grrlscientist | March 21, 2008tags: Easter bunny, cute bunny, pets, streaming video
This is especially for the kids out there .. a brief glimpse into the Easter bunny's nonworking hours [1:38].
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, dog walking, wild birds, ground-nesting birds, conservation, peer-reviewed research
Dog walking in natural areas harms wild birds, according to recently published research.
Millions of people walk their dogs every day, and many of them enjoy walking their dogs in natural areas where birds and other wild animals live. Unfortunately, a scientific paper was recently published showing that the presence of dogs, even when they are on a leash in these natural areas, seriously interferes with wild birds' reproductive success and even scares many of them away.
This…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: Decapoda, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
These are two marine crab species (which ones?
and the one on the left appears to have eggs coating her upper carapace)
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the downtown-bound landing of the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: Alzheimer's Disease, Terry Pratchett, research, fund raising, medical research
Thanks to one of my readers, I just learned that atheist and writer Terry Pratchett, author of the bestselling Discworld novels, has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease. He has donated half a million pounds (approx $1 million) to Alzheimer's research and appeared in the media highlighting the low levels of research funding that Alzheimer's disease receives. As a result, millions of loyal readers from around the world have responded and are helping to match Terry's donation. If you would…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008Good news: yesterday, I wrote an essay about Arthur C. Clarke for SEED magazine and it was published on their on-line site today. I am so pleased that something I wrote was finally recognized as being worthy of publication "for reals", although, now that I read it today, there are a dozen things that I'd like to fix and change (this is why blog writing is superior to other forms of writing: we are allowed to edit our pieces until they satisfy us).
On the other hand, I wrote that piece in only a few hours -- devoting two hours to an essay that I threw away after I'd finished it, and another…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Male Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: bring your daughter to war day, humor, satire, streaming video
Girls between the ages of 8 and 14 spent the day helping their parents fight insurgents and defuse mines in Iraq [1:22].
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008tags: blog carnivals, Carnival of Education
The 163rd edition of the Carnival of Education is now available for you to enjoy. Wow, it's spring break already?
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008tags: Osteichthyes, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
This is a tropical marine fish species (which one?)
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the downtown-bound landing of the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Female Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008I am very excited because one of my friends, a professor of ornithology at Kansas State University, has invited me to visit him and his female companion in Kansas! Specifically, I will be staying for one week in "the Little Apple" as the city is apparently known. I will bring my binoculars, camera and laptop, so I will be posting updates and pictures whenever possible. My hosts have wifi, so I will be able to easily stay in touch on my blog.
So this is my tenative itinerary, for those who are interested, and for those who might be in the area and wish to meet;
Tuesday (25 March): arrive at…
grrlscientist | March 19, 2008tags: Shadow puppets, streaming video
This is the 7th Annual Helpmann Awards in 2007 featuring Raymond Crowe doing "Shadow Puppets" [2:17].
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: Osteichthyes, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
A great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda,
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the downtown-bound landing of the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
Read more about the AMNH tile artworks and see the AMNH tile artworks photographic archives -- with all the animals identified.
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, birds, aves, ornithology, Zosterops somadikartai, Togian white-eye, Indonesia, Sulawesi
An undated artist's rendering of Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye.
This small greenish bird that has been playing hide-and-seek with ornithologists on a remote Indonesian island since 1996, but was declared a newly discovered species on March 14, 2008 and promptly recommended for endangered lists.
Image: Agus Prijono.
Sharp-eyed scientists have discovered a new species of bird on a remote Indonesian archipelago in the Southern Pacific Ocean. A formal description…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: birds,Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, ornithology, Image of the Day
Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata,
in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the Southern Yucatan
in the state of Campeche. They are endemic to the region
and are known locally as both Pavo Ocelado or Guajalote Ocelato.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
Kevin writes:
The Ocellated Turkey, Meleagris ocellata, is one of only two species of wild turkey. The Ocellated Turkey is near-endemic to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The species' range also extends a bit into Guatemala and Belize, but all total encompasses…
grrlscientist | March 18, 2008tags: amphibians, frogs, toads, salamanders, streaming video
Frogs Forever? Only if we leap in to save them. There's a global crisis facing all amphibians -- frogs, toads and salamanders -- they're vanishing before our very eyes. [2:11].
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008tags: echinodermata, photography, subway art, AMNH, NYC, NYCLife
Perhaps this is a bat star, Asterina miniata?
as portrayed in tiles on the walls of the downtown-bound landing of the NYC subway stop (A-B-C)
at 81st and Central Park West. (ISO, no zoom, no flash).
Image: GrrlScientist 2008. [wallpaper size].
The doctors instructed me to move my lower arm around without moving my upper arm at all, as a form of physical therapy, to make sure I don't lose my range of motion and fine motor skills in my left hand and arm. Well, that assignment seemed the perfect excuse to get out there and…
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008tags: birds,Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Immature Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, in the Yucatan.
Image: Kevin Sharp. [larger size].
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008I visited the orthopedic surgeons at the hospital this morning just before the crosstown traffic in NYC became unbearable due to the evil influence of yet another holiday parade, this time, the annual Saint Patrick Day's Parade. While there, I was known as "proximal humerus"; as in "here's the proximal humerus's x-rays" and "the proximal humerus thinks she has a proximal ulnar fracture, can you check that out while you are at it?"
The bad news; after some very painful moving of my lower arm to maneuver it into a small portable x-ray machine, the docs did find a second fracture, at the…
grrlscientist | March 17, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, in Central Park.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
Birds in Science
In all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities -- songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds -- the brain structures for singing and learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement, researchers have discovered. The team also found that areas in charge of movement share many functional similarities with the brain areas for singing. This suggests that the brain…