cwilcox | April 13, 2010While it might sound science fiction or comic book fodder, scientists have actually developed a kind of wearable protective cloth from T-shirts that contains the same ultra-strong material used to armor tanks.
Modern high-impact military vehicles and bulletproof vests are reinforced with a substance called boron carbide. It's the third hardest material known to man at room temperature, with a hardness of 9.3 on the mohs scale, just a hair behind diamond's hardness of 10. It's hard to imagine how such a rigid material could be comfortable to wear, but scientists have recently developed the…
cwilcox | April 12, 2010While reading through the science news headlines today, I came across a very interesting one from the Telegraph: "Handling cash 'better at killing pain than aspirin', study claims."
Intrigued, I sought out the paper mentioned in the article. It turns out it wasn't published recently at all - it was published last year in June. Of course, they were probably fooled by the fact that the University of Minnesota just published a press release on it. Regardless, the real question is whether money was truly more effective than painkillers at preventing pain. So what did the researchers find?
The…
cwilcox | April 12, 2010The Wildlife Conservation Society has just released their newest book, State of the Wild 2010-2011. It's a collection of essays that center around current and emerging issues in conservation from conservation experts and powerful nature writers. It's a must-read for anyone driven to understand and protect our ecosystems.
In this year's edition, there is a particularly interesting essay called "Rarest of the Rare." It highlights twelve of the most endangered species on the planet, only two of which are on the Road to Recovery. These are animals that may disappear in the next decade or two, and…
cwilcox | April 11, 2010When I saw these pictures over at Zooborns, I knew they had to be this week's dose of cute. These are some of the cutest animals I have ever seen!
These photos were taken by Flickr user PeterH81 at the British Wildlife Centre.
Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are the species that we tend to think of when we think of a "fox." The name comes from their characteristic orange-ish, red-ish brown fur. The fox's amazing flexibility and intelligence that have given it a mischievous reputation have served it well evolutionarily, and the red fox is the most abundant species of fox on the planet. They're…
cwilcox | April 6, 2010A little while back I wrote an article about a recent study which largely blamed farmed Tilapia for the loss of native biodiversity in Fijian waterways. I have since received e-mails from Gerald Billings, the Head of Aquaculture at the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests in Fiji. He expressed his concern over the paper's intent and subsequent findings. As a scientist, I believe strongly in impartiality, so I've posted the entirety of his response to the study after the fold for you to read if you wish. I don't like the idea of supporting bickering between governments and conservation…
cwilcox | April 4, 2010These little guys are my Stepmom's baby chickens. Aren't they adorable?
Photo by Sue Wilcox
Happy Easter Everyone!
cwilcox | April 3, 2010Stop what you're doing. You HAVE to read this. Your life will be changed forever.
You can cook a cake in a microwave. In 5 minutes.
Seriously.
Barry stumbled across this recipe for how to make a cake in a mug. In a MUG.
How did I not learn of this during all those years as an undergrad?! I suddenly feel inadequate, like I haven't truly mastered life as a poor college student. If you can bake a cake in a microwave, what other culinary arts have I yet to discover? Casserole in a toaster oven, perhaps?
I simply had to have my cake and eat it, too, to see if this recipe really works. Here's what…
cwilcox | April 2, 2010... over at Beetles in the Bush. Go read it! Now!
Next month's carnival will be over at Evolution: Education and Outreach. Submit now through this handy-dandy little form!
cwilcox | April 1, 2010... Then check out Bora's interview of me.
