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Bad and Ugly
Landscaping is usually either pretty good, or pretty bad and very ugly, and nothing serves up the latter category any better than poodled shrubs. So the dear people over at Garden Rant really get it...
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Spooks are spooky
Here's a news item about the "chance" detainment of a partner of a journalist, a clear misuse of an anti-terrorism law whose name is Miranda. Ironic, no? You see this is the problem with spooks;...
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#MicroTwJC part 2: The Rise and Fall of LJ-001
Yesterday, I wrote about the discovery of LJ-001, a brand new drug which can fight against a broad spectrum of viruses, such as HIV, Flu and Ebola. These viruses have lipid membrane envelopes, which...
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Experimental design good, results discouraging
Well, I tested whether competence helps cells survive treatment with hydroxyurea, and the answer appears to be 'No'. First a reminder of why I did this experiment: For years I've been hypothesizing...
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A clearer perspective on CC-BY reuse
Over the weekend I posted and discussed the results of my survey on the editing and re-publication of open access articles in what pretend to be multi-author edited books containing new material. The...
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Multitaskers Make the Best Lovers, Say Tree Frogs
It's not an impossible demand. It's just that a male tree frog can choose to spend his energy doing one thing or another thing, and females prefer that he does more of both. The best multitasker might...
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cutting the environmental deficit
The GnOPe "conservatives" of the USA embrace two diametrically opposing ideas: governments must live within their means, and only in this way can deficits be cut and eliminated, and under no means...
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What makes interdisciplinary work difficult
I just read "When physicists do linguistics." Yes, I'm late to the party. In my defense, it only just appeared in my twitter feed. This article by Ben Zimmer describes work published earlier this year,...
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How-to lesson on climate denialism - USA Senate version
One of the big worries in science is interpreting the facts correctly, and if you don't you look stupid, so most scientists are really, really careful about making very solid interpretations. Now the...
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Taking research out into the wild
Like others, we believe that science is a little bit WEIRD — much of research is based on a certain type of person, from a very specific social, cultural, and economic background (WEIRD stands for...
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Stuff you never think about - Gum Arabic
You've probably never ever thought about gum arabic, so it was quite a surprise to TPP, who teaches about plant products like gum arabic, to find such a good article on the subject (The Guardian)....
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National Rum Day
How could TPP have missed this? Somehow, somebody, somebody probably named Bacardi, or Jack Sparrow, named August 16th National Rum Day. What nation? Puerto Rico? Jamaica? Dominica? In honor of...
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Mosses Winning Awards
Summer science conferences are in full swing and I am happy to report that our moss research has won some awards at two recent conferences!Luke Busta presented our collaborative research studying...
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Neutrinos: between Pontecorvo and Majorana
posted by @ulaulaman about #neutrinos #BrunoPontecorvo #EttoreMajorana Neutrinos are the most elusive elementary particles in the whole zoo. The reasons are simple: first of all neutrinos don't have...
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Does nagging about religious charity make people more co-operative?
There have been a few studies looking at whether religious people are more co-operative in games like the 'prisoners' dilemma'. This is a game where you have to decide whether to co-operate or default;...
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TMI Friday: Flip-Flops in Flaps
As the end of summer draws closer, people will start coming back from their holidays. Many of them will be more tanned , and hopefully more worldly. A smaller number will come back with exotic...
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Beetle Flies
Unidentified celyphid, photographed by Giovzaid85. Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@CatofOrg) may have already seen these guys, but I thought it worth putting them up here as well. Because...
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Fish Grow Big Fake Eyes When Predators Are Near
If you're a young, edible animal, a little flexibility about how you develop can save your behind. Or, if you're a damselfish, it can get a few bites taken out of your behind but ultimately save your...
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On the sunny side of the street - the problem with monocultures
Three years ago three large white ash trees lined the street in front of my house and my neighbors spaced about 60 feet apart (all over 3 foot diameter trunks). The city just removed the last one; it...
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First in freedom - tops in voter suppression
The first in freedom state has been making news for now being tops in voter suppression, and it's not just racial minorities who are the target! Now funny things happen when you plop a university down...
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