bioephemera
Posts by this author
October 8, 2009
Okay, so this apron by Aksel Varichon is awesome. Very fun. But what's with the oven mitt?
If the premise of the apron is that we're seeing internal anatomy partially revealed on the wearer's body, doesn't the matching mitt imply that we have little hearts and kidneys in our wrists?
The artist…
October 7, 2009
Just got in from a really interesting talk by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, author of Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age. Mayer-Schonberger's concern is that with a shift to digital modes of storage, we've transitioned from a biologically hardwired default of forgetting information, to…
October 7, 2009
This stunning photo was taken not by the Hubble space telescope, but by some guy (Rogelio Andreo) out in the desert. Sure, he needed several thousand dollars in digital camera equipment to do it, but still - that's well within the reach of many hobbyists. Are we seeing a surge in amateur…
October 6, 2009
Scoville Foods has created periodic-table inspired packaging for its line of hot sauces - complete with a "Scoville unit" rating system. Check out this tasty pseudoscience:
Now, we are very pleased to introduce our hottest sauces: OTC and OTC Squared. That means it's Off-the-Charts on the Scoville…
October 3, 2009
I'm guessing this type of behavior is why this breed of bird is so rare:
Thank 3QD for the laugh. ;)
October 1, 2009
Cajal's Revenge, 2007
Katherine Sherwood
It's been a while since I've been able to focus on my Art vs. Science series of posts, so I understand if you've forgotten Part One and Part Two. A quick recap: in Part One, I asked,
I think that lay audiences approach scientific art differently - perhaps…
October 1, 2009
I've simply got too much to do this week to review these articles with the time and thought they deserve, so I'd just like to point them out to you.
First, Scibling Bora has written a massive critique of "Investigative Science Journalism." It's well worth a read, but set aside some time for it.…
October 1, 2009
Okay, everyone, here is something intriguing. The following video is amateurish, bizarre, has terrible production values, and appears to be the work of either a master performance artist or someone who lacks any self-consciousness whatsoever (shades of Little Edie Bouvier Beale).
But, if you start…
October 1, 2009
A gift idea for the person who already has everything: spider silk couture! (Or the closest thing to it). It took one million spiders to produce the silk for this textile from Madagascar (although the wild spiders were released after their silk was extracted, so some of them may have been repeat…
September 30, 2009
What You're Made Of (ABS)Jason Freeny, 2009
Anatomy teachers: this would be an awesome quiz for your students, wouldn't it? :)
Jason Freeny is the digital artist behind Balloon Animal anatomy, Gummi Bear anatomy, and the dissected Gingerbread Man. Visit his site to see more! Via SheWalksSoftly.
September 29, 2009
Every time I move to a new home, I try really hard to get rid of all my extra stuff - or at least to put it in storage. But when it comes to books, I have no willpower. Regarding my ten-pound, 6-inch-wide, half-unbound early-twentieth century Funk & Wagnall's dictionary, there wasn't even a…
September 26, 2009
Writing a dissertation is rarely fun. Most scientists I know look back on grad school as, well, a circle of Hell. But it's interesting when AAAS, the professional organization of scientists, endorses this viewpoint - as they appear to do in this T-shirt, which comes free with membership.
Come on…
September 25, 2009
Artist Liz Hickok makes your Friday complete with a Jell-O San Francisco, from this jiggly Palace of Fine Arts to a melting Marina. Melding the blurry, children's book perspective of tilt-shift photography with the saturated, translucent colors that define the California dream, Hickok has hit…
September 24, 2009
football gamepattagon's flickrstream
Inspiredology offers 40 tilt-shift images of urban landscapes. Some of them are truly hard to credit with reality. They're certainly better than my attempts at faux tilt-shift!
Previously on BioE: Alan Dragulin's toyscapes.
September 23, 2009
Last week, 3QuarksDaily quoted Shane Austen with this list of "sexual assault prevention tips guaranteed to work". It reads in part,
5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON'T ASSAULT THEM! 6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone…
September 22, 2009
Consumerist.com is concerned about these Singaporean Play-Doh ads:
Ummm, well, hmmm. That's kind of creepy, isn't it?
According to the Consumerist,
These Play Doh ads from Singapore don't seem to be aimed at kids. Then again, the message "safe no matter what you make" seems to be aimed directly…
September 21, 2009
On how many chilly fall days have you woken up and thought to yourself, "it's too cold for bare legs and too warm for wool tights - I need some vintage cell division illustration leggings"?
Okay, maybe never - but now you will.
From regeneration's etsy shop. Thanks to Laura for the heads up!
September 21, 2009
No, it's not a stupid joke. It's my candidate for the worst press release title of September? "Neurons Found To Be Similar To U.S. Electoral College":
A tiny neuron is a very complicated structure. Its complex network of dendrites, axons and synapses is constantly dealing with information, deciding…
September 20, 2009
Stanley Fish writes a provocative essay in the NYT on whether curiosity is tantamount to "a mental disorder," or even a sin:
Give this indictment of men in love with their own capacities a positive twist and it becomes a description of the scientific project, which includes among its many…
September 20, 2009
For the bibliophile who can't bear to leave all his or her books at home: a one-of-a-kind necklace of eleven miniature leather-bound books by TheBlackSpotBooks. Via NotCot.
September 19, 2009
This toddler t-shirt from Twisted Twee comes in sizes up to 4 years, and is inspired by "just a few of the items my young daughter Betty consumed in her first year." The buttons I understand, but the toy soldier? And what is the toy soldier doing to that cow?
Remember, parents: B is for baby,…
September 17, 2009
Yes, I am aware comments are borked on some recent posts - I apologize. It's apparently a code issue at Sb, and I can't fix it.
If you click directly through to a full post, you may not see comments. If you click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post on the main page, you may be able to…
September 17, 2009
I'm not really sure what to say about this strange ad. But I'm sure my readers have some ideas. Paging Dr. Isis and Zuska!
Originally here (it appears to be about ten years old), now found here.
*Due to Sb code borkage, if you do not see comments below, go here to view and add your own. Or try…
September 15, 2009
While delayed in the Denver airport last month, I discovered a large display of robots made of vintage tins, utensils, and knobs. They were the work of artist Mark Brown, who builds these comical, quizzical characters out of recycled and found materials. If we are ever exterminated by robot hordes…
September 15, 2009
An enigmatic photo from Morbid Anatomy's review of the Quay Brothers show at Parsons in NYC. Read all about it here.
September 14, 2009
An excellent post from language log:
I propose a voluntary ban on the use of generic plurals to express statistical differences, especially in talking to the general public about scientific results in areas with public policy implications.In other words, when we're looking at some property P of two…
September 13, 2009
Okay, if you're anything like me, you don't have time to read the blogs you already follow. But I do recommend that everyone head over to SEED's Revolutionary Minds Think Tank, where Greg Smith is guiding a conversation on visualizing science.
That's where I found the video above, demonstrating…
September 13, 2009
Those of you who visited Abebooks' weird book room have had an impact - check out this story in the Guardian.
Also, I was thrilled to see photos of the Snail Art Car, the "Golden Mean," at Burning Man this week - here's why. Glad to have contributed even a tiny bit of inspiration to what turned…
September 13, 2009
Scienceblogs is playing with the idea of making the "user community" more multidimensional. You can read more and express your opinion here.
September 12, 2009
According to Reuters, Gunther von Hagens of Body Worlds fame is going to create an entire exhibit showing plastinated cadavers in sexual poses. He already includes two "copulating cadavers" in his current show:
German politicians called the current "Cycle of Life" show charting conception to old…