Clik here to view.
What does the latest research say on religion decreasing the risk of suicide?
And so to this thorny topic again! This time with a batch of new studies - but what light do they shed on this complicated topic?First up is a straightforward analysis of data from the Third National...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mosses on the Walls
Many species of mosses grow on vertical surfaces. Rock walls, brick walls, trees. Unfortunately mosses on vertical surfaces are pretty scarce here in the central valley of California. Despite the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There was a cake, so it must be official.
Over the weekend Mrs. Phactor and the F1 organized a retirement party for TPP, and there was a cake. It said: "Retired botanists plant themselves" (in green frosting script!). Not sure what to make...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lachenalia
Back in 2011, I presented you with a post on the southern African flowering bulb genus Ledebouria. In that post, I mentioned that Ledebouria was just one of a wide diversity of ornamental plants found...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Goodbye Florida; so long NOLA
A warming global climate will result in a sea level rise, period. How much of a rise depends upon lots of variables. But in many areas even a fraction of the potential rise will endanger really...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mrs. Phactor's gardens
A number of readers have requested that TPP feature Mrs. Phactor's gardens in some of his blogs. Well, they are completely right; he should and will. A number of the flowers have been featured on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Possible work with the new rpoD mutation
I'm up to my ears preparing materials for the new version of Useful Genetics, but we have a great new technician through UBC's Science Co-op program. She's nearly finished the work preparing the RNA...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oh, no, she's back!
Conservatives' fascination with Sarah Palindrone is a puzzling phenomenon. TPP has never heard the woman say anything interesting, clear, or remotely profound. Her chatter consists of political sound...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Richard Feynman, sexism and changing perceptions of a scientific icon
I fell in love with Richard Feynman when I was in middle school. That is when I discovered "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman" in my dad's bookshelf. For the first few hours I laughed till tears were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The World's Scorpion
Pair of lesser brown scorpions Isometrus maculatus in captivity, from here. The more elongate individual at lower left is a male; his stouter companion is female.With their elongate, sting-tipped...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Quiet fountain in a hosta bed
Here's another very charming feature in Mrs. Phactor's gardens. In a shady copse under a couple of huge sugar maple trees Mrs. Phactor has a large bed of big old hostas that surround a small fountain...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beach sand for long cycle life batteries
#sand #battery #chemistry #energy This is the holy grail – a low cost, non-toxic, environmentally friendly way to produce high performance lithium ion battery anodesZachary FavorsSchematic of the heat...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lotus flowering on Chinese time
Never stopped to think about it before, but the Phactors' lotus always starts flowering in July too, and apparently this is when they flower in China, and why not? While halfway around the world, it's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Join the HMS Beagle book club!
This is just great! The mapping voyage of the HMS Beagle was to last at least a year. This was the voyage of discovery that launched Charles Darwin's career in case you have never read about the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gene therapy for MND – the truth behind the headlines
An article published in the Daily Mail, and a number of other news outlets, on 11 July 2014 highlighted how scientists may have discovered a cure for a form of MND, with clinical trials beginning in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A response to recent events
The re-post of my Feynman post on SciAm and the note attached to it have led me to write this response. Several readers have asked me what happened, so I will endeavor to clear the air and provide what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Re-Blog: June Was 6th Warmest Globally
In the UK, we've been rather lucky *touch wood* and had a rather lovely summer thus far. But, it seems that there's a darker side to this lovely weather... I thought I'd re-blog this great blog post by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Turve = Peat in Finnish
A postdoc pal recently came back from visiting family in Finland and brought me this gift for managing the postdoc seminar series here at UC Davis while she was away. I love the hand-build soap dish....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Unique bird pollination adaptation - poofty anthers
Here's a link to a newly published study describing and documenting a very unique bird pollination adaptation. The anthers have a "spongy" bulb of tissue and they are attractive to birds. When a bird...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mathematicians discuss the Snowden revelations
In the last period I cannot read the Notices of AMS, so I lost the most recent discussion on this journal about the revelations made by Edward Snowden about NSA. Thanks to the n-category Café I recover...
View Article