January 2012
1 post
December 2011
2 posts
“Experiment shows that art students prefer abstract art to monkey art in about...”
– [1112.1669] Monkeys get a silver in Abstract Art Olympics
November 2011
4 posts
“They found that 4 hours of exposure to a mixture composed largely of primary...”
– Environmental Health Perspectives: Photochemical Finish: Assessing the Genomic Impact of Secondary Air Pollutants
“Facial composites made by combining individual faces are judged to be...”
– Human facial beauty: Averageness, symmetry, and parasite resistance
October 2011
3 posts
Racial Disparities In Databanking of DNA Profiles →
This paper, after outlining the legal growth and transformation of DNA databanks, examines how various steps in our criminal justice system create and magnify racial disparities, and how the law makes it nearly impossible to effectively address the problem.
September 2011
1 post
August 2011
9 posts
“A number of reproductive characteristics of termites differ substantially from...”
– Animal Behaviour : The mating biology of termites: a comparative review
A random, tiny gem from “Natural History Note: A Novel Terrestrial Fish Habitat inside Emergent Logs.”
Reports of new habitats for a major group of organisms are rare. Fishes display diverse adaptations for temporary (amphib- ious) existence on land, but to our knowledge, none have ever been reported regularly living inside emergent logs. Here, we show that the mangrove killifish,...
Twin reduction abortions: Why do they trouble... →
“And the more I think about it, the more I think utopianist future-hucksters like...”
– The future of Futurismic | Blog | Futurismic
“So what has this got to do with the bread on Abiba’s plate? Until...”
– Johann Hari: How Goldman gambled on starvation - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
Food Assistance, GMOs, Starvation
Re: “When people are starving, genetically modified food starts to look better…”
Not to support a misguided “Death Before GMOs!” line, or give cover to public health flat-earthers, but I think — at least generally, perhaps in this case — more attention should be paid to the nuances of GE concerns, and what specific strains are under discussion. Are some...
“Precopulatory mate guarding (PCMG) is generally assumed to be costly for both...”
– Does foreplay matter? Gammarus pulex females may benefit from long-lasting precopulatory mate guarding.
July 2011
7 posts
"Lowercase theories, uppercase Theories, and the... →
“In contrast to the classical view of development as a preprogrammed and...”
– PLoS ONE: Floral Morphogenesis: Stochastic Explorations of a Gene Network Epigenetic Landscape
Google and Memory, Technology and Thinking, and...
Thoughts on the new search engine/memory study, as commented on by Jonah Lehrer:
I think the researchers involved in this are overly sanguine. Not in a way that compromises the research — it’s sound work — but whether and how “online transactive” memory compares to “social transactive” memory is entirely speculative. No head-to-head comparisons have...
“If you really want to know how hot it is, head to Michael Rausch’s farm outside...”
– Summertime, and the Livin’ Isn’t Easy, Especially in Kansas - NYTimes.com
Tierstimmenarchiv Animal Sound Archive →
June 2011
10 posts
Landsat 5 Satellite Image of the Wallow North Fire →
Watching Whales Watching Us →
Three-dimensional model of the yeast genome. : A... →
“I like that what happened in this pictures, when the fastest moving things in...”
– From a comment to Massive, Bubble-Blowing Stars Sculpt Emerald Ring Nebula
“The peck orders of chickens have been measured in many ways, and the question of...”
– How peck orders of chickens are measured: A critical review
“It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could...”
– Elizabeth Kolbert, Field Notes From a Catastrophe
May 2011
8 posts
“This is one of the last unknown places on earth and it is being destroyed for...”
– Chaco deforestation by Christian sect puts Paraguayan land under threat | Environment | The Guardian
“They now apparently DO feel entitled to their own facts, and they live, campaign...”
– Own facts - Tom Toles - The Washington Post
April 2011
9 posts
“On Friday the 29th of April, 2011, England’s Prince William will marry the...”
– Cell - Royal Wedding
“We conclude that peacetime pressures from the bushmeat trade, clearance for...”
– Cambridge Journals Online - The impact of civil war on forest wildlife in West Africa: mammals in Gola Forest, Sierra Leone
“Great mountain peaks of name prestigious
Will suddenly become litigious.
Our...”
– “Reflections on the Dissent of Douglas, J., in Sierra Club v. Morton”