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Syngenta, atrazine and keeping the science separate from the policy
The New Yorker has an excellent piece of reporting on the efforts of Tyrone Hayes, a UC Berkeley biology professor and his efforts to investigate potentially very important and deleterious effects of...
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Reseach roundup: schizophrenia, brain ageing, and unexplained medical mysteries
So, posting has been infrequent of late. But on the plus side, that means I have a huge backlog of fantastic research to share with you. To get it cleared, I'm going to try a new approach - mixing in...
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Turning over a new artistic leaf
The Phactor likes botanical art a lot, and here's a nice example where the medium is botanical, in this case leaves, as best as can be determined, folded and packed into spaces to produce some great...
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Find the gymnosperm leaf
Here's some leaves that the Phactor scanned after using them in a class. They are all tropical woody plants, but none are any more closer related than being members of the same order. Note how similar...
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Any good outcomes of winter cold?
It's been 35 years since the upper midwest has had a winter this cold. Since December began there have been 20 days (nights) where the temperature has been below zero, and for those of you using a...
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The Known Universe
(2001: A Space Odyssey via fuckyeahthelastframe)The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star,...
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Deep Fried Moss
I was incredibly excited to find out about the Norwegian restaurant Noma serving fried moss on the menu! My sister heard the story on a podcast from the America's Test Kitchen. In the show, host...
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Tropical interlude to chase winter blues
TPP was looking through a bunch of old color slides and while the class picture sought remains elusive, this beach scene emerged, and, well, ... Wow! This brought back some great memories. Is this...
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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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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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Highly Conserved Is Relative
When discussing some aspect of biology, we often want to know how common is the gene, pathway, structure, interaction, or other phenomenon we are interested in. This can be important in two distinct...
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An Exciting Weekend!!!!
Looking for things to do this weekend (and you do)?Why do you need something to do, you ask? It's Valentine's Day weekend you point out. You plan on lots of dancing and romancing with your significant...
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Successful Darwin Day
Yesterday was a pretty successful Darwin Day. It's not a big celebration; only the biology majors are invited for a party to view a pretty good collection of Darwin's publications (TPP has a pretty...
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It's snowing - hard - again!
Winter weather is back at it again. The snow started near the end of our breakfast, and within minutes it was really coming down such that you knew the predicted accumulation of 1-2 inches was going to...
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Robotic lawnmower powered by grass clippings
Mowing lawn has always been a bit of a robotic experience, mindless and boring. So why not have a robotic lawnmower? This is a great concept, and even more amazing, supposedly this mower fuels...
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Snow base makes higher trophic levels available
Along a portion of the Phactors' driveway is an old privet hedge. Because of limited options, snow shoveled out of the driveway ends up piled in the hedge, and with each successive snowfall, the base...
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Yes, we have no margaritas
Everyone who knows the Phactors knows that at the end of the day, the Phactors like to sit on their patio, and look at their gardens and enjoy their margaritas. So what's wrong with this picture?...
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A Dick to dislike - very muchly!
Wow, Andrew Sullivan really nails Dick Cheney. My dislike of Cheney is deep and profound; he moved into my number one spot of worst political leaders of the USA years ago. So this piece really...
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Thrips Wars!
Two males of Elaphrothrips tuberculatus fight it out on the left, while the object of their desire guards her egg-mass on the right. Figure from Crespi (1986).All around, little dramas are taking place...
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Ice Archosauromorph
Recent retreat of ancient ice sheets from western Virginia has revealed the frozen exquisitely preserved remains of a phytosaurian archosaur. The specimen appears to be of the fully crested type,...
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