cwilcox

Ok, to date, all the paraites I've mentioned are invertebrates. So, to be fair, I'm going to make the next two weeks parasites that are vertebrates - after all, it's not like having a backbone makes you somehow a nicer animal. Take the pearlfish. I first heard about the pearlfish in my freshman…

Paleontologists have found a new fossil of a whale ancestor - and its announced just after I finish watching my preview DVD of Nat Geo's Morphed on whale evolution. I smell fate. Anyhow, the new whale predecessor was unveiled in a PLoS One article this week. Donned "Maiacetus inuus", the species…

So maybe this is how I'm statistically significant... (hat tip Bob O'Hara's Deep Thoughts and Silliness)

Somehow my self-indulgent writings managed to attract the attention of some very cool people - specifically, someone who works for the National Geographic Channel. What this means for me is that I got to see their upcoming Darwin Specials in honor of his 200th b-day premiering next weekend. I have…

OK, keeping with the wildlife theme: I recently found a photoset on Flickr called Tiny Things On Fingers. So yeah, here's a nice little subset. Baby Sugar Glider. Look at the paws on that guy! He's got hulk hands. I don't care what you say. Even baby insects, like this mantis here, are cute.…

For those of you that don't know, I live in Florida. Specifically, I live near Tampa - so right now life is getting a lot more difficult. That's because the Steelers and Cardinals are in town for the Super Bowl. And, amidst all this chaos, amusingly, I open my Google Reader this morning to see…

We all feel bad for those poor kids whose parents have some sick sense of humor - you know, like poor little Talula does the Hula from Hawaii or Adolf. But new research suggests there might be even more to it. Male teens with unpopular names are more likely to commit crime, regardless of race. A…

What could be more sci-fi than a case of replacing body parts? Sure, we might figure to do it with machines or cloning instead of another species, but fish don't get that luxury. Snappers have a wonderful parasite that works with them, to a point, to replace a part of their bodies. Of course, the…

OK, I couldn't help myself. I see all these super-special bloggers making their own gear, and I want some too! So, I cafepressed. Here's the designs available, if you need a nerdy gift: Definitely A Nerd (example, tote bag) I always wanted one, so FINALLY, here's the "I am Statistically Significant…

This week's cute is a newborn Sifaka (Propithecus coronatus) named Tahina from a French Zoo. She's a beautiful baby girl, whose name means "needs to be protected." In the wild, this little girl would be carried in her mother's mouth until she was strong enough to hold onto her fur by herself.…

Hey there all, I've been asked to team up with a cool crew of people and chip in some stories at a site called NutritionWonderland.Com. It's a new site (launching in the next week or two, so it's not even completely ready yet) that wants to bring the science back into nutrition. The goal is to…

Ok, the consistent reader of this blog can't help but notice that I am a sucker when it comes to unique studies about human relationships and the trappings that go with them. The biological basis and interaction with behavior is simply fascinating to me. This is why I had to report on a study that…

Japanese scientists announced on Jan 22nd that they had made a huge breakthrough in fabricating human organs. Researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology successfully created a doll made of living cells. The doll is about 1-inch tall and 5 mm wide, and is made from fully functioning cells.…

How many times have you heard a guy say "Women - can't live with them, can't live without them." Well, they just might be onto something. At least kind of. You see, living with a woman might just make you fertile longer. New research published in Biology of Reproduction has found that male mice…

Everyone knows that dieting and losing weight is hard, especially for women. It's like our bodies are hard-wired to fail - and, perhaps they are. At least that is one interpretation of a new study coming out of the Brookhaven National Laboratory this week, set to be published in PNAS shortly. The…

If you're a fan of once-a-week info bites like my Sci-Fi Parasites or Doses of Cute, you should check out Biochemical Soul's new Adaptation of the week. It's sure to be a great new weekly digest of adaptations at their finest!

Here's a nice San Diego beach scene, made by swabbing fluorescent bacteria on a culture plate: Now that is just cool. Here's some nerdy-background info on the artwork: the scene, by Nathan Shaner (photo: Paul Steinbach) is made from eight different colors of bacterial colonies expressing…

What do you do when you've lost your mom? ... Find the next closest thing. c/o www.dailymail.co.uk, click to link to story Which, in the case of hedgehogs, is apparently a cleaning brush. These little youngsters are reportedly attracted to the bristles because they smelled like their outdoor home…

The estrogen hormone oestradiol is associated with just about every aspect of female beauty. As well as serving as a growth hormone for female reproductive organs, it's associated with having a symmetrical face, large breasts and a low waist-to-hip ratio. Now, the hormone is credited with one more…

Most parasites are really, really small. Especially the ones that mess with brains - they tend to be able to fit in them. But not all parasites that can do some fun jedi mind tricks are so itsy-bitsy. Take, for example, the Rhizocephalans - the parasitic barnacles. Yes, I did just say parasitic…

So, every once in awhile I check my feedburner stats, to see what kind of stuff attracts people to my site. You know, where people link to me from, etc. Well, I usually have a few from random google searches like "science nerd" or "tiger" (something about my Tiger Wine post is apparently very…

Every kid blames their parents for all their bad habits. Parents are supposed to be your role models, your guides. So who doesn't try and get away with a "mom's X behavior when I was a kid made me like this" every once in awhile? Well, it turns out you might get to pile one more on poor mom's…

Rose Ragai over at MY LIFE IS MY CHOICE has tagged me a game of tag! Here are the rules: 1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.2. Post the rules on your blog.3. Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself.4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.5. Let…

Hee hee! I am such a sucker for baby animals... Especially duck-ducks! ( ;> to Barry) c/o http://www.dailymail.co.uk last year (click picture to link to story) These little tykes were somehow swept away from their mother and were facing a terrible death at sea, until, lucky for them, a passing…

Thanks to Allie, I've found a bunch of new ways to waste time, all thanks to Sporcle. Can you remember all 20 of the standard amino acids? (yup. Got all 20. Cheating, though, that they give you the 3-letter and 1-letter abbreviations. Makes it too easy... though spelling them right is hard!) How…

Gosh, I hope my kids are like this

Screw Tetris. More and more research seems to be accumulating to support MDMA (or Ecstasy, to the street-wise reader) for the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, is well-loved by drug enthusiasts for its experiential effects which…

Most of us women can tell if a guy is 'into us'. We pick up on a vasy array of non-verbal cues, not the mention the ever-obvious verbal ones. But I wouldn't say I can smell sexual interest- would you? Probably not. But, as it turns out, women's brains can distinguish the difference between sweat…

Look at the guilt in her eyes... I love it when animal ingenuity triumphs over human expectations. One very happy, hungry, and ingenious harbor seal found its way into a state fish hatchery sometime Monday night and had a ball of a time snacking to its heart's content until a hatchery worker…

Ok, I simply had to post about this new study from PLoS ONE because my boyfriend, Barry, absolutely loves the game Tetris. Anyhow, new research has found that Tetris can help treat PTSD flashbacks, which is pretty cool for a really old, really simple video game. Read the rest of this post! Here's…