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Defective Brayne Podcast Episode 1
A Biologist, A Chemist and a Physicist met up and decided to start a podcast. This is the result, a weekly podcast that should update on Mondays for the next few weeks. In the first episode we...
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The Uncertainty Principle for climate (and chemical) models
A recent issue of Nature had an interesting article on what seems to be a wholly paradoxical feature of models used in climate science; as the models are becoming increasingly realistic, they are also...
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Botanical benefits of June
The Phactors have vacationed on the NC coast with Rent-a-Mob relatives on several occasions, but usually later in the summer; never before in June. It turns out that this is an excellent time to visit...
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Climate-Studying Seals Bring Back Happy News
The elephant seals that sent data back from underneath Antarctic ice hadn't exactly volunteered for the task—the sensors were glued to their heads. But it was for a good cause. By taking advantage of...
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Sunland
#solarpower #wolframalpha In the image the solar power generated by country (via wolframalpha)
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World class beach architecture
This NC beach is composed of very fine sugar sand, which when properly wet packs tightly and it can be sculpted in considerable detail. Here's a fine example for what is obviously a first effort....
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Multiscale gigapixel photography
posted by @ulaulaman #photography #computer #science #technologySometimes, using the Android application Wondershare Panorama, I try to shot some panoramical photos. The result is good, but it could be...
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Green Swamp - Carnivorous Plants Abound
The intertubes have made this a much smaller world, and a long-time reader figured out that we were vacationing only about 10 miles apart. As a nice botanical gesture, she recommended that the Phactor...
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Sobre el Futuro and the Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference
It may appear that I haven't been busy lately because of the death of posts here at The Astronomist. You would be right to suspect that in reality I have actually been extremely busy. I passed my...
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As "Leisurely" Divers, Triassic Ichthyosaurs Did Not Suffer From "The Bends"
Rothschild, B. M., Xiaoting, Z., and L. D. Martin. 2012. Adaptations for marine habitat and the effect of Triassic and Jurassic predator pressure on development of decompression syndrome in...
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When It Comes to Numbers, We're All Late Bloomers
Good news for aspiring jelly-bean jar estimators who are under 30! Your intuitive grasp of numbers may not have peaked yet. Unlike other cognitive skills, the ability to approximate keeps improving...
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Associated Evolution Of Bipedality And Cursoriality Among Triassic Archosaurs
Kubo, T., and M. O. Kubo. 2012. Associated evolution of bipedality and cursoriality among Triassic archosaurs: a phylogenetically controlled evaluation. Paleobiology 38: 474–485....
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Does belief in a compassionate god increase murder rates?
Azim Shariff, who's now at the University of Oregon in the USA, has taken a look at how belief in heaven and hell relates to crime rates around the world. The basic approach was dead simple. Using...
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Reanalysis of the Archosauriform Proterochampsa from the Late Triassic of...
Dilkes, D., and A. Arcucci. 2012. Proterochampsa barrionuevoi (Archosauriformes: Proterochampsia) from The Late Triassic (Carnian) of Argentina and a phylogenetic analysis of Proterochampsia....
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Hot and humid vs. hot and dry
Today promises to be a typical hot, humid Carolina low-lands' day. Back home the upper mid-west is sweltering, but the big difference is that here it's humid and there it's dry. In out particular...
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Moss Meetings
Last week I was down in New York at two meetings focusing on Mosses. Yes I go to scientific conferences where everyone is studying bryophytes. Pretty nerdy, I know, but it is actually really fun to...
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Friday Fabulous Flower - Beach Morningglory
Spotted this nice specimen peaking up out of the sand where it had almost gotten buried by drifting sand, but no worries, this is a tough plant. The beach morningglory (Ipomoea imperati) is adapted to...
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Merck's mumps vaccine is good. But not good enough.
It came out this week that two former employees are suing Merck (here's the document), the pharmaceutical company/giant, over what they say was a deliberate attempt to con the US government - and by...
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Science, It's a meritocratic thing?
#sciencegirlthing meme confused me, because when I started at university, there was a 60:40 girl boy ratio on my science course. There seem to be plenty of girls going into science courses, but where...
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Hot weather predator-prey relationships
As mentioned in a recent blog, by definition our summer begins, at least in terms of hot weather, when the cicadas begin to sing. So far the singing is not the deafening roar it sometimes becomes, but...
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