Christie Wilcox
cwilcox
Posts by this author
May 20, 2009
No matter what our cultural influences might try to tell us, what makes a man a man isn't rippling abs, bulging biceps, or a rugged personality. It isn't an unbreakable emotional wall or a thick, wiry beard. None of these make Chuck Norris or any other classic "man's man" a real man. The only thing…
May 19, 2009
I'd be lying if I tried to claim that this whole "missing link," possible-primate-ancestor hasn't piqued my interest. So, since this blog is supposed to talk about anything and everything that does that, I would be failing you if I didn't at least briefly mention it. Even I can't completely avoid a…
May 19, 2009
Thanks, PhD Comics, for reminding us how it works.
HT to SciCurious who posted the link on her twitter feed
May 19, 2009
I'm always intrigued when artists use marine life for inspiration, but these are even better than most. The artists vision:to investigate plankton for themselves, and relate their observations in a unique collection of work made in wood, silver and gold
The two artists, Louise Hibbert and Sarah…
May 18, 2009
Ah, there's nothing that makes a good horror movie or sci-fi flick like the living dead. So it's no wonder that this little fly makes it on my list of sci-fi-worthy parasites. It's claim to fame is that it eats the brains of ants while turning them into living zombies for a bit before decaptating…
May 18, 2009
... then you have no heart.
check out more pics of this guy at ZooBornsClouded leopard cubs are simply too cute for words.
May 17, 2009
I was going to try and do something non-furry to continue to explore cuteness on other branches of the tree of life, but this little guy just made my heart melt and I couldn't, in good conscience, post anything else.
HT ZoobornsThis adorable little cub is a Black Jaguar, born on April 14th in Peru…
May 16, 2009
This is just frickin' neat: A 56-leaf clover. It was bred by farmer Shigeo Obara, who had previously held the Guiness World Record with an 18-leaf clover. "I never dreamed of seeing this many leaves on a clover," Shigeo told the Associated Press. Shigeo had to decal the leaves as he counted them to…
May 15, 2009
Occasionally, I come across interesting new technologies that are just too...well, too something, not to post about them.
Take, for example, Lisca lingerie's newest model: The Smart Memory Bra. The special memory foam bra reshapes under the influence of heat to give a woman more cleavage when she…
May 15, 2009
Some neat things you should check out:
Who knew? Monkeys Think âCoulda, Woulda, Shouldaâ, as explained by Allie of Oh For The Love of Science!
It may seem backward, but Ed of Not Exactly Rocket Science explains how we might be able to restore preadator numbers by culling their prey.
And Shark Diver…
May 14, 2009
When the media first caught wind that people had gotten sick with an Avian influenza virus, they began spreading fear about a global epidemic. The strain in question, H5N1, is devastating to birds. It's killed millions of poultry in Asia alone, and disease experts worried that close contact with…
May 13, 2009
Ok - I confess. There's only one reason this parasite is even remotely sci-fi worthy. Though, to be fair, it's a pretty good one: it kills you by eating your brains.
Meet Naegleria fowleri. A happy, free-living protist that lives in warm fresh water - at least until a very unlucky person dunks…
May 12, 2009
The alcohol industry decided to make it clear exactly how much alcohol was in their products. The theory was that visible, easy-to-read labels would promote responsible drinking by allowing consumers to make informed decisions about the drinks they're about make. But according to a a new study…
May 11, 2009
The Times Online caught my attention today with this grizzly headline:
"Killer whales face cull after finding taste for rare otters"
The article talks about a possible culling of Orcas because a few of them have taken to eating endangered sea lions and sea otters. While there's no information…
May 11, 2009
"Low emotional intelligence seems to be a significant risk factor for low orgasmic frequency," say researchers from the King's College in London. They studied over 2000 women to see if there was a link between low orgasm frequency and emotional intelligence ("EQ"). By looking at mental variables,…
May 11, 2009
Following up on my Weekly Dose of Cute, here's another little spider that is sure to make you grin. Meet Theridion grallator, perhaps better known as the Hawaiian Happy Face Spider.