Oh, and also, I wrote a little self-indulgent fluff piece awhile back, too, if you haven't read that.
cwilcox | April 1, 2010Domestication is by far man's greatest genetic experiment, and we've been at it for well over 10,000 years. While domestication can produce wild variation (see my post on dogs, for example), a few changes seem to be universal. These include behavioral changes, like reduced fear of humans and friendliness, as well as physiological ones, like floppy ears (they develop in domesticated foxes, too). One of the most well-documented differences between domesticated animals and their wild counterparts is their brains: across every species that has been looked at, the brains of domesticated animals…
cwilcox | March 30, 2010Dear Discovery,
This is really hard for me to say. We've been so close for such a long time, and I feel like there was something real between us. Sure, there have been some rough times, like when you decided deforestation was worth televising. We've had our fights about silly things like how you perpetuate a negative stereotype through shark week and whether ghost hunting is valid programing for a science-oriented network. I've cheated on you with National Geographic a few times, and yet you forgave me. In spite of all our troubles, I still love you, mostly because of Mike Rowe, Dave Salmoni…
cwilcox | March 29, 2010For blog newcomers: On top of being a graduate student and blogging about science, I, on occasion, actually get to go out in the world and enjoy where I live. When I get some good pictures or go somewhere neat, I pass on my experiences with my readers. This is that kind of post.
When you drive around Oahu, there are two craters that stick out. The more famous is Diamond Head, whose noticeable profile marks the backdrop of the beaches in Waikiki. If you continue further southeast, the landscape is dominated by the facade of another, perhaps even more daunting tuff: Koko Crater. Both of these…
cwilcox | March 28, 2010Sure, when he gets big, this little guy will be one of the world's largest lizards, weighing in at 150 lbs and growing to length of up to 10 feet long. He'll be feared as a man eater, possessing a venomous bite that can be fatal. But right now he's just a little guy, and boy, is he cute!
Komodo Dragons are the largest lizards on the planet, giving us just the tiniest taste of what the world must have been like in the age of dinosaurs. What they have in size, however, they lack in distribution: the range of the Komodo is the smallest of any of the world's large carnivores, consisting of only…
cwilcox | March 27, 2010We all get sick. Young or old, male or female, everyone gets sick at some point in their lives. But only some are susceptible to a specialized disease known as the "Man Flu," which somehow causes men to think they have the flu when, in fact, they have only a little cold.
Where did the idea of a Man Flu come from? It's origins are uncertain. In general, a lot of people tend to think they're worse off than they really are when they're sick - a poll by Panadol Cold and Flu, for example, found that 61% of people who went to pharmacists claiming to have the flu didn't. Somewhere along the line,…
cwilcox | March 26, 2010Those of you who follow me on twitter have been flooded with links about the recent United Nations meeting which included a once-every-three-years Conference of the Parties for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As a biologist, I take conservation issues quite seriously, especially when it comes to regulations. I feel that large scale efforts are not just important, they are necessary to protect species from overexploitation. Up on the slab were a number of key regulations for a variety of species, and I anxiously awaited the results…
cwilcox | March 26, 2010It seems this week is full of moving.
Ed Yong, my dear friend who convinced me to join Science Blogs, is moving up in the world and has moved Not Exactly Rocket Science over to Discover.Com!
Ed is an amazing writer and it's no shock that the big guys would take notice of him. I hope that all of you will check him out in his new home. I know I will miss his presence here!
Good Luck, Ed, and congrats!
cwilcox | March 24, 2010The latest study from Boston University has college students everywhere popping open a brewski and saying "I told you so." Researchers found that getting drunk the night before a test had no effect on the student's performance, although it left them feeling rotten on test day.
What college student hasn't chosen to blow off last minute studying in favor of a few drinks? Binge drinking is common on U.S. campuses, and the effects of such behavior on the student's performance are poorly understood. There is thought to be a general negative connection between the two, but while some studies have…
cwilcox | March 22, 2010Observations of a Nerd has migrated from its ancestral home on Blogger.com and invaded Science Blogs!
Aloha! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Christie. I've been blogging since 2008, and I write about whatever tickles my fancy, from science news to cute critters. I like to keep things upbeat and informative, but most of all, fun to read. I've imported my old Blogger posts (though my Blogger Site will remain as an archive and back-up in case Science Blogs is destroyed by a plague of locusts), so you can look back in time and see what Observations of a Nerd is all about (I…