worldsfair | May 18, 2007Isn't this pretty? A recent issue of the New Yorker had a marvelous cover that spread over three pages. I couldn't find the three page spread on the New Yorker site, so I thought I'd piece them together myself. Might be handy as a slide one of these days.
(By Bruce McCall - who also writes funny stuff in their Shouts and Murmur section)Click here if you want a larger version - not high resolution, but big enough to translate well if you wanted to use it for a powerpoint presentation or something. (Note that you can also purchase the cover for real at the New Yorker site, but for some…
bcohen | May 17, 2007This week's sponsor is none other than the Hungarian Cookery, whose world famous motto is a one word "Yum!!" Cuz let me ask you readers something: are you Hungarian? Know what? Doesn't matter. Know why? Cuz you don't have to be Hungarian to love homemade goulash and dumplings and whatnot.
One of the reasons we took on the Hungarian Cookbook as a sponsor this week (and late at that, eep!) was that they accept *both* Mastercard and Visa. A class act, all the way. Here's the kicker too: you're not sure what you want to eat or if you want to plunk down the just-shy-o'-ten bucks? Well go…
worldsfair | May 16, 2007(These look like the "that's o.k. but I'll judge from way back here" type of science fair participants)
In honour of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which is being blogged about at http://scienceblogs.com/intelisef, I was thinking about my own experiences as a science fair contestant and occasional judge.
I wasn't too creative or elaborate myself when it came to my own projects, so most of my fondest memories are from judging or as a mentor. Anyway, from this, it's clear that there are certain types of participants, some of which I will list out below:
1. The "makings…
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"Why is anisogamy important? Anisogamy is the fundamental cause for the majority of differences between males and females, both in terms of macro-scale physiology, post mating sex-roles, reproductive strategies, and sets the stage for sexual conflict. For instance, anisogamy is the fundamental reason why:"
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"A biological clock is a structure that times regular re-occurence of biochemical, physiological and behavioral events in an organism in constant environmental conditions Perhaps the best way to explain this is to dissect the definition word-by-word, explaining my choice of words included (and those omitted) in the definition. But first, I need to make it clear that I am NOT trying to invent a new definition, or to impose my views on others. Instead, I am trying to capture the sense in which the term has actually been used by the practitioners in the field, and the way such usage may have…
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"Species: A term which everybody thinks they understand, but which nobody agrees upon, to denote the "basic units" of groups of biological organisms. It is sometimes said, or has been said to me, that one ought not know too much about a topic if you are to define it clearly. "
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"A clade is, simply expressed, any branch (Greek: klados) of the evolutionary tree which is separated from the rest of the tree by a single cut. Any branch, however large or small, that is cut off this way is monophyletic, or of a single origin. Monophyly is, under cladistic terminology, the property of a single species and all of its descendant species."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"The rapidity of this folding reaction tells us something about the mechanism of protein folding. We know that folding is rapid and spontaneous because proteins can be purified then unfolded by treating them with certain chemicals that cause them to become denatured or unfolded. These denatured proteins can then be allowed to re-fold when the chemicals are removed."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"Collagen is the major protein component of the connective tissue of vertebrates; it constitutes about 25% to 35% of the total protein in mammals. Collagen molecules have remarkably diverse forms and functions. For example, collagen in tendons forms stiff, ropelike fibers of tremendous tensile strength; in skin, collagen takes the form of loosely woven fibers, permitting expansion in all directions."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"The concept of a gene is a fundamental part of the fields of genetics, molecular biology, evolution and all the rest of biology. Gene concepts can be divided into two main categories: abstract and physical. Abstract genes are the kind we refer to when we talk about genes "for" a certain trait, including many genetic diseases. Most geneticists and many evolutionary biologists use an abstract gene concept."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"I talk a lot about genes, so let's just step way back and give a useful definition of a gene. I admit right up front, though, that there are two limitations: I'm going to give a very simplified explanation that fits with a molecular genetics focus (pure geneticists define genes very differently), and I'm going to talk only about eukaryotic/metazoan genes. I tell you right now that if I asked a half dozen different biologists to help me out with this, they'd rip into it and add a thousand qualifiers, and it would never get done. So let's plunge in and see what a simple version of a gene is…
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"There is much misunderstanding of this term, and people often pack a lot of differing concepts under it. Consider this rant by a creationist in The American Spectator: there are "six types of evolution" according to him. They are cosmic evolution, chemical evolution, stellar evolution, organic (or organice [sic]) evolution, macroevolution and microevolution. Apart from being deeply ignorant about all the topics he classifies, some of this is just ridiculous."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"Most non-scientists seem to be quite confused about precise definitions of biological evolution. Part of the confusion is because the word "evolution" has many different meanings, depending on the context. When we talk about biology we are thinking about biological evolution and that's the term I want to define here. What do biologists mean when they refer to biological evolution?"
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"One way for ecologists to define and correlate these varied environments is by categorizing these areas by the types of plants that inhabit them. These categories are called biomes. Categorizing each biome by plant life is not an end in itself; instead, indigenous plant life acts as an indicator of the animal life, soil composition and the climate of an area."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"Ecology is a study of interactions or relationships between organisms and the environment; the connectedness between living systems and non-living systems on the Earth. Ecology is, in a sense, a historical field, founded upon the Earth's far reaching and ever evolving natural history."
(Click here to go to post)
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"In the simplest terms, gastrulation is a stage in early development; in human beings it occurs between two and three weeks after fertilization. It is that stage when a two-layered cell mass undergoes a set of specific movements and interactions that establish the three germ layers of the embryo (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm) and the beginnings of a three-dimensional structure. The end result doesn't look like much of an animal, but it has set up pools of cells that will contribute to specific future cell types, and has laid down the rough outline of tissues along the body axis."
(Click…
worldsfair | May 15, 2007"The pharyngula stage: the pharyngula is a vertebrate embryo that has assembled the outlines of the body plan. It has the key features of vertebrate morphology -- a post-anal tail, a notochord, a dorsal neural tube, a segmented musculature, and an array of branchial arches ("gill" arches). The major organs have begun to form."
(Click here to go to post)
bcohen | May 15, 2007PRESS CENTER | PRINTABLE BRACKETSd-orbitals start off with the ball, hauling it down from the top off, and run the court to drop in the first 2. Fossil Fuels respond, carrying the ball up easily, temperately. They get into a 3-2 formation and then charge right up the gulley, working the flim-flam all the way around until the wizzle blocks around through the spot, right over, into it, oh yes dropping in a lay up with nary a wink. d-orbital comes back quick, dribbles down, passes, passes,
dribbles, passes, dribbles, passes, shoots, misses, gets the rebound, kicks it out, passes, shoots,…
bcohen | May 14, 2007Just outside Baltimore, an Earth Ball -- "a large inflatable ball most often seen in junior-high-school locker rooms" -- may be the most trenchant voice about the utter distaste that is Sean Hannity. Ben Greenman's been compiling the Earth Ball's views. It isn't pretty.
Earth Ball first brought pen to paper a few years ago, in the wake of Hannity's bizarre and hypocritical take on the post-Katrina situation. Here's an excerpt on the bizarre part (go to the full letter for the hypocritical part):
There are hundreds upon hundreds of examples of Hannity's abysmal behavior. I would like to…
worldsfair | May 12, 2007No science. Just some songs, I'm digging right now. Available at our gift shop.
May 12, 2007Keep the Car Running, Arcade FireThe Story, Brandi CarlileLast to Know, Neil Finn