grrlscientist | May 8, 2007tags: salmon, wild Pacific salmon, commercial salmon fishing
Approximately 200 chefs from restaurants in 33 states have signed a letter that was delivered to legislators in Washington DC today, asking Congress to pass laws that will restore healthy habitats for the decimated wild salmon species along the Pacific coast. The letter was inspired by last year's federal shutdown of 88% of the commercial salmon fishing along 700 miles of coastline in California and Oregon and is led by renowned chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in San Francisco.
Marine scientists said the closure was necessary to…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2007tags: spider, tarantula, chicken-eating spider
Spider expert Martin Nicholas was intrigued by the story of a giant South American spider that kills chickens, so he went to Peru to find this mysterious animal. Using a tiny spider cam that he poked down spider holes, he found what he was looking for; a giant spider nearly one foot across that is possibly new to science.
Besides its large size, this spider species was also remarkable because it appears to engage in both parental care and in team hunting practices.
"Seeing the big mama tarantula with the young was remarkable. Most tarantulas…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2007tags: sea serpent, streaming video
Underwater videographer Jay Garbose was diving near Juno Beach, Florida when his camera caught an unusual creature that some call a sea serpent. Jay says when I first saw the giant worm like creature I thought it was a sea cucumber...then I realized how big it was.
The creature, which measured between seven and ten feet, has baffled scientists who have seen the video.
Okay, here it is in its own window.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: employment, politics
Correct me if I am wrong, but has Wolfowitz been in trouble for only a month or so? How many of you have had a job that you could quit due to political reasons, rather than rent reasons? And does that make those people more ethical than the rest of us? I certainly never have had a job in my life I could leave on a moment's notice (and for political reasons) and I suspect that most of you haven't, either;
Kevin Kellems said an ongoing scandal surrounding his boss made it difficult for him to remain effective in his role at the Washington-based institution.
Oh, cry…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: middle east, Onion, humor, satire
I have been reading The Onion on and off for most of my life. It's stories such as this one, about the Middle East conflict, that keep me coming back for more.
With the Iraq war in its fifth year, the war in Afghanistan in its sixth, and conflict between Israel and the rest of the region continuing unabated for more than half a century, intelligence sources are warning that a new wave of violence in the Middle East may soon blah blah blah, etc. etc., you know the rest.
"Tensions in the region are extremely high," said U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: blog carnival, family life
The first anniversary edition of the Carnival of Family Life is now available for your reading enjoyment. They have 61 linked stories covering topics from family stories to finances, from great outdoor ideas to humor.
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007
Conservationists have welcomed the Russian government's decision to strengthen laws protecting the Amur leopard, Panthera pardus orientalis, the world's most endangered big cat, from extinction. Fines for poaching will be increased to 100 times the nation's annual minimum wage.
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Image: BBC News.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
"Spruce Grouse."
Image appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Pamela Wells.
[Larger image].
Birds in Science
A paper was recently published in PLoS One that examines the reproductive and evolutionary arms race between male and female ducks to control paternity. Basically, if males develop large and elaborate genital structures that allow them to manipulate females and to bias paternity in their favor, then females will co-evolve specific genital anatomy that allows them to regain some control over…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2007tags: dung beetle, streaming video
As insects go, dung beetles are quite fascinating.
grrlscientist | May 6, 2007Panta Rei is a new bi-weekly blog carnival that covers different scientific topic areas for each carnival, alternating between physical, chemical, and life sciences, and mathematics. The upcoming Panta Rei edition #5 will specifically cover all topics related to chemical sciences. It will be hosted at Nonoscience on May 14, 2007. Send in your best Chemistry related entries now.
grrlscientist | May 6, 2007
Neoloboquadrina pachyderma, an amoeba Foraminifera that eats plankton in oceans' surface waters. The image was taken by a team that measured how much carbon sank below 500 meters in two regions of the Pacific Ocean. Writing in Science, they reported "striking differences" that could affect sequestration calculations.
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Image: BBC News.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a…
grrlscientist | May 6, 2007tags: evolution, religion, streaming video
A brief history of creationism, a streaming video below the fold.
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: horse racing, humor, streaming video
I couldn't help it, but in honor of the Queen attending today's Kentucky Derby, I had to post this streaming video of the Queen Victoria Handicap.
Yes, I know the Derby isn't a steeplechase, but this was the best I could do with what I had available to me.
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: melamine, pet food, contaminated food, chickens
Has melamine entered the American human food stream? That's what the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to know. Because no one knows for sure, as of yesterday, approximately 20 million chickens raised for human consumption in several states have been placed on a marketing hold to keep them out of the human food supply, after it was shown that they ate feed that contained melamine-tainted pet food.
This decision came after government officials…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007
The photographer writes about the hike where he took this picture.
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Image: Dave Munger, fellow scibling.
As long as you send images to me (and I hope it will be for forever), I shall continue to share them with my readership. My purpose for posting these images is to remind all of us of the grandeur of the natural world and that there is a world out there that is populated by millions of unique species. We are a part of this world whether we like it or not: we have a choice to either preserve these species or to destroy them in search of short-term monetary gains. But if…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: Orange roughy, South Pacific Ocean, conservation, trawling
Last month, leading scientists warned there would be no marine fish left in 50 years if current oceanic fishing practices continued unchanged. This month, thanks to an agreement reached by more than 20 South Pacific Nations in the coastal town of Renaca, Chile, one quarter of the world's oceans will be protected from the destructive fishing practice of trawling. The agreement will go into effect on 30 September 2007.
Trawling is a method of fishing where large heavy nets are dragged across the sea floor, capturing or destroying…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: Jon Stewart, Glory Goals, streaming video
Jon Stewart has a great idea for how to get Bush and the Republicans to agree on timetables for withdrawal from Iraq -- rename them "glory goals!" Who can disagree with "glory goals?!"
grrlscientist | May 5, 2007tags: date, wow
At three minutes and four seconds after 2 AM on the 6th of May this year, the time and date will be 02:03:04 05/06/07. This will never happen again.
grrlscientist | May 4, 2007tags: male impotence, spider venom, Brazilian wandering spider, Phoneutria nigriventer, Tx2-6
I am amazed at the things men will endure in order to have an erection!
Forget about powdered rhino horn and tiger penis, there is a real animal-based remedy for male impotence: the venom of the Brazilian wandering spider, Phoneutria nigriventer (pictured, image: BBC News).
Even though the venom of this spider is known to be deadly in some cases, Brazilian and US researchers interviewed men who claimed their sex lives had improved after a spider attack.
The toxin, Tx2-6, causes erections. It has…
grrlscientist | May 4, 2007tags: evolution, birds, orioles, Icterus, research
"Oriole."
Image appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Pamela Wells.
[Larger image].
I often think about differences in morphological and behavioral traits in closely-related species and wonder whether the speed and character of changes in these traits reveal anything about the evolutionary relationships between taxa. For example, in birds, both visual and auditory cues, such as plumage and song patterns, are essential for identifying members of their own species. However, these phenomena have rarely been…