grrlscientist | February 8, 2007The 42nd edition of I and the Bird is now available. I and the Bird is a blog carnival that focuses on wild birds in the blogosphere; ornithology, birding and bird photography.
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tags: birds, blog carnival, nature
grrlscientist | February 8, 2007There are a few people out there whom I want to thank for their kindnesses. First of all, I want to thank Dave Rintoul for giving me the honor of showing some of his photography on my blog as the "Image of the Day". As if this was not enough, he also sent me a birthday gift of books .. two books by the amazing poet, Mary Oliver, House of Light and Dream Work, along with another book that I have wanted, Prospect, by his partner, Elizabeth Dodd. (Perhaps you remember this stunning photograph and accompanying poem, Impression, that they donated to my blog awhile ago? If not, you should check it…
grrlscientist | February 8, 2007I found this nifty little quiz that tries to diagnose where you are from in the USA based on how you pronounce certain words. Okay, I show you my results below the fold, so the least you can do is show me yours, too! By the way, I am curious to know how the Aussies and Brits score on this quiz, too, so don't be shy!
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Northeast
Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2007
Female jumping spider, unknown species. Can any of you readers ID the species?
"A female guarding her egg case. She was so very cute," the photographer says. "I could tell she was a little fearful, but wasn't about to abandon her egg case." Unfortunately, the photographer didn't get an ID for her as she didn't get such a good look at the spider because the spider wanted to keep her eyes on the photographer!
Image: Bev Wigney.
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…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2007I grew up in the state of Washington, and always thought that the west side of the state was politically liberal, however, things are looking mighty strange in that state because of an intitiative that would require all married couples to have kids within three years of saying "I do" or their marriage would be automatically annulled.
Who filed this initiative? Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance (WA-DoMA), that's who. That group was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage. Why did they file this initiative? Because they are trying to…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2007Two skeletons from the Neolithic period locked in a tender embrace were found by Archaeologists buried outside Mantua, only 25 miles south of Verona, the romantic city where Shakespeare set the star-crossed tale of "Romeo and Juliet." The burial site was recently located during construction work for a factory building in the outskirts of Mantua. Alongside the couple, archaeologists found flint tools, including arrowheads and a knife, said Elena Menotti, the archaeologist who led the dig.
One hypothesis being examined is that the man was killed and the woman then sacrificed so that his soul…
grrlscientist | February 7, 2007
JK Rowling (pictured) has been writing her phenomenal Harry Potter series for 17 years, and it will finally come to an end when her seventh and last book is released on 21 July 2007. How does she feel about that?
"I always knew that Harry's story would end with the seventh book, but saying goodbye has been just as hard as I always knew it would be," she writes.
"Even while I'm mourning, though, I feel an incredible sense of achievement. I can hardly believe that I've finally written the ending I've been planning for so many years. I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007Three amateur paleontologists discovered more than 100 fossilized eggs of dinosaurs in a remote area in a central Indian state, a news report said. The explorers also found footprints of the dinosaurs through which they could also trace the "track way" of the now extinct animals, said Vishal Verma, one of the trio of paleontologists.
The eggs, approximately the size of a softball, were found in a single nesting site in the Kukshi-Bagh area, some 95 miles southwest of Indore, a key city of Madhya Pradesh state.
"These animals used to come from far away areas to lay eggs on the sandy banks of…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007
Red-banded Hairstreak, Calycopis cecrops.
29 June 2005. Houston, Texas.
Image: Biosparite.
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 we decide to destroy these other…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007.. and why tell the press all about it? Was that really necessary??
A NASA astronaut who drove hundreds of miles to confront a romantic rival, wearing diapers on the journey so that she would not have to stop to use the restroom, appeared in court today after being arrested on attempted kidnapping and other charges.
[ .. ]
She was arrested on Monday on charges of attempted kidnapping, vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. Bail was set at $15,500, and Captain Nowak, who has been working at NASA, was ordered to wear a tracking device.
Cited story.
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007A French-led marine expedition of 80 scientists, technicians, students and volunteers believes it has discovered thousands of new species of mollusks and crustaceans (pictured)around a Philippine island, officials and scientists said. This team includes people from 19 countries. Between 2004-2005, they surveyed the waters around Panglao island, which is located 390 miles southeast of Manila and southwest of the island of Bohol, east of Cebu. [location, and a close-up map]
"Numerous species were observed and photographed alive, many for the first time, and it is estimated that 150-250 of the…
grrlscientist | February 6, 2007This newspaper article (below the fold) proposes the $100-million question and then conveniently forgets to answer it. However, I am curious to know what you think;
[ ..] those who run intensive poultry farms are keen to point out that they protect their livestock from disease coming in from outside, by keeping them in sealed sheds, with carefully monitored ventilation.
They are also in a better position, they say, than farmers with free-range birds, to monitor their health and administer medicine if necessary.
[ .. ]
However, some farmers with free-range flocks are adamant that their…
grrlscientist | February 5, 2007Perhaps not surprisingly, the USA isn't included in this number, nor is China and India -- the two most rapidly growing economies in the world at this point.
The the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [PDF] was written and published by a collaboration of hundreds of scientists around the world, and was approved by 113 nations, including the United States.
The charge led by French President Jacques Chirac came a day after the release of an authoritative -- and disturbingly grim -- scientific report in Paris that said global warming is "very likely" caused by mankind and…
grrlscientist | February 5, 2007
Airnemone.
a wind-borne seed trapped in a wind-blown fence near Helena, Montana, November of 2005. This is an old-fashioned clematis. Their filaments, evolved to catch the wind, also caught the sun and the photographer's eye. Click image for much larger view in its own window.
Image:
Martin Richard.
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…
grrlscientist | February 5, 2007
Bateleur Eagle, Terathopius ecaudatus,
photographed at a zoo in North Carolina. Click image for a much larger view.
Image appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Chris Losinger.
Birds in Science
Like bacteria, various farm animals have been cloned to produce a variety of protein drugs that benefit humans. These protein drugs can counteract medical conditions such as anemia and diabetes and even some cancers. However, these cloned animals are expensive, large, and most take years before they can produce these desired protein drugs in sufficient commercially-viable…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2007Surprise, surprise! A school in Texas has made it a law that all 11 and 12 year old girls must have proof they have been vaccinated against cervical cancer. If someone had asked me which state would make this mandatory, I would never have chosen Texas would be the first to do it. Congratulations to the governor of Texas for making a courageous and life-saving stand on behalf of all female students who live in his state.
Texas on Friday became the first state to require all 11- and 12-year-old girls entering the sixth grade to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2007
Zitting Cisticola, Cisticola juncidis, from Bangalore.
These birds are extremely widespread, missing only from North and South America and Antarctica. They are common in short- to medium-height grasslands, where they are difficult to see, except when courting.
Image: Natasha.
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…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2007Another blog carnival has been published; the 59th installment of the Carnival of the Godless. For those of you who don't know, this blog carnival focuses on the finest writing about atheism and godlessness out there.
grrlscientist | February 3, 2007
Greenland Ice Sheets are breaking up.
Image source: NASA.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [PDF] was just released to the public yesterday and already, it is being criticised by scientists for being "too optimistic". For example, the observed sea level rise has been following the upper range of the 2001 IPCC estimate. Thus, "It's pretty unequivocal" that the rise in sea levels is accelerating.
Other experts said the panel missed some important new developments, because it set a December 2005 cutoff date for submission of scientific papers and other data. Since…