cwilcox

Though you see it cheaply plastered across postcards and knick-knacks, aloha is a very deep and meaningful word in Hawaiian. Its exact origin is somewhat up for debate, though etymologists have said it comes from alo, which means sharing or present, oha meaning joy or affection, and ha, meaning…

Recently, in a post titled "Ecologists: Time to End Invasive-Species Persecution", Brandon Keim discussed a comment published in Nature which argued that the ecological community unfairly vilifies the various plants and animals we've transported around the globe. In some sense, the authors are…

Yes, yes it is. (HT @Oxymoronics)

The finalists have been chosen, and they are a fantastic bunch! Here are the top 9 which made it in: Cosmic Variance: The Fine Structure Constant is Probably Constant Dr. Carin Bondar: Sacrifice on the Serengeti Empirical Zeal: Blind Fish in Dark Caves Shed Light on the Evolution of Sleep Highly…

After day after day of me urging you to vote, the results are finally in for the Semifinalist round for the 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Prize. Some great posts have made the cut - including these ones by Scicurious, Evelyn Mervine, Allie Wilkinson, Brian Switek, and those Southern Fried Boys.…

If you didn't already know because, by chance, you missed my tweets, posts, and facebook updates, there is a science blogging contest going on RIGHT NOW. The 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Prize is currently narrowing down the top 20 posts from 87 nominees. To get through the gauntlet, a post has…

If you didn't already know because, by chance, you missed my tweets, posts, and facebook updates, there is a science blogging contest going on RIGHT NOW. The 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Prize is currently narrowing down the top 20 posts from 87 nominees. To get through the gauntlet, a post has…

If you didn't already know because, by chance, you missed my tweets, posts, and facebook updates, there is a science blogging contest going on RIGHT NOW. The 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Prize is currently narrowing down the top 20 posts from 87 nominees. To get through the gauntlet, a post has…

Today's post is by the fantastic and phenomenal Zen Faulkes. Be sure to check out his blog after you read it! Note; I'm writing this guest post because this week, I'll be a visitor in Christie's current stomping grounds, Hawaii, attending the summer meeting of The Crustacean Society. Christie,…

There are still two days of voting left - so go forth and vote! Even a few votes might make the difference between a post making the cut and falling behind. Here's the full list of entires. There are a ton of great ones - you should read them all! But, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you to…

I've been so busy in NYC for the World Science Festival and seeing friends and family that I completely missed that the voting is open for the 3 Quarks Daily Science Blogging Contest! There are 87 entries duking it out for a place among the top 20 semi-finalists - see the full list here. To get in…

3 Quarks Daily has announced their third annual science blogging prize! This year, the final results will be judged by none other than Lisa Randall, theoretical physicist extraordinaire from Harvard University. Nominations are open now, and are for any post published between May 22nd, 2010 and…

Lionfish are one of my favorite animals (I study them, after all). They're stunningly beautiful. Of course, they're also a devastating invasive species. Though they've only been in the Atlantic Ocean for some 15 years or so, they've taken over reefs, eating everything in their path. They've been…

Osama Bin Laden is dead. At least, that's what we've been told, and I tend to believe such things. But how do they know it's him? Well, they have the visual evidence and the body, for one. But to be certain it's not a look-a-like, the government has taken steps above and beyond to make sure they've…

Who would have thought I'd return home from my Tuesday night exercise class to see this: That's right. I now have 2000 twitter followers - a full four days ahead of the deadline, too! That means the Twitterverse has spoken, and it has commanded a science remake of Friday. I must now consult with…

So, as you might have seen from the picture, I crashed PZ Myers' recent talk at the Society for Developmental Biology. He said a lot of good things - about science communication and the need to make a more direct connection between scientists and the general public, among other things. But the one…

So I have this bad habit of ending up in twitter conversations with Scicurious. Last time, I ended up looking at the taste of dolphin semen. This time I have somehow agreed to a challenge: if I get to 2000 twitter followers by the end of April, I'll do a remake of Rebecca Black's Friday. For those…

See? Photo by Andre Seale You're looking at Me, Lucia Malla (a fellow blogger, but in Portugese! How cool is that?!) and, of course, PZ Myers, just after he got leid. Isn't he just glowing? We managed to track down PZ Myers at the Society for Developmental Biology's West Coast Regional Meeting…

In which I embarrass myself even more. You can download it here Lyrics: PhD (rewrite of Travie McCoy's "Billionaire") I wanna get my PhD so fricking bad Get all of those jobs I never can I wanna be on the cover of Science Magazine And all your future research will cite me Oh every time I close my…

In case you missed it, I delve into the concept of animal happiness and whether wild animals are happier than others in a new post on SciAm's Guest Blog. So hop on over and check it out!

Remember how I sang that awesome evolution rewrite of that song for open mic night at Science Online 2011? No? Oh, I see. You weren't at Science Online 2011. Or, worse, you were, but you missed my stellar performance. No worries - I've been strong-armed into turning it into a recording. Without…

GoDaddy.com Chief Executive Bob Parsons feels absolutely no remorse for his choice to engage in elephant hunts in Zimbabwe. He posted this boastful video saying it's one of the most 'rewarding' things he does (warning - strong stomach required), and continues to defend it even after coming under…

I have to confess, when I saw a global map of average penis size flying around twitter, I was like a eighth grade boy finding his first nudie magazine - I couldn't help but take a peek. After a brief heart attack (it's in cm, not inches), my inner scientist started asking silly questions. You know…

National Geographic has chosen two noble causes for this year's Expedition Granted. The one who wins will get $10,000 to help fight for the cause they are most passionate about. This is what Nat Geo has to say about the contestants: For Dash, that means saving the population of monk seals from…

I was over at my friend Kira's house last night, having some wine and pizza and helping her relax before her PhD defense this afternoon. There was nothing abnormal about the evening at that point, though soon enough, that would change. Within the hour, we would first hear reports of a tsunami…

To a biologist, there are only a few key elements that determine if something is alive: it must undergo homeostasis (stable internal state), metabolism (use energy to maintain organization and homeostasis), respond to its environment, adapt over time and reproduce. It sounds like a simple set of…

Hey fellow bloggers and fans of blogs! I'm happy to report that Tom Paine's Ghost has announced the return of the Post with the Most! The contest rewards a $100 cash prize to the most powerful blog post. Posts are judged on their clarity, originality, integration (must contain at least three forms…

Peta recently stirred up quite a lot of controversy with their banned superbowl ad claiming that "studies have shown that vegetarians are better lovers." Of course, no such research exists, but somehow in trying find where that came from (no pun intended) I ended up in a twitter conversation about…

As you might have noticed, I've added a new badge to the left sidebar. That's right - you can start submitting posts for next year's Open Laboratory already! So find your favorite science blog posts from around the interwebs that were published in the past couple months and get submitting! On a…

Sexual assault is no laughing matter - unless, of course, the would-be rapist isn't human. Who doesn't giggle when they see a small dog humping someone's leg? But what many people don't realize is that reverse bestiality - where an animal makes unwanted sexual advances on a person - is a true…