Christie Wilcox
cwilcox
Posts by this author
November 2, 2008
Carnival of Evolution #5 is up at The Other 95%!
And, for those dedicated Nerd followers (the few elite that you are), my Fun With Evolution made the cut! The ever gracious Kevin Zelnio called it "the ultimate in geeky barroom debate" - thanks!
November 1, 2008
Wow. Check this out: Zooillogix : Cheetah Loose on Delta Flight
That's just awesome. Imagine being the person who found the one running loose - yikes.
October 31, 2008
Top five natural horrors that are sure to give you a fright this Halloween! Go to my other site and check it out! You just might recognize #1, though... read more | digg story
October 31, 2008
Double,double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble...SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES!!
Anyone who knows me knows I'm terrified of moths. I get really, really, REALLY freaked out by them (especially big ones). I don't know if I watched "Silence of the Lambs" too young or what, but moths…
October 30, 2008
Everyone knows being a scientist has its downsides (like the Pay Rate), but it definitely has its upsides, too. If you're in a really fun lab, you'll have a glowing cat or something else strange to show off. For the rest of us, simply having access to a well-stocked lab and a basic understanding of…
October 29, 2008
John Mayer told us that "when you trust your television/What you get is what you got/Cause when they own the information, oh/They can bend it all they want." Well, it turns out it's worse than that - even if you think you're somewhat knowledgeable in an area, the media's coverage may affect the way…
October 28, 2008
I have tried really hard not to write a blog post about this book for awhile now, but I had to move recently, and in packing and unpacking I happened to run across my copy of it at least a dozen times. I can't resist it any longer. For those of you who have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy…
October 27, 2008
It seems that you can't have a conversation about evolution that doesn't end with everyone involved feeling frustrated. You can't even mention the word 'evolution' without bringing up a political philippic, religious rant or scientific squabble. Unfortunately, this keeps everyone from the…
October 26, 2008
One way to get people 'eating healthy' is to make food healthier - and that is exactly what european researchers have done by genetically modifying a tomato (published in Nature Biotechnology). They inserted two snapdragon genes, allowing the fruit to over-express anthocyanins, which have…
October 23, 2008
The plot of M. Night Shyamalan's movie 'The Happening' is that plants mysteriously start releasing a neurotoxin that causes people to kill themselves. Originally I thought it was too ridiculous, but maybe, just maybe, it is possible.
A new study by by Drs. Michael Poulter and Hymie Anisman and…
October 23, 2008
OK, I know GFP is hardly news since the Nobel Prize was awarded to the scientists who discovered it and made it available to researchers. But, come on - tell me this cat ain't cool:
Meet Mr. Green Genes.
He's a nearly 6-month-old orange tabby whose eyes, gums and tongue glow a vivid lime green, the…
October 22, 2008
While it was often hypothesized in the 20th century that dinosaurs were the evolutionary ancestors of birds, it wasn't until the late 1980s that we found the first firm evidence of a dinosaur with feathers - specifically, quill knobs (which are strongly correlated with large and well-developed…
October 21, 2008
If you thought I was jumping on the bandwagon by blogging, check this out: Midori-san's Blog. OK, so it's not in english, so unless you've got a good translator you might have some trouble. I'll tell you what's so interesting about it - the author is this guy here:
That's right, it's a plant's blog…
October 21, 2008
Each year, Malaria kills one to three million people, mostly kids. Caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium and spread by mosquitos, malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases, and while there is treatment, drug resistance is a constant problem. If the prevalence of malaria…
October 17, 2008
I have no response to this. Just... wow. Damn.
(thanks, Mike, for the reminder.)
October 17, 2008
Now that I'm done fuming, I can appreciate a new site I just found by the creators over at Zooillogix: ZooBorns.
Oh yes, it's every bit as cute and cuddly as it sounds. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I WANT ONE! Look at some of the adorables posted:
Red Panda Babies
Baby Armadillo
and…
October 17, 2008
OK, I apologize in advance for the general venting that is about to occur. But, in my defense, people really bug me sometimes.
I posted my post 'Take 30 Seconds to Save Sea Turtles' at another website and got this response:
Is there evidence anywhere that any shallow internet poll has ever actually…
October 15, 2008
I like to pride myself on knowing a lot about the marine realm, graduating with a degree in Marine Science and all. But this, I didn't know: It is legal to kill sea turtles in the Bahamas.
All seven species of sea turtle are endangered ("threatened" or worse on the IUCN red list), with three…
October 14, 2008
In Ol Pejeta, Kenya, conservationists faced a unique problem. The conservancy is striving to protect native african wildlife, like the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) from poaching and territory loss. Listed as 'vulnerable' by IUCN Red List, only approximately 10,000 elephants are in Africa…
October 14, 2008
If you're struggling to pick up chicks, perhaps you should change your strategy. Instead of hanging out at bars boasting how much you can bench press, you might spending a few hours with some cute nurses at a Bloodmobile. Why? Because women think that guys who are altruistic are hot.
A new study…
October 12, 2008
There's a new phantom to add to the list of nightmare-inducing creatures: catfish.
No, seriously.
Bagarius yarrelli, a species of giant catfish called 'goonches,' have reportedly begun preying on humans. The fish are native to the Great Kali River in India, generally feed on insects, fish and…
October 9, 2008
... then you don't want to know how much we lose economically by deforestation each year. Pavan Sukhdev, leader of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), explained at the World Conservation Congress that the monetary cost of the nature we destroy makes the losses on the financial…
October 9, 2008
I have another blog now - up on the Nature Network. You'll have to forgive me, and if you have a lot of free time, feel free to check it out. It's more oceanography based (or will be, when I have more than two posts, anyway). Our relationship can withstand my indiscretion, can't it? God, I hope so…
October 9, 2008
OK, so there's nothing really 'biological' about this story... but DUDE - I want one.
After years of waiting, we may just get the first flying car released in 2009 by Terrafigia, Inc.
The Transition is really a plane that you can use on the road, not a 'flying car'. Gregory Mone from Pop Sci even…
October 8, 2008
I love when scientists study the good stuff. Infectious Disease? Trite! Global warming? Cliche! Cure for cancer? Boring! So what is a dedicated, hard working scientist supposed to study to really make a difference in the world?
Oh, I have an idea! Premature Ejaculation!
O.K., I know it's a big (if…
October 7, 2008
I just want to say that this might be the coolest thing I've ever stumbled upon while surfing the net. Hands down, by far, the best. Subsequently, it would be downright immoral for me not to share it with you:
Someone (found by this person) actually figured out how to knit a dissecting rat and…
October 6, 2008
How's that for a frightening figure? 1/4 of all mammals on earth are on the IUCN's newest "Red List," animals threatened with extinction - that's 1,141 of them, at least, with 188 being 'critically endangered.' I say 'at least' because almost as many - 836 of them - are 'data deficient,' which…
October 2, 2008
For those of you who don't know, there are awards handed out every year to people who "do a service to humanity by removing themselves from the gene pool," lovingly named the Darwin Awards. Great stuff, if you want to get a good laugh at someone else's stupidity, but this is better.
Every October…
October 2, 2008
Of all the materials that were discovered in the past 100 years or so, none have become so widespread as plastic. Plastic is used for just about everything. From soda-pop to sterile saline in hospitals, flooring to teflon pans, plastics have become universal in every home and business in America…