cwilcox

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Christie Wilcox

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June 23, 2009
**giggle** That is one bold monkey - but the music really makes these videos.
June 22, 2009
Yeah, yeah, I've done these little guys before. But come on - just watch the video. I dare you to claim that you are not overwhelmed by the Cute. HT Zooborns, again. Those guys kick some serious ass when it comes to finding the world's cutest animals
June 20, 2009
So, I kind of have an obsession with small and miniature versions of things. I saw this car in a parking lot yesterday, and I just couldn't help snapping a pic. I WANT THIS CAR. It's a baby car! Isn't it ADORABLE? Someone should buy me a car like this. Seriously.
June 19, 2009
Beaches come with warning signs about hazardous marine life or rough seas. Now, finally, someone is warning the marine life about its biggest threats. They're putting labels on aquarium tanks so that the sharks inside can read the danger that lurks on the other side of the glass: HT Oceanic…
June 18, 2009
There is an entire family of wasps who use other species to raise their young, and they're a seemingly endless source of sci-fi worthy parasites. I've covered a few of them before, but none is quite so elegant as Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, a Costa Rican wasp with a fascinating and unique way of…
June 17, 2009
There is a lot of debate in the shark biology community about the ever popular Discovery Channel yearly event "Shark Week." On the one hand, it's an intense, interesting week of programming which draws a lot of viewers and attention to the animals that shark biologists hold near and dear to their…
June 15, 2009
I wasn't exactly a normal kid. I loved animals, and after much convincing, I somehow got my mother to agree to let me have hedgehogs. Two of them, actually. One was a regular colored one named Spickle (because, she was "spickly" - spiky and prickly) and an albino one named Popcorn (because he was…
June 10, 2009
Hey there my dedicated blog readers, Sorry there hasn't been much from me all week. I'm moving to Hawaii in less than a month, and between preparing for that 6,000 mile trek, a pick up in work (I suspect my boss trying to get the most out of my last couple weeks here), and general life, I've been…
June 8, 2009
It's June 8th, and the votes are in for the first round of the 3 Quark's Daily Science Blogging Contest. The top 20 posts have been announced, and... drumroll please... We're in! TWICE! That's right, falling in at #17 is The End Of The Age Of Man? and barely squeaking in unnoticed at #20 is A…
June 8, 2009
Well, sort of. A fellow blogger (Sheril, of The Intersection) is doing a survey experiment about kissing for a book she's writing called The Science of Kissing. It sounds like it's going to be a great book, but to finish it, she needs people to help her with an experiment. It's really simple - all…
June 7, 2009
Yeah, those caterpillar mimicking trematodes were impressive. But we humans have our own trematodes which are pretty nasty, too. One group of trematodes which uses humans as a final host is the genus Schistosoma, like Schistosoma masonii on the right. Like other trematodes, Schistosoma spp. have…
June 7, 2009
It is with great pleasure that I announce to you all that Carnival of the Blue #25 is up! What better way to celebrate World Ocean Day than to read the best of the best in ocean blogging! And, if you haven't already, don't forget to check out the Carnival of Evolution #12 over at Deep Sea News.…
June 7, 2009
Ok. Seriously. If you haven't voted in the 3 Quark's Daily Science Blogging Contest, do it. Now. There's only 6 hours left, and the clock is winding down until Midnight EST! And, for that matter, Observation's Of A Nerd's 'A Marine Biologist's Story' and 'The End Of The Age Of Man?' are flirting…
June 7, 2009
Our emotions are strongly tied to our morals. We're more likely to think something is wrong if it repulses us, even if we can't describe exactly why or how it is wrong. For example, most people would disapprove of consensual adult incest between siblings, but few would be able to articulate…
June 3, 2009
You often hear that happy people see the world differently. They look through 'rose colored glasses' or 'on the bright side.' There are a lot of phrases that connect mood and sight. Those less optimistic, as well, claim to 'see things as they are.' It's no surprise, then, that new research,…
June 3, 2009
I know, I know - there are still 3 days left of voting on the 3 Quark's Daily Science Blogging Prize. I shouldn't be sweating it yet. But c'mon - we're right on the cusp of the top 20 with A Marine Biologist's Story AND The End Of The Age Of Man! I'm biting my nails watching the numbers slowly…
June 3, 2009
This image just made me grin like the Cheshire cat. Thanks, Allie (who, in turn, got it from Animal Planet's Twitter Feed)
June 1, 2009
No, not Publisher's Clearing House. And not that 3 Quark's thing - not yet, anyway. You know, you could go vote for observation's of a nerd, though, and better my odds... But, no, I'm referring to something way more awesome to win. I'm this month's everyONE PLoS ONE Blog Post of the Month!…
May 31, 2009
All right all 300 or so listeners of mine (wow, that sounds like a lot). The voting link is up for the 3 Quark's Daily Best Science Blog Post. So go and vote for your favorite science blog post(s) - though, if you need suggestions, there are four down in the Os that I think are phenominal. The top…
May 31, 2009
This adorable image is thanks to Let's Be Friends, a blog of images of odd animal friendships. I love the simple motto: "If they can do it, then so can we."
May 30, 2009
I stumbled across this link on the internets. Go to it. It shows how big a blue whale is life-size. It's almost unfathomable to imagine how large these creatures really are in person. The size of the eye alone is staggering, and scrolling around the whale's body just gave me an incredible sense of…
May 28, 2009
Well, that explains everything.
May 28, 2009
Ah, the parasitic flatworms called trematodes. There's a lot of them, and many have very strange and impressive life cycles involving many specific hosts. Just about any of them is sci-fi worthy, but this one, in particular, is a real eye-catcher. Meet Leucochloridium paradoxum, also known as the…
May 28, 2009
OK - I admit. I am terrified by don't like moths as it is. But this makes me creeped out by them even more than the sucking blood bit: Source: DailyMailWhat you're looking at was formerly known as a Honda. It's been attacked by (by my guess, hundreds of thousands of) spindle ermine moth larvae (…
May 27, 2009
When I interned at Florida Aquarium I had the pleasure of working with two screech owls. Sure, there were bigger, more impressive looking raptors that I could hold and show people, but those pint-sized versions were my favorite. It wasn't just that they were small (though that totally helped). It…
May 26, 2009
...err..well, not exactly. But it is a much easier way for a 45 ton sperm whale to get a quick bite to eat. This amazing footage of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) shaking cod fishing lines 108 m deep off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, is the first ever of sperm whales feeding - albeit not on…
May 26, 2009
3 Quarks Daily, a fantastic blog which covers everything from science to art to politics, has annouced that it will start giving out "best of the year" awards for blog posts from around the internet. The Science category starts now, with nominations being accepted until June 1st. There will then be…
May 25, 2009
These little tykes were only discovered last year. They're so cute, they made The International Institute for Species Exploration's Top 10 Newly Discovered Species for 2008. Standing a whoppin' 1/2" tall, these little Satomi's Pygmy Seahorses, Hippocampus satomiae, are the smallest known species…
May 25, 2009
I'm sure most of you are aware that today is a truly special holiday. It's a day where we can honor those who have come before and done a great service to us - one single remembrance of those who have fallen before their time and the contributions they've made to us all. Of course, I'm referring…
May 22, 2009
Sometimes, it's truly incredible how much of an impact people can have on their environment. The International Coastal Cleanup, for example, was able to remove 6.8 million pounds of trash from the world's ocean and river ecosystems last year alone. But most of the time, what we do is horrifying.…