Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
June 9, 2007
tags: evolution, creationism, Gallup Poll
I read the results of the most recent Gallup/USA Today poll of 1007 Americans, asking them about evolution and creationism. Not only was it appalling to see how many supposedly intelligent people indulge themselves by believing in the hocus-pocus of…
June 9, 2007
tags: Harry Potter, blog carnival
I know you all are going nuts, waiting for the next Harry Potter movie and for the last HP book to appear in July, but until that happens, here's the 48th edition of the Harry Potter Blog Carnival to keep you satisfied. They included a couple submissions from me,…
June 8, 2007
tags: hot ice, chemistry experiment, kitchen science, streaming video
This streaming video shows a fun chemistry experiment that you can do in your kitchen! Basically, you create a liquid that radiates heat and turns solid when something touches it. [2:25]
June 8, 2007
tags: slow loris, endangered species, conservation, CITES
The Slow Loris, from the genus Nycticebus, is a nocturnal animal endemic to Asia.
This animal's cuteness could very well be its undoing.
Image: Anna Nekaris, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Aww, isn't this cuddly little creature simply…
June 8, 2007
I'm not sure that I like my results.
Which Programming Language are You?
So tell me, dear readers, which programming language are you?
June 8, 2007
tags: king penguin, Image of the Day
A worker from Rome's Biopark zoo holds a Testudo Kleinmanni hatchling, an endangered species also known as the Egyptian tortoise, on 22 May 2007 at the Naples airport.
Image: Tony Gentile (Reuters) [larger]
June 8, 2007
tags: green blood, medicine
It was the middle of the night when surgeons were preparing to perform emergency surgery in Vancouver, Canada. The man they were going to operate on had developed compartment syndrome in his legs after he fell asleep while kneeling. Compartment syndrome is a dangerous…
June 8, 2007
tags: blog awards, Koufax Awards
Wow, surprise, surprise!
I just discovered that Living the Scientific Life was nominated for one of the Koufax Awards, in the category "Most Deserving of Wider Recognition". This category is defined as being for writers who consistently deliver, yet don't receive…
June 8, 2007
tags: global warming, LabLit, science fiction, book review
Fifty Degrees Below (Bantam Books, NYC: 2005) is the second novel in Kim Stanley Robinson's global warming trilogy (the first is Forty Signs of Rain). In this book, the novel shifts its attention from Anna and Charlie Quibler and their…
June 8, 2007
tags: creation museum, humor, streaming video
This streaming video shows Jackie and Dunlap talking about Kentucky's new creation museum, the new Billy Graham library, and Murfreesboro's own bible park. Plus, it includes a sneak peek at the new Ben Stiller comedy "Night at the Creation Museum". [2:…
June 7, 2007
tags: researchblogging.org, archaeopteryx, dinosaurs, mammals, fossils
Archaeopteryx fossil showing the distinctive head-back death pose of many articulated fossilized birds, dinosaurs and early mammals. Archaeopteryx is an ancient feathered dinosaur. This specimen is at the Humboldt Museum,…
June 7, 2007
tags: king penguin, Image of the Day
Hundreds of thousands of penguins, including one of the world's most northerly colonies of King Penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, live on the Falkand Islands archipelago.
Image: BBC News [larger]
June 7, 2007
tags: wii, wiiitis, repetive-motion injuries, medicine
I spend between one and two afternoons at my local watering hole each week (when the library is closed), using their free wifi connection to post entries onto my blog. This watering hole is somewhat ahead of the curve as far as modern…
June 7, 2007
tags: health, blog carnival
The second issue of the new Health Blog Carnival was just published today for you to enjoy and, yes, they included a submission from me, too. Be sure to drop in and give them support!
