cwilcox | November 9, 2009I went off on sharks and cancer over at ScientificBlogging.Com... You might enjoy it :)
Busting Marine Myths: Sharks DO Get Cancer!
cwilcox | November 9, 2009Living in a world of sunshine and electricity, we tend to take light for granted. Heck, we complain when clouds diminish our bright sunny rays. But dip just beneath the surface of the ocean and light becomes a rare commodity. More than half of the light that penetrates the ocean surface is absorbed in the first three feet. As you go deeper, different colors disappear. Red is the first to go, followed by yellow and green, until you're truly immersed in murky blue. At about 200 m deep, there is so little light that plants cannot survive, as there isn't enough light energy to power…
cwilcox | November 5, 2009No, not the small little drums. I'm talking about Bongos, the vibrant antelopes:
c/o the Houston Zoo and ZooBorns
Bongos are a kind of large antelope native to the lowlands and some mountains of Africa. They're at least two different subspecies: Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus (the lowland bongo) and Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci (the eastern or mountain bongo). Both subspecies are facing constant threats; the lowland bongo is listed as near-threatened by the IUCN and the mountain bongo is endangered, with more specimens in captivity than in the wild (~400 in Zoos in North America). The…
cwilcox | November 2, 2009Science is for the people... so welcome, people, to the newest edition of Scientia Pro Publica! Sit down, buckle up, and get ready to be taken on a wild ride that includes everything from vampires to vegetarians, the dawn of the universe to current affairs, and anything in between!
While the ghosts and goblins may have gone back into hiding after this weekend's All Hallow's Eve, the debate still rages at Southern Fried Science as to whether vampires can survive a zombie apocalypse. So if you haven't had enough Halloween, be sure to weigh in your $0.02!
The biosphere seems all shook up about…
cwilcox | October 30, 2009Trick or treat! To me, nothing says Halloween like a good, old fashioned parasite. So scroll down for a preview of next month's Sci-Fi Worthy Parasite! Enjoy :)
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cwilcox | October 26, 2009
Registration is now open. Do if you want to go, register! You can even see who else is going.
Yes, one of those people is me. I've given in to the hordes of sci bloggers saying I just have to come. So if you go, you can meet me in person! Now if that's not a reason to go, I don't know what is!
cwilcox | October 21, 2009It's that time of the year again... the temperature is dropping, pumpkins are being carved, and there's that creepy rustling in the woods as you walk by. All Hallow's Eve fast approaches, and with it come tales of mysterious disappearances, strange sightings, and all kinds of things that go bump in the night.
So what better parasite to talk about than one that is sure to give you the heebie-jeebies? It's a parasite that you could have for years and not even know it, until one day you're in the hospital with seizures, headaches, nausea, vomiting, or even altered mental status.
Of course, I'm…
cwilcox | October 20, 2009Remember how I told you all about a wonderful and delicious fish that you can eat guilt-free? Yeah, you remember.
Well, just in case you end up with a nice tasty lionfish and have no idea how to cook it, here's a collection of recipes put together by The Lionfish Hunter himself. Bon appetit!
cwilcox | October 20, 2009What's cuter than bunnies? Pygmy bunnies! What's cuter than pygmy bunnies? Baby pygmy bunnies!
While they're unbelievably cute, these little guys are more than just adorable - they're the last remaining hope for their local population. Pygmy rabbits were once found throughout the Northwestern United States in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, California, and Nevada. In 1990, declining populations due to habitat loss led to the rabbits being listed as threatened, and further decline placed them on the federal endangered species list in 2003.
Recently, searches for wild…
cwilcox | October 14, 2009**A post about Climate Change as a part of Blog Action Day 2009**When people talk about climate change, they, more often than not, talk about global warming. Yes, the effects of increased temperature will be diverse and generally bad for most creatures on Earth, including us. But the most dramatic effect of climate change won't be due to the heat - it will be due to ocean acidification. I might seem biased (being a marine biologist and all), but trust me, the addition of carbon dioxide to the ocean and its subsequent effects will be far worse in the long run than a change in temperature. Not…
cwilcox | October 13, 2009Ok, I really tried not to post about this. But come on - they're just so cute. I want ten of them. And to really make you squeal, some video:
(it's all your fault, Rick. Ever since you posted this on your facebook I couldn't stop thinking about them!)
cwilcox | October 12, 2009Every year, Blog Action Day seeks unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. This year, 2009, Blog Action Day is focused on Climate Change - like I could even think of resisting! All you bloggers out there, it doesn't matter what you write about - politics, medicine, music or whatever - you can join Blog Action Day and be a part of the global discussion, too. It's in just three days, so register at their website and get involved!
cwilcox | October 8, 2009
Boyish good looks - the next generation of sexy?
