nerd
cwilcox | November 30, 2008Hello everyone! Happy Carnival!
evâoâluâtionâ [ev-uh-loo-shuhn or, especially Brit., ee-vuh-]ânoun1. A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Most of the time, when we think 'evolution', we think about animals and genetic diversity. Sure, we've heard the term "Chemical Evolution" thrown around a bit, too, but only about events before life began. Well, not everyone uses such a narrow definition of evolution. For example, a group of scientists claim that Rocks Evolve, Too. The international team detailed their theory of…
cwilcox | November 26, 2008I've decided to sit down and write out a few things I'm thankful for. I'd like to say that this decision is 'in light if the holiday', because it should be, but to be honest, it's not. It's due to reading studies that have found the effects of grattitude extend far beyond previously thought. (see the rest of this post for more details by clicking the link in the title)
So, with those studies in mind, and the holiday as inspiration, here are five things (in no particular order) that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:
1) Being able to spend the holiday with my grandparents - especially so…
cwilcox | November 25, 2008In the animal world, the ability to live off of solar power is virtually unheard of. Sure, most would say corals do it, but the truth is that the corals themselves aren't the ones soaking up the sun - it's tiny dinoflagellates called 'zooxanthellae' that actually perform the photosynthesis. In fact, that is the case with most other arguments for solar-powered animals. Most have some form of plant-like symbiont doing the hard work for them.
Not so with the green sea slug Elysia chlorotica, claims biologist James Manhart and his colleagues at Texas A&M University who have been studying the…
cwilcox | November 24, 2008Wow! It's that time of year already! That is, it's almost time for Observations of a Nerd to host the Carnival of Evolution!
If you have a post you think deserves mention, feel free to submit it via this form. It doesn't have to be your own work - anything that catches your eye, let me know!
I'm due to post it on Dec 1st, so get submitting!
PS Happy 149th, The Origin of Species!
cwilcox | November 23, 2008Well, we might not be able to prove 'love at first sight', but hopeless romantics out there can defend their belief in long-lasting true love - physiologically.
Cynics and single girls tend to argue that love fades in a relationship, and married couples don't really feel the same way about each other as they once did. Well, that's not necessarily true.
A new study, presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, has found that couples that have been together for a long time and claim to be "madly in love" still actually are, at least as far as brain scans can tell.
Most…
cwilcox | November 19, 2008...You use your research to create 3D portraits of a person out of carbon nanotubes.
Then again, who doesn't love a NanObama?
You can read about the process here. The artist, an assistant professor at Michigan University, has other nano-art at NanoBliss.Com.
Here's one for you horny dogs out there:
And, of course, here's one for me:
Now that's more like it.
cwilcox | November 18, 2008This is a NERD news red alert! VERY important news is about to be shared! It has important consequences for us all!
........
"Meh" has been added to the dictionary.
Nerds, REJOICE!The term is to be defined as "an interjection suggesting indifference or boredom and as an adjective to describe something as mediocre or unimpressive" in the Collins English dictionary for its 30th Anniversary.
So take that, haters!
cwilcox | November 16, 2008If only I were referring to the United States on this one. Sadly, no.
Conservatives in the UK are to get mandatory lessons in scientific literacy as a part of a new plan to strengthen evidence-based policy-making. They will be versed in the scientific method and basic concepts as part of the induction program for all MPs. Sitting members and peers will be allowed to attend as well.
The plan, drawn up by Adam Afriyie, the partyâs spokesman for science and innovation, aims to address concerns about the overall lack of scientific expertise and understanding in the House of Commons and…
cwilcox | November 14, 2008Everyone knows there are a million uses for duct tape. But did you know that DNA does a lot more than just store our genetic blueprints? Yeah, it turns out that the structure of DNA can be used for all kinds of things. Like optic cables, for example.
A team of Swedish scientists has come up with a new technique that allows DNA strands to be converted to microscopic fiber optic cables. The wires literally build themselves - using the nature of DNA's structure to create helices - from a mix of DNA and molecules called chromophores that can absorb and pass on light. The team used single type of…
cwilcox | November 12, 2008This week, two different announcements have given the whales of the world the right to be upset. It seems they can get no relief from the constant pressures we place on their populations.
Firstly, the US Supreme court decided that Navy sonar was more important, so they overturned a lower courts ruling that forced the Navy to restrict sonar practices within 1.5 miles of a whale. It sets a precedent that shoots down activist attempts at whale protection. While I understand the need for national security, it just sucks for the whales off the coast of California.
