March 30, 2009
Six bonobos, a species of chimpanzee, have died from a flu epidemic in a month at the Lola Ya Bonobo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ten more have contracted the flu.
These are apes in a rehab center, and apparently the flu (we'll assume for the moment that the diagnosis is accurate,…
March 30, 2009
The caption of this photograph at The Guardian says only, "Nowruz celebrations in Afghanistan." Nowruz is the name of the Iranian New Year, which is celebrated in a number of countries by people of several faiths. The baskets of dried fruits eaten during the holiday provide the only visual…
March 29, 2009
This was mysteriously sent to me. I think maybe by god.
March 29, 2009
Check it out.
I saw you working out on that new machine," the personal trainer, folding towels at the counter by the locker room, was saying to some guy he knew. You see more trainers folding towels these days, what with the economy and all.
"The new machine?" was the reply.
"Yea. The wave."
"…
March 29, 2009
OBJECTIVE: To establish if the 'myth' about whether the size of a man's penis can be estimated from his shoe size has any basis, in fact. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Two urologists measured the stretched penile length of 104 men in a prospective study and related this to their shoe size. RESULTS: The…
March 29, 2009
Hanna Rosin paints breast feeding, in a recent item in The Atlantic, as a social requirement for the privileged, a "no-exceptions requirement" and a badge of being a good mother. She also examines the possibility that breast-feeding is " ... an instrument of misery that mostly just keeps women…
March 29, 2009
A new study warns that cold-blooded land animals like lizards and insects in the tropics may wither as the world warms. "Cold-blooded" is the layman's term for ectotherms--animals whose body temperature is contingent on the surrounding environment, rather than internally regulated like that of…
March 28, 2009
Well, I suppose we could go get guns and knives and bludgeons and just go KILL HER. That certainly would be a kind of ironic justice. But since we are all peace loving non violent types, I suppose we are going to have to make sure she does not win the next election. Whatever. But clearly, one…
March 27, 2009
There is a poll on this page that you may be interested in participating in. Hint hint.
Right now the creationists are winning.
March 26, 2009
When I heard the news that day ... Oh boy. I had received an email from a man whom I knew only as the father of a (now former) student. We had met once, a few years ago when his son graduated, and he gave me a very nice bottle of wine, which I shared with a select group of wine experts only last…
March 26, 2009
Most of Prince William Sound's animal populations will someday recover from the lingering effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. One, however, will not: a community of killer whales unlike any other in the world.
"It's a separate population. Their genetics, their acoustics, are different from any…
March 26, 2009
In fact, it IS watching corn grow!
Hat Tip Wired Science
March 26, 2009
...The reason people think that Robin Red Breast is a sign of spring is that we believe that robins fly south for the winter and north for the summer, so when we see them, it must be getting near summer. The fact that many robins don't migrate at all, but simply become reclusive for the winter, is…
March 26, 2009
The following blog post is now required reading for all my students. The comments, in particular.
What one word tips you off that the writer is an idiot?
March 25, 2009
Let's see what's wrong (or right) in this picture:
March 25, 2009
Why are we watching this video again? ...
Because Ghost Bird, the documentary, has been accepted to the Toronto Film Festival. That's kind of a big deal.
Here is the Ghost Bird home page
Here is the film festival guide.
This will be in May.
Fly Ghost bird, Fly!
March 25, 2009
Over 50 scientific societies representing hundreds of thousands of American scientists today publicly urged the Texas Board of Education to support accurate science education....
From the National Center for Science Education
Over 50 scientific societies representing hundreds of thousands of…
March 25, 2009
"All I can say is, 'I'm sorry'"
Hat Tip Feministing
March 25, 2009
this video is comprised of pictures i took of the lunar eclipse on march 3rd 2007 from pendeli mountain in athens, greece. the music is 'odysseus' by niko (www.nikoonline.com).
- Toomanytribles
March 25, 2009
As you know if you read my blog, Trivers Willard is an important theoretical construct which has been tested numerous times. TW works in some species, not in others, and overall, that should be predictable (accroding to TW).
It turns out that finches control the sex of their offspring, and do so…
March 25, 2009
...I am trying to rid the word dilettante of its negative connotations and use it to highlight my interest in scientific research of all kinds. My area of expertise is chemical engineering and food science, however this does not prevent my interest in any other research.
I like any and all science…
March 25, 2009
A small group of us, including at least two IT workers who are not homophobic, went to the Varsity, which is one of the oft' used venues of Cafe Scientific, to see the revitalized Squirrel Nut Zippers. Ben Zvan, who is the only photographer I've ever heard compared to Jesus Christ (who apparently…
March 25, 2009
UPDATE: Read it in his own words! Relive the horror of the road! Cringe as you hear all the gory details of near death and automotive crunchiness, here at Pharyngula!
Myers, trapped in remote region, unable to blog.
UPDATE: Myers has been picked up from the scene by rescue vehicle…
March 25, 2009
"The Bachmann Effect" is now officially a phenomenon.
Danny Thomas made the spit take famous, in his TV show Make Room for Daddy. He's always be drinking a cup of coffee when someone would say something to which he would react with such great and sudden incredulity as to suffer a visceral reaction…
March 24, 2009
PLoS ONE now has a community blog. You an see it here and read Bora's take on it here.
This is in part to mark the fife thousandth paper published by PLoS ONE, and the growth of the on line community to a level that may sustain a community blog. Check it out.
March 24, 2009
Hat Tip Wired Science
March 24, 2009
erp
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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I love Rachel Maddow. You know, in a healthy, non-stalking kinda way. But I do.
March 24, 2009
Tangled Up in Blue Guy examines Genie Scott's testimony in Texas and takes it to another level. Here.
