Hedwig Pöllöläinen
grrlscientist
Posts by this author
May 15, 2007
tags: health, obesity, exercise, employment
This is really nifty, if you ask me. A workstation has been designed by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota that will allow sedentary office staff to work out while they work. This workstation, designed to be used between two and three hours per day, has a…
May 15, 2007
tags: Oekologie, blog carnival
The fifth issue of the new blog carnival, Oekologie is now available for you to read. Even though this is a new blog carnival, it is already receiving lots of submissions, so go over there and check it out!
May 15, 2007
tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, books
I have been reading the rumors that have been flying these past few days that JK Rowling might write another Harry Potter book. This book will likely end up being an encyclopedia of the entire series instead of a true adventure, as the first seven books are.
"…
May 15, 2007
tags: Jerry Falwell, quotes, religion, bigotry
As you probably know, Reverend Jerry Falwell died suddenly today after eating breakfast. It sounds like he died from a heart attack, although no one is quite sure yet. But isn't it interesting that Falwell was once described as having "heart challenges…
May 15, 2007
tags: Wolfowitz, World Bank, politics
It appears that Wolfowitz, who has been the fearless leader of the World Bank, has been abusing and threatening retaliations on senior World Bank staff if his orders for pay rises and promotions for his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, were revealed. According to…
May 14, 2007
tags: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, books
Instead of reviewing new books as I should be doing, I have been nestled in the Harry Potter books, devouring them one last time before the last book in that series is published on 21 July 2007. Those of you who are fans will be pleased to note that JK Rowling…
May 14, 2007
Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus. (spring song).
The photographer writes; [This bird] was scurrying along a wall covered with petroglyphs on the NE side of Chaco Canyon. Perky and hardy little birds, and definitely emblematic of the desert Southwest.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU.
Birds in Science
A…
May 14, 2007
tags: politics, streaming video
For those of you who missed this the first time around, I thought I'd share this with you now. It made me laugh!
May 13, 2007
tags: high-voltage line repairman, unusual jobs, streaming video
This streaming video gives a brief glimpse into the life of a high-voltage wire repairman -- only half a million volts pass over this man's body during the course of his workday! What an amazing job to have [3:18]
May 12, 2007
tags: shark, octopus, streaming video
This video, courtesy of the Seattle Aquarium, shows what happened after the keepers moved a giant octopus into an aquarium containing five-foot sharks. In short; octopus and sharks do not get along with each other [2:02]
Giant octopus vs shark
May 12, 2007
The Asian snake, Rhabdophis tigrinus, obtains toxins from toads it eats and uses the potent chemicals as a defense against predators, according to a new study.
Image: Old Dominion University, Alan Savitsky.
[much larger image]
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever…
May 12, 2007
tags: Rhabdophis tigrinus, snake, toad, toxins, evolution
The Asian snake, Rhabdophis tigrinus, obtains toxins from toads it eats and uses the potent chemicals as a defense against predators, according to a new study.
The toxin-containing glands are clearly visible on this juvenile snake as a…
May 12, 2007
tags: advertisement, bird, parrot, streaming video
I normally pass up streaming videos that are advertisements, but this one is so cute that I had to break precident and share it with you. This ad was a commercial for Budweiser beer during the 2006 SuperBowl game. But before you view it, let it be…
May 11, 2007
tags: war profiteering, KBR, politics, streaming video
Ninety-nine dollars to wash a bag of laundry?? That's what it costs a soldier to get his laundry done for him -- because he is not allowed to do it for himself. This war is just one huge mess .. when will this country ever leave Iraq? After KBR…
May 11, 2007
tags: human body farm, vultures, forensic science, Texas State University
Texas State University found that its plans to build a human "body farm" have been canceled due to fears of vultures flocking towards the smell of decomposing corpses. A human body farm is a facility where human corpses are…
May 11, 2007
"Fajada Butte"
The photographer writes; I have been bumming around the Four Corners area this week on a brief archeology/astronomy field trip between semesters. [This image is] from Chaco Canyon, the ancient Puebloan site in NW New Mexico. The crumbling walls of Hungoe Pavi, one of the Chaco "…
May 11, 2007
tags: snail, bird, parasite, streaming video
This streaming video describes the life cycle of parasite worms that infect both snails and birds. Basically, these worms control their snail host's brain and thereby alter the snail's behavior such that it enhances the chances that it will spread the…
May 11, 2007
The decomposed corpse of a German man was found in his bed after nearly seven years, said police from the western city of Essen. The man was 59 and unemployed, and probably died of natural causes on 30 November 2000, which was the date he received a letter from the Welfare Office that was…
May 10, 2007
tags: bipolar disorder, manic-depressive illness, mental health, molecular biology
Bipolar disorder depends upon small, combined effects from variations in many different brain genes, none of which is powerful enough by itself to cause the disease, according to a new genome-wide study. Despite this…
May 10, 2007
tags: bird of paradise, birds, streaming video
This streaming video shows the courtship behavior of several species of birds of paradise. From BBC's Planet Earth series [1:55].
May 10, 2007
Anolis lizards, Anolis allisoni, from Cuba. A study in the journal Nature is shedding new light on how size differences between males (right) and females (left) may affect the lizard's ability to adapt to new environments.
Image: BBC News.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be…
May 10, 2007
tags: art museum, humor, streaming video
This streaming video also shows us a little about most people's child-rearing techniques -- which leave something to be desired.
May 9, 2007
tags: Carnival of the Vanities, blog carnivals
The 242 issue of the Carnival of the Vanities is now available. This blog carnival links to the very best recent writing across the blogosphere, regardless of topic area.
May 9, 2007
tags: five-second rule, food, bacteria, microbiology
Have you ever heard of the five-second rule, where you can pick up food that has fallen on the floor within five seconds and eat it without risk of illness? Do you follow it? In 2003, a then-high school science intern at the University of…
May 9, 2007
"Western screech owl"
The photographer writes; The western screech owls are nesting in northern California, and this particular owl is giving the evil eye to the western gray squirrel climbing down the tree. Only the squirrel's tail was visible when the photo was taken by a remote camera just…
May 9, 2007
tags: font type, font style, Helvetica
Did you know that today is the 50th birthday of that horrid font type, Helvetica? In honor of this seemingly auspicious occasion, Helvetica fans all over the world are celebrating (or reviling) it.
Those who love Helvetica claim that it sends a message of…
May 9, 2007
tags: Julia Sweeney, humor, streaming video
Some religious humor that might appeal to you.
Julia Sweeney performs a hilarious and moving excerpt from her new one-woman play, "Letting Go of God." Sweeney is a comedian and playwright, well-known both for her stint on Saturday Night Live (She created…
May 8, 2007
tags: coconut oil, gasoline substitute, alternative fuel, Bougainville, South Pacific Islands
Have you heard about the clever people who live on the island of Bougainville, near Papua New Guinea? They are developing mini-refineries that produce a coconut oil to replace diesel fuel for their cars.…
May 8, 2007
tags: Harry Potter, books, book review
One of my devoted blog readers must be able to read crystal balls because he mercifully sent me a book about Harry Potter. Even though I have been going crazy waiting for the next movie and the last book to come out in July, this gift is a book that I never…
May 8, 2007
Sombrero galaxy, also known as M104, is one of the largest galaxies in the Virgo cluster, about 28 million light years from Earth. The Chandra X-ray image (in blue) shows hot gas in the galaxy and point sources that are a mixture of objects within the Sombrero, as well as quasars in the…