Christie Wilcox
cwilcox
Posts by this author
December 2, 2008
In 1982, criminologists George Kelling and James Q. Wilson published an article in The Atlantic Monthly called "Broken Windows." The theory they laid out became known as the Broken Windows Theory. It holds that people are more likely to commit crimes in areas that appear unwatched and uncared for…
December 1, 2008
A few years ago, there was a lot of debate around a penguin couple at the Central Park Zoo. The couple were clearly very much in love - at least as much as any penguin couple can be, and had been for years. They spent their days making love, singing sweet penguin nothings, and cuddling. They even…
November 30, 2008
Hello everyone! Happy Carnival!
evâoâluâtionâ [ev-uh-loo-shuhn or, especially Brit., ee-vuh-]ânoun1. A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Most of the time, when we think 'evolution', we think about animals and genetic…
November 28, 2008
If you've been reading the news, people are reacting strongly to a new study which reported ocean acidification due to CO2 output is occurring at a faster rate than expected. But what is the deal with acidification, anyway?
The worst part of a change in ocean pH is that it shifts the balance of…
November 26, 2008
I've decided to sit down and write out a few things I'm thankful for. I'd like to say that this decision is 'in light if the holiday', because it should be, but to be honest, it's not. It's due to reading studies that have found the effects of grattitude extend far beyond previously thought. (see…
November 25, 2008
Viva Viagra - but not if you're an athlete.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering banning the drug because of its capability to be used as a "performance enhancer" (yeah, yeah).
Viagra (sildenafil citrate) works to increase blood flow by causing blood vessels to become wider, which, in…
November 25, 2008
In the animal world, the ability to live off of solar power is virtually unheard of. Sure, most would say corals do it, but the truth is that the corals themselves aren't the ones soaking up the sun - it's tiny dinoflagellates called 'zooxanthellae' that actually perform the photosynthesis. In fact…
November 24, 2008
Wow! It's that time of year already! That is, it's almost time for Observations of a Nerd to host the Carnival of Evolution!
If you have a post you think deserves mention, feel free to submit it via this form. It doesn't have to be your own work - anything that catches your eye, let me know!
I'm…
November 23, 2008
Well, we might not be able to prove 'love at first sight', but hopeless romantics out there can defend their belief in long-lasting true love - physiologically.
Cynics and single girls tend to argue that love fades in a relationship, and married couples don't really feel the same way about each…
November 21, 2008
Well, in light of a mostly-sequenced mammoth genome, a lot of people are getting excited about the idea of cloning mammoths. ScienceBlogs.Com has dedicated their front "THE BUZZ IN THE BLOGOSPHERE" section today to it - and their "Reader Reaction" quote is from me (on a fellow blogger's post) - so…
November 20, 2008
Tigers are the largest of the big cats in the Panthera genus which also includes the Lion, Jaguar, and Leopard. There are six living subspecies, of which all are endangered. They occupy only 7% of their original range, and population estimates are perpetually declining. There are only somewhere…
November 20, 2008
Like every leader on their way out the door, Bush hopes to make a few more last-minute changes before we get our much-needed new president. One of his maleficent plans is to gut the Endangered Species Act despite active, loud protesting from the environmental community.
As if his general lack of…
November 19, 2008
...You use your research to create 3D portraits of a person out of carbon nanotubes.
Then again, who doesn't love a NanObama?
You can read about the process here. The artist, an assistant professor at Michigan University, has other nano-art at NanoBliss.Com.
Here's one for you horny dogs out…
November 19, 2008
In medical terminology, addiction is a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning and develops physical dependence. This is what you might call a "chemical" addiction - that is, if you're addicted to a substance, your body has altered its natural processes to require…
November 18, 2008
This is a NERD news red alert! VERY important news is about to be shared! It has important consequences for us all!
........
"Meh" has been added to the dictionary.
Nerds, REJOICE!The term is to be defined as "an interjection suggesting indifference or boredom and as an adjective to describe…
November 16, 2008
If only I were referring to the United States on this one. Sadly, no.
Conservatives in the UK are to get mandatory lessons in scientific literacy as a part of a new plan to strengthen evidence-based policy-making. They will be versed in the scientific method and basic concepts as part of the…
November 15, 2008
If you thought the knitted Lab Rat and Frog were cool, check out these guys:
They're Food Chain Friends!
Thanks to someone's great insight at FAO Schwarz, you can buy your kids these loveable critters which demonstrate the food chain in all its plushy goodness. Food Chain Friends are from Daro, a…
November 14, 2008
Everyone knows there are a million uses for duct tape. But did you know that DNA does a lot more than just store our genetic blueprints? Yeah, it turns out that the structure of DNA can be used for all kinds of things. Like optic cables, for example.
A team of Swedish scientists has come up with a…
November 12, 2008
This week, two different announcements have given the whales of the world the right to be upset. It seems they can get no relief from the constant pressures we place on their populations.
Firstly, the US Supreme court decided that Navy sonar was more important, so they overturned a lower courts…
November 11, 2008
As I hear people debate about evolution and religion, I feel like I'm listening to a political debate between two middle schoolers. One says that you have to vote republican because taxes are bad and the other says no, democrats are right because the republican kid has cooties. No one seems to…
November 11, 2008
I'm actually a man!
Well, it's news to me anyhow.
I'm informed of this by GenderAnalyzer.com. It's a BETA test of an AI software that tries to determine what gender a page's author is. Here's what they say about themselves: "We created Genderanalyzer out of curiosity and fun. It uses Artificial…
November 10, 2008
About a couple weeks ago, you might have heard about a study out of the University of Hawaii that found overweight and obese women (BMI>25) had 'more sex' than normal-weighted ones. The study was all over the news because it challenged what we would generally believe - after all, 'skinny' women…
November 9, 2008
There's nothing a good Sci-Fi thriller, conspiracy theorist, or high-tech spy movie loves more than the idea of using a computer to read someone's mind. It's the ultimate way of attaining information. A person won't tell you who they work for? Just hook up some wires and find out for yourself!…
November 8, 2008
We've all seen a news story or documentary on Discovery Channel about how global warming is wiping out Polar Bears or how poaching and habitat destruction is killing off the Gorillas. There are a lot of endangered species, and some are particularly trumpeted by the media and scientists alike. But…
November 6, 2008
In 1990, the late Michael Crichton published his most influential book. Sure, a lot of us loved 'State of Fear', but let's be honest - that's not his most popular book. If you haven't been under a rock through the '90s, you've probably heard of it - Jurassic Park. Of course, the series' portrayal…
November 6, 2008
Everyone knows that the way women are portrayed in our culture - sexy, skinny, tall - makes the average woman feel a bit like the gum I had to peel off my shoe this morning. When we look at magazine ads or watch TV shows, we women feel inadequate - and it's no wonder, when the average woman model…
November 5, 2008
We all love Facebook (or MySpace), but it's not exactly the most professional forum. Isn't there a better way for scientists to communicate their research and network?
The short answer is "Yes."
The long answer is "Yes, it's called ."
The brainchild of self-taught web guru and PhD student Brian…
November 4, 2008
I try not to be overtly political, but I personally believe that America has made the right choice today in electing Barack Obama. I was rediculously tired tonight. I wanted nothing more than to go to bed at 9 PM. But I decided that I had to stay up to witness this historic event. Of course, there…
November 2, 2008
A new study by the RAND Corp suggests that watching television with high sexual content increases a teenager's risk of pregnancy.
To determine this, they surveyed just over 2000 youths aged 12 to 17 years old via telephone in 2001 again 1 and 3 years later, in 2002 and 2004. They asked them if…