american
dr. dolittle | November 17, 2015 Testing the bite force of American cockroaches. Image from: Tom Weihmann | University of Cambridge
I'll admit I get a bit squeamish when I see a cockroach. However, after reading new research about the "ew" inspiring creatures, I have a bit more respect for them.
Not only can these bugs run vertically up walls, survive nuclear war and live without their head for weeks (thus I suggest squishing the whole body), new research published in PLOS ONE shows they have super-biting powers. The research team measured bite force using a sensor (shown in the image above).
The reason for doing the…
grrlscientist | November 25, 2009
A morning view of downtown Frankfurt am Main from the window of the building where I live in Frankfurt. You can also see a large passenger plane flying over the city. It is likely following the same flight path that my plane was on when I arrived on 20 November 2009.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 November 2009.
This morning, I snapped the above image of downtown Frankfurt from the top floor window of the building where I live, whilst waiting for the elevator.
Our flat does not have wireless yet, and likely won't have it until sometime around the 2nd of December. Of course, this has inspired…
grrlscientist | November 22, 2009I have arrived! And I've already done some important things;
Offended the saleslady at the mattress store. Oops!
Met a bunch of government officials in Customs, veterinary services and fellow travelers who just plain love birds. They all were a helluva lot nicer than the authorities in the USA!
Ordered alcoholic beverages in the German language (I'll leave it to you to guess what I ordered! and I will be updating this with the answer).
Slept on the floor, AGAIN!! OUCH!! Our mattress arrives in 4 weeks (right before Christmas, woopie!) so this is going to make for a veeery long month…
edyong | January 30, 2009On Tuesday, I wrote a short essay on the rightful place of science in our society. As part of it, I argued that scientific knowledge is distinct from the scientific method - the latter gives people the tools with which to acquire the former. I also briefly argued that modern science education (at least in the UK) focuses too much on the knowledge and too little on the method. It is so blindsided by checklists of facts that it fails to instil the inquisitiveness, scepticism, critical thinking and respect for evidence that good science entails. Simply inhaling pieces of information won't get…
esiegel | May 7, 2008The American Association of Physics Teachers just published a study of 1,000 likely U.S. voters about science, religion, evolution, and creationism. The results are frightening. Here are some of the "highlights" of their study:
38% of Americans are in favor of the teaching of religion in public school science classrooms.
65% of Americans do not think that it is an important science goal to understand the origin and diversity of biological life on Earth.
47% of Americans believe that the earliest humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.
21% of Americans do not believe that the…
esiegel | April 12, 2008Nothing to do with astronomy or physics (except for the perils of gravity), but this TV show is hilarious: Ninja Warrior. I don't get the channel G4 here in Tucson with expanded cable, but this is basically the Japanese version of the American Gladiators event: The Eliminator! If you have some time to waste, watch it sometime. The contestants and the annoucers are hilarious...