Then, all hopes of reduced…
cwilcox | November 11, 2008As I hear people debate about evolution and religion, I feel like I'm listening to a political debate between two middle schoolers. One says that you have to vote republican because taxes are bad and the other says no, democrats are right because the republican kid has cooties. No one seems to actually understand the sides of the debate - they only know which side they're on. They're "Intelligent Designers" or "Evolutionists" - even if they don't know what the words mean. It becomes this big battle of 'you're rubber and I'm glue', but no one actually knows what they're talking about. So…
cwilcox | November 11, 2008I'm actually a man!
Well, it's news to me anyhow.
I'm informed of this by GenderAnalyzer.com. It's a BETA test of an AI software that tries to determine what gender a page's author is. Here's what they say about themselves: "We created Genderanalyzer out of curiosity and fun. It uses Artificial Intelligence to determine if a homepage is written by a man or woman. Behind the scene, a text classifier hosted over at uClassify.com has been trained on blogs written by men and women. In our lab it seems to works pretty well, we want to see how it performs on the web! We hope you like it! "
And…
cwilcox | November 10, 2008About a couple weeks ago, you might have heard about a study out of the University of Hawaii that found overweight and obese women (BMI>25) had 'more sex' than normal-weighted ones. The study was all over the news because it challenged what we would generally believe - after all, 'skinny' women are hotter, so they should have more sex.
The study surveyed over 7,000 women aged 15-44 about their sexual habits, and a higher percentage of the larger women reported having had sex. The researchers admitted they were surprised. "These results were unexpected and we don't really know why this is…
cwilcox | November 9, 2008There's nothing a good Sci-Fi thriller, conspiracy theorist, or high-tech spy movie loves more than the idea of using a computer to read someone's mind. It's the ultimate way of attaining information. A person won't tell you who they work for? Just hook up some wires and find out for yourself! Well, we may just be headed to a place where we can do just that.
A new study published in Science has found a neural footprint for speech recognition, and they can determine not only what was said, but who said it.
The study used a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a…
cwilcox | November 8, 2008We've all seen a news story or documentary on Discovery Channel about how global warming is wiping out Polar Bears or how poaching and habitat destruction is killing off the Gorillas. There are a lot of endangered species, and some are particularly trumpeted by the media and scientists alike. But there are 1,642,189 species on the IUCN's Red List - most you've probably never even heard of. I've found ten of them I bet you didn't know about.
What are they? Read the rest of this post!Take the Bumblebee Bat, for example. It wins the "cutest bat ever" contest hands down. Other wise known as…
cwilcox | November 6, 2008In 1990, the late Michael Crichton published his most influential book. Sure, a lot of us loved 'State of Fear', but let's be honest - that's not his most popular book. If you haven't been under a rock through the '90s, you've probably heard of it - Jurassic Park. Of course, the series' portrayal of dinosaurs may have been a bit off (we now know the velociraptors had feathers, for example), but the idea was pure brilliance. Resurrecting animals from blood stored in preserved mosquitos - genius, and eventually, maybe even possible. This, the week of his death, scientists have published a few…
cwilcox | November 6, 2008Everyone knows that the way women are portrayed in our culture - sexy, skinny, tall - makes the average woman feel a bit like the gum I had to peel off my shoe this morning. When we look at magazine ads or watch TV shows, we women feel inadequate - and it's no wonder, when the average woman model weighs up to 25% less than the typical woman and maintains a weight at about 15 to 20% below what is considered healthy for her age and height. But the 40,000 or so ads the average American is exposed to a year aren't just affecting the girls. A new study coming out of the University of Missouri…
cwilcox | November 5, 2008We all love Facebook (or MySpace), but it's not exactly the most professional forum. Isn't there a better way for scientists to communicate their research and network?
The short answer is "Yes."
The long answer is "Yes, it's called ."
The brainchild of self-taught web guru and PhD student Brian Krueger, LabSpaces.Net is a social networking site dedicated to scientists. It's designed to "spread science news, maintain and create friendships, and harbor collaboration through the internet." The site is specially geared to serve researchers and labs as a community for communication in the…
cwilcox | November 4, 2008I try not to be overtly political, but I personally believe that America has made the right choice today in electing Barack Obama. I was rediculously tired tonight. I wanted nothing more than to go to bed at 9 PM. But I decided that I had to stay up to witness this historic event. Of course, there I was, waiting to hear how Florida's votes would go, and Obama won without them, as soon as Cali, Washington, and Oregon reported. Obama won by a landslide - I couldn't be more relieved. With this election, the US has taken one more step towards true equality and freedom.
However, my joy is tainted…