Men like Mike Rowe on the outs?
I couldn't help but notice that a new study has come out about the behavioral effects of hormonal contraception. It's all over the science news sites. With titles ranging from the conservative "Pill May Change Attraction" to the bolder "Taking the pill for past 40 years 'has put women off masculine men'"and "The pill 'gives women a taste for boyish men like Zac Efron'," this new publication has swept the media outlets by storm. This idea that birth control might have behavioral side effects isn't new, even I'…
cwilcox | October 6, 2009Facebook won't let me show off this stunning vertical panoramic I took at Manoa Falls (doesn't like the image size), so I'm putting it up here:
The falls are simply gorgeous. Just letting you all know. See the rest of the hike photos over on my facebook page.
cwilcox | October 5, 2009Ok y'all, it's been a busy week on the blogosphere, and there are some links you GOTTA hit up.
Carnival of the Blue #23 is up over at Cephalopodcast. It's a great mix of ocean blogging that you're sure to enjoy!
Similarly, Scientia Pro Publica #13 is up at Living the Scientist Life. Be sure to flip through the best science blogging of the past two weeks!
Also, though I'm a bit late, don't forget about the Carnival of Evolution #16, hosted this month by Pleitropy.
And last but not least, it's finally over - The Great Darwin Beard Challenge as ended, but they need to decide on a winner! Be…
cwilcox | October 5, 2009I'm sure that many of you, while looking for fantastic, outdoorsy, nature blogging, have stumbled across Nature Blog Network. If you haven't, it's definitely worth checking out. Nature Blog Network is a list of over 950 blogs that you can peruse for free. They rank them according to a metric like pageviews, so you can see which ones everyone else likes, too. Blog topics range from birds, bugs, plants, herps, hiking, oceans, to ecosystems, and every other natural topic.
Every month, they also feature one of the nature blogs on their site, as a way for people to get to know the various nature…
cwilcox | October 4, 2009Last week, we saw the bravest rodent in the world. But these ones are the largest, and they are adorable!Photo by NIGEL TREBLIN/AFP/Getty ImagesMeet the Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). When I say big, I mean huge. Capybaras can get over 4 ft long and weigh in at 140 lbs! And they live in large, social groups led by a dominant male, similar to many ranging grazing mammals. They're semi-aquatic herbivorous mammals found throughout South America wherever there is water and forest. They can stay underwater for up to 5 minutes and are fantastic swimmers. They've even been known to sleep…
cwilcox | October 2, 2009If you haven't heard, the 2009 Ig Nobels have been given. The Ig Nobels are one of my favorite yearly treats. They are given to research that "first make people laugh, and then make them think."
The prizes "celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative - and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology."
And the winners are...
Veterinary medicine: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, UK, for showing that cows with names give more milk than cows that are nameless. Hear that, Bessie?Reference:Bertenshaw, C., & Rowlinson, P. (2009). Exploring Stock…
cwilcox | October 1, 2009We all love it when our work is appreciated, and as a grad student, that doesn't happen nearly enough. On the plus side, the wonderful bloggers at Mauka to Makai have noticed my little blog and have given me a Kreativ Blogging Award!
They put me in the ranks of Deep Sea News, Malaria, Bedbugs Sea Lice and Sunsets, and Living the Scientific Life - which, while I hardly deserve, certainly boosts my ego for the day. So, THANKS!
Be sure to check out all of the blogs they awarded!
cwilcox | October 1, 2009The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center is holding a contest - $750 towards attending SciOnline 2010 for two bloggers who write exceptional evolutionary blog posts in 2009. Living in Hawaii, it's tough to afford the round trip to North Carolina all by me onesies, so here's my attempt at getting the funds!
UPDATE: I WON! Thanks, NESCent!! See you all at SciOnline 2010!
When Good Genes Go Bad
We tend to think of evolution as a directional process, whether its from simplicity to complexity or 'less fit' to 'more fit.' Even the classic images of evolution, like the evolution of man, reveal our…