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cmcclain | September 18, 2007
The son of famous Lucha Libre wrestler is tackling enemies of the environment. The aptly name El Hijo del Santo, already a success in the ring, is positioning to take on 'Sewage Man' among others in the ring. In partnership with Wildcoast, El Hijo is launching a new campaign to raise awareness about environmental issues.
grrlscientist | September 18, 2007I am back in the library today, but I am well-armed this time: I brought a big bar of Cadbury's Royal Dark Chocolate with me, so I am writing stories for you all once again. Yummy! Because of course, as we learned in the Harry Potter books, it's chocolate that keeps the Dementors away, right?
Well, okay, I am taking my meds once again, too.
I am having problems accessing my blog to publish stories for you, so I am writing this entry in a window that I opened yesterday evening before leaving the library, just for this purpose. Hrm, I wonder if this entry will publish? I am starting to think…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007tags: Garden Fest, blog carnival
The September issue of the Garden Fest blog carnival is now available for you to enjoy. This is a new blog carnival for me, so be sure to go there and support them by reading their linked articles.
denialism | September 17, 2007Shelly asks us to take part in her survey on science blogging. She wants to know who is reading science blogs, what do they want, what they don't want, and how science blogs can influence awareness of science.
Help her out, and take the survey.
pharyngula | September 17, 2007Larry Moran gives his take on the Nisbet AAAS panel. I suspect Matt is getting a little more controversy than he anticipated.
That's good, right? It'll stir up more interest in the discussion!
cmcclain | September 16, 2007
How do you find squid in the dark depths if you are a toothed whale or dolphin? Lindberg an expert on molluscs and Pyenson an expert on whale evolution propose that ecolocation in the ondontocetes, or toothed whales, arose as mechanism to locate squid buffets. To view this story we need to go back, way back.
45 million years ago the land mammals entered freshwater and evolved the necessary equipment to survive in an aqueous medium except obviously the ability to breath underwater. These first whales did not echolocate, which is known because their foreheads were not scooped to allow for "…
cmcclain | September 16, 2007Presumably if you are reading this you enjoy my ramblings about the deep sea. What if you could get more of me? What if I was on your TV? Wouldn't that be great! Recently, I found out about an opportunity with a production company that is developing a show on the deep sea for a major cable channel. Sorry I can't be more specific. They are looking for hosts and there is a little talk about yours truly potentially filling the spot. At this point they have my tape and I am in the running with a bunch of others that frankly might be better looking than me. That is why I need your help...I…
cmcclain | September 14, 2007CK in garbage bag darkroom, credit Stéphane HourdezThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy advises that it is always useful to have your own towel. Sea-going microscopists are similarly advised to bring a large black garbage bag and duct tape.
Viral particles are very small, often less than 200 nm. For perspective, the diameter of a human hair is about 50,000 nm. In the past, the only way to see and count marine viruses was by using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), an expensive and complicated device that uses electrons instead of light to visualize small objects. However,…
pharyngula | September 14, 2007Atheists don't get credit if we give to religious charities. We don't get credit if we give to simply secular causes. Now, though, we've got a new explicitly godless charity that works to improve education and knowledge of science: the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. It's my kind of place — and best of all, money going there isn't going to be mistaken for support for ignorance and superstition.
Read the announcement. It's cleared all the legal hurdles in both the US and Great Britain and has been granted charitable, tax-exempt status, and is going to be my favored choice of…
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007I was working on some stories for you, but I have not been feeling very well once again. I thought I was getting better, but as of yesterday, I have not been feeling well. Except this time, my malaise is mood-based. I hate taking meds for a variety of reasons, and so I tend not to do so after I've been feeling alright for a week or so, and I end up paying the price.
Sorry about that. I am hoping to finish these essays over the weekend for you (plus, I have to write Birds in the News, too).
cmcclain | September 14, 2007
Radiolaria are marine protists that are most abundant in tropical waters. The remains of their beautiful houses can be found on the bottom of the ocean as well as in fossilised rock.
