Myke's Weblog. Of course, this carnival is self-sustainable...
July 23, 2006
My son's birthday is next week. He wants (and we agree) a laptop. He is, surprisingly for a man of his brilliance, a PC guy. Good graphics and sound are very important for the stuff he does (making Flash movies, gaming, etc).
What should we get him? You know we are dirt poor, so steer away from…
July 23, 2006
Officer Faces Court-Martial for Refusing to Deploy to Iraq (from AOL news, sicne NYT is behind the wall):
On Jan. 25, "with deep regret," he delivered a passionate two-page letter to his brigade commander, Col. Stephen J. Townsend, asking to resign his commission. "Simply put, I am wholeheartedly…
July 23, 2006
Phil Plait has an excellent post: Wealth of Science:
Then the author said something that literally startled me:
"Scientists, till recently at least, effectively donated the wealth they created."
He's absolutely right. Again, wealth is not the same as money. Scientists take a relatively small…
July 23, 2006
Inspired by RPM of Evolgen, I ask, how many people in your school/University, or town, or state, are blogging, especially about science?
First, I don't know of anyone from my University who blog privately, though you can probably search the MSNBlogs etc. for schools and locales. But, folks at…
July 23, 2006
The Synapse #3 is up on Neurophilosopher's blog.
Carnival of the Godless #45 is up on Beware of the Dogma.
The Tar Heel Tavern #74 ("BeatTheHeat edition) is up on Moomin' Light.
July 23, 2006
Did you know the origin of the phrase "Every time you masturbate (or do whataver in the context), God kills a kitten"? I just found out that Wikipedia has a full illustrated history - which is hillarious.
July 23, 2006
Pam: 'Creationist' says IRS is out to get him on Kent Hovind
Shakespeare's Sister reviews (again) Fussell's 'Class'
Lance: Castaway (Thoreau, Darwin, Sexton)
Paul the Spud: As The World Burns on Inhofe and global warming.
Pam: Q of the day - Unfortunate interiors on the horrible interior…
July 22, 2006
A question from Fred Gould:
Density dependence or just food limitation - Does anyone know of studies that can determine if the long length of development and small size of adult Aedes coming from containers in natural situations is due to competition among the larvae in the containers for food, or…
July 22, 2006
Yesterday, I heard the announcement on NPR for Diane Rehm's Monday show and recoiled in horror as it appeared she used the terms "animal welfare" and "animal rights" interchangeably.
Unfortunately, these two terms apply to philosophical opposites. It is like interchangeably using the terms "WWII…
July 22, 2006
Carnival of Bad History #7 is up on Hiram Hover's blog. Enjoy.
July 22, 2006
Researchers Identify Very First Neurons In The 'Thinking' Brain:
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the University of Oxford have identified the very first neurons in what develops into the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that makes humans human. The findings published in Nature…
July 22, 2006
Today's Raleigh News and Observer has a nice article about Elizabeth Edwards (the smartest of the 2004 Democratic candidate quartet), her battle with cancer and her new book (including a couple of short excerpts):
Edwards emerges from cancer with grace:
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former…
July 22, 2006
Top secret blogger for CIA fired, shut down:
Christine Axsmith, a software contractor for the CIA, considered her blog a success within the select circle of people who could actually see it.
Only people with top secret security clearances could read her musings, which were posted on Intelink, the…
