bioephemera
Posts by this author
September 19, 2008
Blue Forest
Kevin O'Neill
io9.com posed its readers a challenge a few months back: design a synthetic lifeform using BioBricks. They didn't want another Spore creature - it had to be something biologically plausible, and preferably, functional. The question: would those readers voluntarily do the…
September 18, 2008
Vernon Grant, 1944
If you enjoyed the vintage public health posters I wrote about a while ago, you might want to stop in and see the National Academies' new exhibition, "An Iconography of Contagion." (Such a great title!)
Over twenty public health posters from 1920-1990 will be on display until…
September 17, 2008
Skeleton appetizer plates
Pottery Barn
I usually just toss my Pottery Barn catalogs, because I no longer have a house to decorate. But the Halloween edition just arrived and there's some good medical-specimen stuff in there. In addition to the skeleton appetizer plates above, which I totally covet…
September 15, 2008
(1) John McCain, photographed for the Atlantic Monthly, 2008; (2) inset: Atlantic Monthly cover, October 2008; (3) monkey portrait. Photographer: Jill Greenberg
All of these portraits are by Jill Greenberg, but one of them is getting a bit more attention than the others. Guess which!
Before this…
September 15, 2008
John, the self-appointed 'Neurosigntist,' turned up this Korean paragon of inscrutably bizarre signage:
I can't possibly ask the obvious questions any better than John does:
Are women as a group prohibited from using the teeter-totter, or is the sign only prohibiting women dressed in Victorian…
September 15, 2008
Today, Sciencedebate 2008 got as close as it's likely to come to its original goals: John McCain released his answers to the "14 top science questions facing America." Barack Obama released his two weeks ago, so you can now compare the candidates' positions on those 14 science questions side-by-…
September 14, 2008
Pam at Phantasmaphile has just written an MSN travel guide for the incorrigibly curious, called "An Old-World Sense of Wonder." Pam kicks off her list of wonder cabinet destinations with three NYC shops I plan to visit next month: Obscura Antiques and Oddities (280 East 10th Street), de Vera (1…
September 11, 2008
19th century anatomical study cabinet #1Alex cf, 2008
The undisputed modern master of the horrifying cryptozoological specimen is Alex cf, bane of vampires and cthulhu spawn. Unfortunately, there's an immense demand for his work, and he isn't very prolific. So how's a girl to fill her curiosity…
September 11, 2008
Madonna and HorseflyJohn Brophy, 2008
Pam over at Phantasmaphile never fails to discover wonderful, quirky new art. Her latest find: John Brophy. His "Madonna and Horsefly" kind of freaks me out, not in a bad way, but because I've been planning some paintings along this exact theme! But Brophy's…
September 11, 2008
Yesterday the large hadron collider started up successfully, and the world did not end. But it will still be months before we have exciting collision data, so don't hold your breath waiting for that Higgs boson - unless you want to buy a stuffed one at Particle Zoo:
Wait - a Higgs boson costs…
September 10, 2008
Just in case you aren't following the savage recipe war between Isis the Scientist and PhysioProf, I have to call your attention to PP's latest entry: it's a tentacle salad. You CAN have your cute little squid, and eat it too!
Despite the attractiveness of Isis' steak salad, when it comes to…
September 7, 2008
Prototypical "bioephemera" - butterflies and flowers - as seen last Saturday at the wonderful Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown. I think it's a palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes), which is common to DC/Virginia; but I'm not sure. (Unfortunately I only brought my iPhone, not my real…
September 6, 2008
This is one of the most bizarre commercials I've ever seen (and yes, I'm including the Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld spot in that sample). It's a French ad for Orangina, which I discovered via Stephanie at almostdiamonds. It appears to be an innuendo-drenched Technicolor musical extravaganza set in a…
September 4, 2008
DC has some random late-night destinations. One of my favorite dives is Pharmacy Bar, with its medicine-cabinet theme. (You'll note the banner also says "Krogs Aptieka" - Aptieka is Latvian for pharmacy!)
