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The Naked Ascus
Hyphae with poorly-differentiated fruiting bodies of Gymnascella marismortui, from Buchalo et al. (1998).Three years ago, Christopher and I visited my aunt in Jordan. We spent a week visiting various...
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Secret garden, illegal garden, magic garden
On the south side of Philadelphia is a Magic Garden, and this "magic garden" was built both illegally and secretly in northern India. You give some people, actually not some people, just a couple of...
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Please, valued Sir, can I have a recommendation?
TPP gets contacted by former students all the time. Do you remember me? Generally, yes, my memory of students is quite good actually, and I have surprised some people from years ago. They often then...
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New laser-printed material is lighter than water, as strong as steel
Materials shape human progress – think stone age or bronze age. The 21st century has been referred to as the molecular age, a time when scientists are beginning to manipulate materials at the atomic...
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A little behind on filing
Virtually all herbarium collections are behind on filing, unless they aren't collecting anything at all. This semester TPP has a class of warm bodies and the idea is to get them active and doing...
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Bill Nye totally won that debate
The debate tonight between Bill Nye and Ken Ham was won by Nye hands down. Hands up.Take a look at this lovely slide:That is a fantastic point. I have not seen it made before. The point is that if...
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China’s exceptionally well-preserved fossils may have been the result of a...
A series of fossil discoveries in the 1990s changed our understanding of the lives of early birds and mammals, as well as the dinosaurs they shared an ecosystem with. All those discoveries had one...
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Doing your homework
I just finished a radio interview about birth order.Apparently not very much research goes into booking guests for radio & TV shows. Lately, I've been getting at least one interview request a month...
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Persi Diaconis explains randomness
#PerciDiaconis #MartinGardner #statistics #mathematics #video Perci Diaconis is a mathematician and a student of Martin Gardner. He was born on the 31st January, 1945, so, with a bit of delay, this is...
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Bill Nye Won the Debate and Why I Think It Matters.
Not actually Ken HamThere are 2 rules most people know:1. Never get involved in a land war in Asia.2. Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.I would like to promote a third that is...
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Brief note: a new vaccine mythbuster site appears
Vaccines are probably the single greatest advance in public health ever invented. Despite their enormous benefits, and the overwhelming evidence in their favor (we've wiped out smallpox and nearly...
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Who really discovered trisomy 21? (righting an old wrong)
A few days ago a French student in my Useful Genetics Coursera course posted a link to an article in Le Monde (sorry, it's both in French and behind a paywall, but this link might get you a...
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Campus fashion citings
You can observe lots of interesting winter fashion on university campuses.Bare-ankled weather nut - It was 5 degrees below zero this morning, and there walking down a sidewalk was a bare-ankled weather...
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Saturday morning bird activity
Here's the activity report from the Phactor's kitchen table. It's been a very cold week but today is a warm snap, up to 20 F, and the forecast is for more snow and then the temperature is to fall...
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Dmitri Mendeleev and a brief history of the chemistry
by @ulaulaman via @smoot_ #Mendeleev #chemistry #periodictable #Lavoisier The story of the chemistry starting with the first philosophers interested in the atoms, people like Epicurus, Democritus,...
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A study in Saturday contrasts
What to do on a snowy Saturday? Two more inches have fallen since my last post this AM. Well, Mrs. Phactor decides we needs us some culture, so nothing for it but to mount a small expedition to see...
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February 2014 Desktop Calendar
No I don't think that you should put me on your desktop for February : ) Continue reading and I will get to the calendar at the end of my tale. During the sunny mild month of January I went to the...
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The Eupodoidea: Earth Mites and Silk-weaving Mites
Two cocceupodids, possibly Linopodes motatorius, photographed by Christophe Quintin.For today's post, I'd like to introduce you to the Eupodoidea. These are a group of mites in the Prostigmata (you can...
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Score one for the Phactor!
Everyone likes a challenge, and the latest Get Your Botany On plant ID quiz was indeed a challenge, but an educated guess (false toadflax) based on what the plant clearly wasn't (Comandra unbellata),...
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Internet quack Joe Mercola is worried. Dr. Oz to the rescue!
Dr. Oz interviews Joe Mercola on his show.After a series of studies showing that vitamins and supplements are usually a waste of money, including my recent article on the top 6 vitamins you shouldn’t...
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