Direct link: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/index.html
From the Institute for the Promotion of the Less than One Millimeter's
Micropolitan Museum (the marine collection)
Link: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/micropolitan/index.html
blue_expo | September 14, 2007 To be quite honest, I've never written for a blog before. That seems as good of a sentence as any to start off with. Each week my fellow neurobiology students and I will be writing about something to what we're studying in class. We may write thoughts on our discussions of the non-fiction books we're reading, or perhaps things in our everyday lives that pertain to neurobiology that we may not have noticed before. The only instructions we've been given are to have fun writing about anything that relates to neurobiology.
Backtracking a bit, I'm a college sophomore majoring in…
nisbetmc | September 14, 2007
This fall, I am traveling to many different cities and institutions to talk to a diversity of groups about new directions in science communication. Below is an updated lineup with new events scheduled for Princeton University, Bucknell University, and the National Cancer Institute.
There are also more details on the much anticipated panel discussion at the University of Minnesota that will include the bloggers PZ Myers and Greg Laden. The popular podcast series CFI Point of Inquiry plans to record and rebroadcast the event.
A few other possible stops are still in the works for the fall and…
grrlscientist | September 14, 2007tags: chocolate, online quiz
You are Dark Chocolate
You live your life with intensity, always going full force.
You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle.
An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world!
What Kind of Chocolate Are You?
Hey, that's my favorite kind of chocolate, how did they guess? (By the way, if you are interested to read a little more about chocolate and alcoholism, I recently wrote a story that you might enjoy).
cortex | September 14, 2007David Brooks makes a really smart macro point today about one of the big themes of modern neuroscience. His op-ed (Times $elect) is about the decline of IQ as a general metric of intelligence:
Today, the research that dominates public conversation is not about raw brain power but about the strengths and consequences of specific processes. Daniel Schacter of Harvard writes about the vices that flow from the way memory works. Daniel Gilbert, also of Harvard, describes the mistakes people make in perceiving the future. If people at Harvard are moving beyond general intelligence, you know…
cmcclain | September 13, 2007
Move over Angelina Jolie-according to University of Delaware marine biologists, the Pompeii worm is "Earth's Hottest Animal." And how could it not be...an invertebrate with a pimp-tastic bacteria fur coat?! Well that, and it can survive even when its butt is bathed in hydrothermal vent fluids as hot as 176ËC.
"While some bacteria thrive at higher temperatures, the Pompeii worm ranks as the most heat-tolerant among complex life forms. The former record holder was the Sahara Desert ant, at 131°F. Discovered in the early 1980s by French scientists, the Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana)…
zooillogix | September 13, 2007Probably my favorite SNL commercial of all time.
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Video [via Myspace]
More classic SNL animal vids below the fold
Dissing Your Dog
Alright, I'm going Crazy with these old SNL commercials. So good... I'll stop now.
Action Cats
actiekattenUploaded by filiafloep
grrlscientist | September 13, 2007tags: Seed Media Group, Hubert Burda Media, science literacy
My European readers have been incredibly loyal and kind to me, and it has given me great pleasure and pride to know that, even though you live overseas, you take the time to read my blog. So my European readers especially will be excited about some news that promises to give ScienceBlogs a more prominent position in Europe. This news is hot off the wires, and I will be writing more about what this means for all of you and for us here at SB as things develop.
Seed Media Group just announced that they recently formed a partnership…
cmcclain | September 13, 2007A garden of healthy, orange-coloured Eunicella verrucosa (sea fans) providing habitat for fish off Plymouth in the UK. Photographer: Sally Sharrock
It's great that you're having a Microbial Week on your blog; makes for a change from those pesky charismatic invertebrates hogging all the lime-light! Its good timing too, as we've just been able to complete some work which looks like microbes are getting the upper-hand in a battle with a very pretty species of gorgonian called Eunicella verrucosa. Off southwest Britain these pink seafans are not looking so pretty now, especially at Lundy Marine…