education
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: reptiles, chameleon species, herpetology, Chris Raxworthy, research, American Museum of Natural History, AMNH, New York City, field research, nature, travel, Madagascar, speciation, streaming video
With Madagascar containing nearly two-third's of the world's chameleon species, Christopher Raxworthy, Associate Curator of Herpetology at the American Museum of Natural History, recently embarked on an expedition to the island in search of these special lizards. His hope was to track down the lined-chameleon in order to further study speciation on Madagascar.
Having recently returned from…
bioephemera | March 7, 2010
A blunt animated message for Surfrider's Rise Above Plastics, with Portland's Borders Perrin Norrander (full credits here)
Via Notcot and others.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Eastern Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Black-headed Batis, also known as the Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, photographed at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 1000, 1/160 sec, f/5.6 -0.3 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: scientology, religion, cults, mind control, Thetan, silly, offbeat, beliefs, Xenu, L Ron Hubbard, television, BBC, streaming video
Speaking of Mormonism and other cults .. erm, religions .. I thought I'd give you a peek at Scientology. In this television report, hidden cameras go inside the London Scientology Organization to expose their inner workings. It seems that even the Mormons could learn a few mind-control techniques from the Scientologists.
I find it really depressing to think that one Scientology survivor exchanged one form of mind control for another: after he escaped…
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: children, religion, cults, mind control, television, silly, offbeat, beliefs, funny, education, streaming video
This amusing video is from a British TV show, Outnumbered. In this clip, young Ben asks the vicar some awkward questions about Jesus -- questions that most religious people have been asked at one time or another.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300 600 mm lens, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1 -1 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Photograph 1:
[Image 1] Juvenile Isabelline Shrike (?), Lanius isabellinus, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2010tags: Beware the Ninja Chemistry Professor, college chemistry, comedy, humor, silly, fucking hilarious, streaming video
This risky and hilarious college prank was done as part of a student's fund raising efforts for a Dance Marathon. The prank is funny, but the chemistry professor's reaction is priceless.
ChemistryBlog says Professor Owen Priest of Northwestern University, is the scary ninja professor taking down that chicken.
drorzel | March 5, 2010Another dramatic reading of a chapter from How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, just because. This is Chapter 4, which is based on the original Many Worlds, Many Treats post that kick-started the whole thing:
I'm sitting at the computer typing, when Emmy bumps up against my legs. I look down, and she's sniffing the floor around my feet intently.
"What are you doing down there?"
"I'm looking for steak!" she says, wagging her tail hopefully.
"I'm pretty certain that there's no steak down there," I say. "I've never eaten steak at the computer, and I've certainly never dropped any on the floor."
"…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2010tags: Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 July 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
milhayser | March 4, 2010You are cordially invited to Dinner With a Dinosaur X—that's a Roman numeral, not a mysterious appellation. The event happens March 12, 2010, in the Great Hall at Chicago's Union Station, located at 210 South Canal Street, 60606. Yes, there will be a dinosaur, and no, it will not be alive. Other relics include Honorary Dinner Chairs Governor Pat Quinn and Senator Dick Durbin.
More importantly, proceeds from the event will benefit Project Exploration, "a nonprofit science education organization that makes science accessible to the public—especially minority youth and girls—through…
grrlscientist | March 4, 2010tags: Masked Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Black-headed Bobwhite, Bobwhite, Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Bobwhite, known by a bevy of common names including Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Masked Bobwhite, and Black-headed Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus (thank science for scientific names so we all know what we're talking about!), photographed on the Katy Prairie, Waller County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 April 2007 [larger view…
gregladen | March 3, 2010Which creationist was the most nauseating?
From the NCSE:
When it comes to dissing evolution (and science in general) there's no lack of volunteers. How to decide which among them is the worst?
Enter the intelligently designed UpChucky Award, which recognizes supreme achievement in the field of persistently rejecting evolution in the most stomach-turning way imaginable. This crown of cluelessness, this diadem of density, this badge of bullpucky isn't awarded to just any Darwin doubter. The UpChucky is bestowed on that one creationist whose efforts in the preceding year would inspire Darwin (…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2010tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: Director of the Energy Materials Center at Cornell, Héctor Abruña
What: free public presentation, "Energy Through Chemistry"
When: Tonight, 3 March at 700pm
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: FREE, and there is a cash bar too! (must be 21+ with ID)
Our energy future -- from powering cell phones, laptops, and cars to harnessing alternative sources like solar…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2010tags: Red Grass Bird, Marsh Sparrow, Swamp Finch, Swamp Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Swamp Sparrow, also known by a wide variety of other names, such as the Marsh Sparrow, Red Grass Bird, Swamp Finch, and the Swamp Song Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2010tags: handheld thermal cycler, LavaAmp, PCR, Polymerase Chain Reaction, DNA, molecular biology, Unreasonable Insitute, DIY, technology, Guido Núñez-Mujica, streaming video
Millions of people in the Global South suffer from neglected diseases, many of which could be treated, even cured, if they were detected early enough. But reliable, low cost diagnosis hasn't been available, as drug companies have no incentive to invest in the diseases of the poor. New pandemics can go undetected until they have spread out of control, like HIV, and treatable ailments can cripple impoverished communities…
rallain | March 2, 2010Perhaps an alternate title could be "hey, lets have class outside." I think I understand why students say this, but my standard answer is "no". Oh, but there is XYZ that we need to do. Here is the point I am trying to make - class is for students. Class is not for me. Students pay for classes, so they should get them.
Here is the other point. If a student chooses not to come to class, that is the student's choice. I am ok with that. Maybe it is not a great idea, but these are adults. There can be a problem. What if the class has attendance as a grade? What if the class will give a…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2010tags: education, public outreach, SciCafe, science cafe, AMNH, American Museum of Natural History, NYC, streaming video
Who: Director of the Energy Materials Center at Cornell, Héctor Abruña
What: free public presentation, "Energy Through Chemistry"
When: Wednesday, 3 March at 700pm
Where: Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, American Museum of Natural History, Enter at the 81st Street (Rose Center) [directions and maps]
Cost: FREE, and there is a cash bar too! (must be 21+ with ID)
Our energy future -- from powering cell phones, laptops, and cars to harnessing alternative sources like solar…
bioephemera | March 2, 2010This may appeal to some of you:
The 15th biannual conference of the European Association of Museums for the History of Medical Sciences (EAMHMS) will be held at the University of Copenhagen, 16-18 September, 2010. This year's conference focuses on the challenge to museums posed by contemporary developments in medical science and technology.The image of medicine that emerges from most museum galleries and exhibitions is still dominated by pre-modern and modern understandings of an anatomical and physiological body, and by the diagnostic and therapeutical methods and instruments used to…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2010tags: Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet and the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 1, 2010tags: Pied-Billed Dabchick, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, also known by a much cuter name, the Pied-Billed Dabchick, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.