September 3, 2008
Last night the staffer and I were watching the Republican National Convention when we noticed an unfortunate, unintentionally hilarious staging problem. Fred Thompson was speaking on the arena's glossy black stage, with a HUGE projected photo of John McCain behind him. The photo of McCain was taken…
September 1, 2008
light table with brain specimen slices
National Museum of Health and MedicineNeuroanatomical collection
A few months ago I took a tour of the National Museum of Health and Medicine's neuroanatomical research collection. It's a remarkable hoard of preserved and sectioned human brains, most…
August 31, 2008
My friend mdvlist sent me the link to some rather odd educational materials, called "Lyrical Life Science." They're folk songs set to familiar tunes, but the lyrics are all biology. I realize that folk songs about science have a storied history. But these are kinda weird - like "Sirenians" set to "…
August 28, 2008
Tia ResleureWinged Cat
Mixed Media, 2002
Speaking of possible hoaxes, I noticed thanks to Zooillogix that the Chinese winged cat story is making the rounds again. I blogged about this in May 2007 on bioephemera - apparently they haven't even changed the photo accompanying the story!
Although the…
August 28, 2008
A sad story from Bangladesh: a baby boy born with two heads has passed away at just two days old. What makes the story especially sad is that apparently the boy, named Kiron, was doing surprisingly well shortly after birth, even eating, but his parents could not afford further medical treatment at…
August 27, 2008
Surgical suture sampler, circa 18th cen.
Zurich Medical History Museum
Photo from Ickybitty's photostream
. . . unless your grandma was a trauma surgeon. This antique sampler from the Medical History Museum in Zurich represents a variety of stitch techniques appropriate for different anatomical…
August 26, 2008
Forestle uses the Google search algorithm, but the ad revenues associated with each search go to prevent deforestation (via donations to the Nature Conservancy).
According to the site, the average search saves about 0.1 square meter (0.11 sq. yd) of rainforest - approximately the surface of your…
August 25, 2008
The Cure of Folly (The Extraction of the Stone of Madness)
oil on board
attributed to Hieronymous Bosch*, c. 1475-1490
Museo del Prado, Madrid
At one point or another, Hieronymous Bosch must have turned his paintbrush to every bizarre practice known to the fifteenth century Dutch mind, and this…
August 24, 2008
A great gift for the medical history junkie, from Manifesto Letterpress: twelve "Dreade of Death" letterpress bookplates ($9.95 on sale). The designs are also available as coasters.
Manifesto also has skeleton and microscope letterpress postcards for the scientist in your life.
August 22, 2008
For the cephalophile's gift registry: a large octobowl by Hudson Beach Glass. Available here and elsewhere.
August 21, 2008
Today I wandered over to the National Zoo and saw the baby golden lion tamarins, who are just about a month old now. I've never seen anything so cute in a zoo in my life. The babies leap on any adult in reach and cling as the adults scramble across branches - clearly raising these babies is a team…
August 21, 2008
Bibliodyssey just published an outstanding collection of illustrations depicting the development of the microscope. I recently saw these antique microscopes at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, and I enjoyed trying to match my photos with the engravings.
This ornately decorated…
August 20, 2008
Check it out! For my birthday, my mom sent me two little bird skulls! They weigh almost nothing - I can't even feel them in my hand.
I guess I have to forgive my mom for some of the embarrassing things she did to me while I was a teenager; few girls have a mom who will collect skulls for them,…
August 19, 2008
Very Slow, Very TiredMachine-Animals
Nicholas Lampert, 2006
I promised last week to review the MoMA exhibition "Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities." Since making that promise, I've heard from several more friends that they've been to see it - so perhaps this review is preaching to the choir! I…
August 19, 2008
My friend Don Engel, a physicist, is running for delegate to the Maryland Assembly. In addition to understanding math far better than I ever will, he's extremely web-savvy, and has harnessed Facebook to mobilize supporters.
A few days ago, Don sent out this link to his ElectBlue page:
As a…