June 7, 2007
tags: global warming, LabLit, science fiction, book review
A friend of mine who is an editor at Random House Publishers sent me a fascinating book about global warming that I think qualifies as "LabLit." LabLit is short for "Laboratory Literature"; a new genre of fictional science literature that…
June 7, 2007
tags: Big Talk, humor, streaming video
This streaming video is actually a fake ad, showing a humorous situation where a father goes to his son for advice .. because the father is used to "doing things the old fashioned way" [1:10].
June 6, 2007
tags: satire, humor, politics, streaming video
This humorous streaming video written and directed by Andy Cobb examines the value of subpoenas, immunity, and aggressive congressional police work. [1:37]
June 6, 2007
tags: ancient mushroom, amber, parasites, fossils
A 100-million-year-old piece of amber was recently found with an ancient mushroom embedded inside. The amber specimen was collected approximately one year ago in Burma by Ron Buckley, a registered nurse, photographer and collector of amber fossils…
June 6, 2007
tags: blue butterfly, Image of the Day
The large blue butterfly, Maculinea arion, made its earliest recorded appearance at Collard Hill, Somerset, UK, on 2 June. The National Trust-owned site is the only place in the UK where the public have access to see the nation's rarest butterfly.
Image:…
June 6, 2007
tags: purple frog, Suriname, amphibians, Atelopus
A purple fluorescent frog of the genus Atelopus was discovered during a follow-up survey of the Nassau plateau in mid 2006 by Surinamese scientists Paul Ouboter and Jan Mol. The frog is one of 24 new species found in the South American highlands…
June 6, 2007
tags: health, fitness, blog carnival
The 12th issue of the Healthy and Fit Family blog carnival was published yesterday for you to enjoy, and they included one of my submissions in their list.
June 6, 2007
tags: Komodo Dragons, Indonesia, streaming video
This streaming video shows the "small miracles" that are hatching out at the Denver Zoo: the rare and difficult-to-breed Komodo Dragons. Komodo dragons are large lizards native to several small islands in Indonesia [2:25].
June 5, 2007
tags: south Pacific Islands, Polynesians, South American indians
When I was a kid, I was intrigued by Thor Heyerdahl's fascinating book, Kon-Tiki. This book details Heyerdahl's voyage from Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the Tuamoto Islands where his crude raft eventually beached. By carrying out…
June 5, 2007
tags: leopards, cell phones, ringtones, India
A leopard plays with a rubber tire inside its cage at a leopard rescue center in Madharihut, India, May 3, 2007. Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to capture…
June 5, 2007
tags: Dick Cheney, Roy Zimmerman, politics, streaming video
This streaming video is a song by Roy Zimmerman, who is a musician and political humorist. In this video, he chose to sing about Dick Cheney, who is supposedly the sexiest man alive [3:00].
June 4, 2007
tags: lobster, two-toned lobster
Two-toned lobster.
Image: National Geographic.
Last week, an unusual two-toned lobster was captured off Newport, RI. This lobster is so rare that a person only has between a 1 in 50 million to 100 million chance of capturing one. By comparison, the odds of…
June 4, 2007
tags: northern spotted owl, barred owl, old growth forests, logging
Nothern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina.
Image: HRF [larger]
Despite the fact that President Clinton set aside 7 million acres of forest for owl habitat, the northern spotted owl population is still peril. So the…
June 4, 2007
tags: No One Dies Alone, death, hospice care, medicine
One of the jobs I held as I worked my way through school was a nurse's aide in nursing homes and convalescent centers. Even though it was never explicitly part of my job, I sat with people who were dying because I just couldn't bear to know…
June 4, 2007
tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Yellow-eyed Junco, Junco phaeonotus: Resident in the mountains of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Preferred habitats include coniferous forests and pine-oak woods.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger]
Birds…
June 4, 2007
tags: shrimp, pistol shrimp, ocean, streaming video
This streaming video shows how a pistol shrimp hunts; by laying in wait for its prey to wander nearby, then using its claw to blow a stunning blast of water at a speed of 100km/h with temperature 5000C [1:33].