This little guy, like the peacock spider, only grows to about 5 mm long, so he's a just as pint-sized as the last…
May 10, 2009
Ok, so this week's cutie might not be everyone's favorite to cuddle with, but standing at only a few millimeters, it's definitely cute. Just look at how small he is compared to a human thumb! I mean, he's positively tiny. Besides, you have to like him a bit because he's brightly colored! So he's…
May 8, 2009
Alrighty ladies and gents! Here's some fun for you all:
Carnival of the Blue #24 is up at Sea Notes, so definitely go check it out.
And if you enjoy carnivals, be sure to mosey on over to Oh For The Love Of Science! for the Carnival of Evolution #11.
While I'm at it, my boys over at Southern Fried…
May 7, 2009
People are bad news for fish - yeah, we've known that for awhile. Just look at the decrease in size of catch off the Florida Keys from 1957 to the 1980s and 2007 (on right) and that conclusion is obvious. But, surprisingly, little research has been able to show how human populations affect a group…
May 5, 2009
The air felt thick and heavy in my lungs. As I drove further down the narrow strip of beach, my throat closed and my eyes burned. It wasn't normal sea air - it was toxic. Red tide was hitting the area in full force, killing off thousands of marine animals and filling the air with the neurotoxic…
May 4, 2009
Of course, the climate change won't help, either. At least that is the claim of a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The researchers used computer models using ecological modelling ("GARP") to project the distribution of dengue fever's carrier, the mosquito Aedes aegypti,…
May 4, 2009
In The Womb: Extreme Animals
Premiering Sunday, May 10th at 9 PM on National Geographic Channel
I first heard about this weekend's amazing special, In the Womb: Extreme Animals way back in October of last year. It was my interest in the incredible images that come from In The Womb that made me…
May 4, 2009
So those of you who don't twitter might not know what "Geek of the Week" is. It's a weekly feature done by The Science Channel to show off someone who goes above and beyond in geekiness, nerdiness or the like. And guess what?I'M THE GEEK OF THE WEEK!
That's right. So if you were to head on over to…
May 4, 2009
So I've had unicellular parasites, metazoan parasites, even fungi parasites featured every week here. But there is one kind of parasite I haven't talked about: parasitic plants.
The classic example of a parasitic plant is the ever-loved Christmas favorite: Mistletoe. "Mistletoe" is actually a…
May 3, 2009
My brother's name is Kian, but ever since we were kids I've called him Kiwi. So, of course, I couldn't resist this little image, in light of his birthday:
Source: Daily Telegraph
Isn't it adorable? A wittle baby kiwi!
Kiwis are nocturnal, flightless birds that are indigenous to New Zealand - there…
May 1, 2009
I just read this on Denialism Blog, and simply had to send it out to all of you, just in case you don't subscribe to that awesome blog. What follows will scare and anger you - at least, that was my reaction. Some people are so self-deluding that they are willing to kill millions of people to…
April 30, 2009
Parasitic wasps are always an easy target as sci-fi parasites. After all, they were the main inspiration behind the film "Alien" - clearly they're 'sci-fi worthy'. They all do terrible, mean things to their hosts while they eat them alive from the inside out. And, simply, they're just really,…
April 30, 2009
One of the coolest dinosaurs you learn about as a kid are Pterodactyls (really Pterosaurs, but who's checking). As giant flying lizards, these guys are thought to have dominated the skies long before birds existed (from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous, 220-65 million years ago). The…
April 30, 2009
Expedition Grizzlypremiering Sunday, May 3rd at 9 PM ET/PT
Did you know that a full grown grizzly is over 8 feet tall when it stands on its hind legs and can easily move a one ton boulder with its powerful arm muscles?
This Sunday is your chance to learn more about this fascinating animal. National…
April 29, 2009
The results are in from the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup, and boy, do we make a mess of our oceans and beaches. The Ocean Conservancy had almost 400,000 volunteers worldwide picking up trash on land and off shore for the annual event. Last year, they picked up 6.8 million - that's 6,800,000…