Clik here to view.
Treacherous rainfall & garden watering
Things have been dry here abouts for a month now. A few days ago storms passed through over night and in the morning everything looked wet and fresh. Great! Actually not so great with another week...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The EMS mutagenesis mutant hunt - progress and plans
I wrote about this general experimental plan here, and described the preliminary test of the NovR selection here. The EMS mutagen has been ordered and should arrive within the next few days. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is your garden trite and boring?
Here's a list of garden plant varieties that can elevate any garden to the level of trite and, yes, even boring. If you have 7 or more of this list in your garden, you might think about finding a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hysterical distinction of historical science
Do you know the difference between “historical” and “observational”/experimental science? Well, it makes a big difference to creationists! You see in an effort to discredit the fossil record and all...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cashing in on fears of autism
Autism has been the subject of much controversy in recent years. Rates of diagnosis are rising, and many parents-to-be are understandably worried. Despite the efforts of many good scientists, we...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Timing of competence development in a new murE749 transformant
In the previous post I realized that I don't know how quickly competence will develop in cells that have just acquired a murE hypercompetence mutation. In that post this was a practical problem (how...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2013 Nobel Prizes
It's almost time for the 2013 Nobel Prizes, which means it's also time for playing that little game which we in the chemosphere have been playing for a while. As a prize predictor my record hasn't been...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Triassic Papers in the Festschift in Honor of Dr. Wann Langston Jr.
Back in very early 2010 Dr. Ernie Lundelius was honored with a festschift volume. When I congratulated him on it he lamented that his close friend and colleague Dr. Wann Langston Jr., still did not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Are There So Many Avahis?
Western woolly lemur Avahi occidentalis, photographed by Axeltelford. A few years back, I wrote a post on the lemur family Indriidae: the indri, the avahis, the sifakas. One thing I briefly mentioned...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Coloring In Birds' Bellies with Magic Marker Makes Them Healthier
Remember when you were a kid and the magic marker boxes always had some sort of really elaborate drawing on the back? As if to say, "Buy these eight wide-tip Mr. Sketches and you, too, will be able to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
GamesWithWords on Scientific American
Over the last week, ScientificAmerican.com has published two articles by me. The most recent, "Citizen Scientists decode meaning, memory and laughter," discusses how citizen science projects -- science...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hawk hyjinks
As my readers well know, TPP has been encouraging top predators to reside in our estate. This AM our breakfast amusement was watching at close quarters a young red-tailed [?] hawk try to obtain a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reintroducing the Phytosaur Genus Machaeoroprosopus
I had posted about the taxonomic problem caused by the loss of the holotype specimen Machaeroprosopus validusbefore with a plea for people to help look for the specimen. Come to find out a careful...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Problem of Dinosaur Origins: Integrating Three Approaches to the Rise of...
An excellent essay looking on depth at the question of dinosaur origins. I think the ideas put forth are worthy of dicussion and will be heavily debated, especially since it is written from a North...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Titling
I have never been good at coming up with titles for articles. When writing for newspapers or magazines, I usually leave it up to the editor. There is some danger that comes with this, however. Last...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What is a nectarine?
Someone asked an interesting question, "What is a nectarine?" A nectarine is a fuzzless peach, no more, no less, a peach with a smooth skin. Although considered a different fruit and a variety of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Phil Baran keeps the dream of classical organic chemists alive
I am very happy to note that organic chemist Phil Baran from Scripps is one of this year's recipients of the MacArthur "Genius" Award. It's rare for a chemist and especially a "pure" organic chemist to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Philosopher's Bacterium
Picture the mediaeval alchemist, standing before a smoking crucible, adding ingredients and performing the requisite incantations. Eventually, he allows the crucible to cool so that he might examine...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Molecular dynamics: I have a bad feeling about this.
Computer models of chemical and biological systems are not reality; rather they are what I call “invitations to reality”. They provide guidance to experimentalists to try out certain experiments, test...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Finally fall color
Finally the first of our plants with good fall color have changed. It wasn't that long ago that it still looked, felt, and sounded like summer. However, it's October 31st! And there are quite a few...
View Article