grrlscientist | December 22, 2006I think that my 2006 was the worst year of my entire life, and believe me, I've had several poor years prior to this one, but I am not the only one having a bad time: it appears that science in general has been having a rough time as well;
Astronomers feuded about calling Pluto a planet. Ornithologists clashed over whether a magnificent woodpecker really did come back from extinction.
A top scientific journal made a red-faced retraction over fraudulent claims about stem cells. And the nation's top food and drug regulator ended up in court, admitting he owned stocks in businesses his agency…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2006How much do you want to bet that the employees won't be getting any of this savings in their Christmas stockings this year?
A federal judge has given petroleum giant ExxonMobil a break on its pay out for the Valdez spill, according to a breaking report from the Associated Press.
The news agency is currently reporting that a federal appeals court halved the $5 billion awarded by a jury to Alaskans and other parties to deal with the consequences of the spill. The spill dumped tens of millions of gallons of oil in the Prince William Sound, which spread all over Alaska's coastline.
In the third…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2006I love christmas lights but this is the best christmas light show I've ever seen. The lights in this streaming video are timed to coincide with music from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra;
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tags: Christmas lights, light show, Trans-Siberian Orchestra
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006A giant sauropod, which is estimated to have weighed between 40 and 48 tons, was recently discovered in Spain. This animal, which is named Turiasaurus riodevensis, is estimated to have lived 150 million years ago.
In the past such large dinosaurs have primarily been found in Africa and the New World.
"The humerus -- the long bone in the foreleg that runs from the shoulder to the elbow -- was as large as an adult" human, Brooks Hanson, a Science deputy editor, said in a statement. The claw of the first digit of its pes, or hoof, is the size of an NFL football.
The researchers found several…
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006
Ingenuity
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: canary, Ingenuity, bird
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006This streaming video shows a gift idea for those of you who are madly searching for that perfect gift for a loved one ...
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006
JK Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series, released the name of the seventh and last book in the series today. To learn the name of the book, you must go to her site and play a game of hangman.
Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., released a brief statement Thursday announcing the name of the world's most anticipated children's book, the finale to her phenomenally popular fantasy series.
No publication date or other details were offered. Rowling is still working on the book, she explained on her Web site in an entry posted early Thursday.
''I'm now writing scenes that…
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006Welcome to the second year of Carnival of the Liberals! I managed to gather together a wide array of essays that discuss various aspects of liberalism that you might enjoy reading and commenting on over the upcoming holidays. So, without further ado, let's get started;
The Fifth Column investigates how to curb the spread of fanaticism. Another essay from the same blog that will resonate with you asks if political smear campaigns are out of control?
Jen at One Plus Two writes about The American Dream, asking whether her life is truly fulfilled if yours is not?
My blog pal, Coturnix,…
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006
Image: Dave Rintoul.
Can you identify which owl species this is, dear readers?
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006
Poppies.
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: flower, poppy, flowering plant, botany
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006Flora the Komodo dragon has become pregnant without any male help. She is carrying seven baby Komodo dragons.
"We were blown away when we realized what she'd done," said Kevin Buley, a reptile expert at Flora's home at the Chester Zoo in this town in northern England. "But we certainly won't be naming any of the hatchlings Jesus."
Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.
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The cases…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006Birds including robins, thrushes and ducks that would normally fly south from Scandinavia, for instance, have been seen in December -- long after snow usually drives them south. And Siberian swans have been late reaching western Europe.
"With increasing warmth in winter we suspect that some types of birds won't bother to migrate at all," said Grahame Madge, spokesman of the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Many individual birds were leaving later, and flying less far.
One Swiss study this month suggested that Europe has just had the warmest autumn in 500 years.…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006I don't have kids, but every so often, I am tempted by a children's book, and this year, I found myself fascinated by one special book, Flotsam, by David Wiesner (New York: Clarion Books, 2006). This book uses incredibly detailed watercolor paintings to depict the delightful story of a young boy who is hanging out on the New Jersey shore. The boy discovers an underwater camera and develops the film, and the resulting pictures send the child on an amazing journey through a fantastical undersea world.
The story begins with the protagonist, a scientifically-minded young boy, busily examining…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006
Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
Image: Bev Wigney.
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tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Aves, Ornithology, zoology
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006Is this a war on Christmas? Bikini waxing elves? Fruity drinks with umbrellas? A rainforest at the North Pole (nevermind that there is no land there)? Well, if these things interest you, then this, the 69th issue of Tangled Bank is for you.
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tags: blog carnival, Tangled Bank
grrlscientist | December 19, 2006
Merganser family hitching a ride.
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: duck, merganser, aves, ornithology, zoology
grrlscientist | December 18, 2006
Least Skipper, Ancyloxypha numitor.
Brazos Bend State Park SW of Houston, Texas, 24 May 2003.
Image: Biosparite.
This is another "Get Welll Soon" nature picture from one of my readers that I am sharing with all of you!
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be…
grrlscientist | December 18, 2006Speaking of legal mood-altering drug use, here's a new drug for you to use.
To view this ad, please click here.
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tags: demoglad, streaming video, politics, humor, satire
grrlscientist | December 17, 2006The Mothership posted a picture of all of her sciencebloggers here -- can you find me?