Tag Archives: Science

Brian Skerry: The ocean’s glory — and horror

In an era when our Conservative government cares little about conservation, this TED Talk shows both the horror and the hope of climactic and human changes to the ocean.  A more progressive approach is needed, and soon, but there is still a chance we can save our beautiful blue. Brian Skerry: The ocean’s glory — […]

Posted in Science | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field

This video makes the case for the Ultra Deep Field photograph, taken by the Hubble Telescope, as the most important image ever taken. After watching it, I concur.  This is well worth 4 minutes of your time. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D – YouTube.

Posted in history | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

‘Potential cure for AIDS’

Possible cure for HIV discovered, which is mind blowing enough before I read how it works: Harrich’s gene therapy process involves adding a specifically designed HIV therapy agent to a culture of stem cells that causes these cells to become HIV resistant. These mutated stem cells would then be returned to the body with the […]

Posted in Health | Also tagged | Comments closed

Spider That Builds Its Own Spider Decoys

The test of advanced animal intelligence is tool use. More and more animals are joining the primates in this group.  This artistic spider has even learned how to make decoys. In September, Torres was leading visitors into a floodplain surrounding Peru’s Tambopata Research Center, located near the western edge of the Amazon. From a distance, they […]

Posted in biology, Science | Also tagged , | Comments closed

Evolution of Lactose Tolerance

Fascinating look at the genetic evolution of lactose tolerance; the reason my sister can down a litre of milk a day. To repurpose a handy metaphor, let’s call two of the first Homo sapiens Adam and Eve. By the time they welcomed their firstborn, that rascal Cain, into the world, 2 million centuries of evolution […]

Posted in Evolution | Also tagged | Comments closed

Blackboards in Porn

Blackboards in Porn: Critiquing the background set décor in those skeevy teacher/student porn scenes. This is the reason the Internet was invented.  (NB: Surprisingly worksafe, though the illustrations still feature skeevy teacher/student actors.) Education cutbacks are clearly hitting hard – this establishment can only afford a periodic table with four elements, and a hand-drawn one […]

Posted in Humor | Also tagged | Comments closed

TED Talk: A blood test without bleeding

Fantastic. Myshkin Ingawale is the co-founder of Biosense Technologies, which has built ToucHB, a portable, non-invasive device to test for anemia. Myshkin Ingawale: A blood test without bleeding | Video on TED.com.

Posted in Activism | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

Life as a Scientist of Life Sciences

Neat article by the National Post about a spider expert. I particularly loved this little aside: Erigonines are so small that Nina has to handle them using a combination of a fine-gauge pipette—with which she sucks up a bead or two of spider-containing alcohol—and an even finer insect needle—with which she spends long minutes positioning […]

Posted in Science | Also tagged , | Comments closed

“Research”

I imagine the images from this study will provide many, many men with their first glimpse at a real female orgasm. Scientists have used brain scan images to create the world’s first movie of the female brain as it approaches, experiences and recovers from an orgasm. The animation reveals the steady buildup of activity in […]

Posted in Sexuality | Also tagged , | Comments closed

Pan sapiens

Initial genetic studies characterised the DNA of chimpanzees (common chimpanzee and bonobo, collectively) as being as much as 98% (99.4 in one study) identical to that of Homo sapiens… In the seminal Nature paper reporting on initial genome comparisons, researchers identified thirty-five million single-nucleotide changes, five million insertion or deletion events, and a number of […]

Posted in biology | Also tagged , , | Comments closed