You’ve heard evolution is about the “survival of the fittest,”* but fitness doesn’t guarantee beautiful products.
Sometimes, carrying on your genetic legacy means replacing a host’s tongue, eating your neighbors or letting your mate liquefy every part of your body except for (eek!) your gonads.
In short: You might want to grab a barf bag, because we’re about to take a horrifying little stroll through the animal kingdom. And it’s going to get progressively un-pretty.**
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Science and technology nerds, the first-ever Science Hack Day planning is in full swing — so get a move on, contribute what you can to the event site, and start planning your trip (probably to London).
“Wait a minute,” you snort. “What’s this confounded ‘Hack Day’ thing? It sounds nerdy.”
You’d be right, but let’s begin with what hack days are not: (more…)
Science nerds across the U.S.A., it’s that time of year again: the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
This year the party is going down in sunny San Diego, California — no impenetrable banks of snow, face-numbing temperatures, or nasty salty crust all over my pants, thanks very much.
Since you’re a nerd, though (who else would read this blog?) you already knew about the meeting. But if you’re not familiar, it goes something like this… (more…)
I saw my brain this week on a TV screen — specifically my midbrain. It was amazing.
What technology allowed this wonder? Sonogram, aka ultrasound — yes, the same device you use to look at fetuses while they’re in the womb. I was under the impression that I could take video and photos during the procedure.
Which I did.
Unfortunately, life plays terrible tricks on science-obsessed little boys named Dave Mosher.
By posting my images and video (or posting any identifying information for that matter), I was later told that I’d probably violate the study’s institutional review board (IRB) protocols. And could thus jeopardize the very important and exciting research going on.
Ugh.
In the name of science I’m going to withhold my multimedia goods, and regroup on the blog post I’ve already written. I’ll have to strip any identifying anything from it — so, a sort of “Mad Libs” of the brain.
Check back soon, and I’ll hopefully have something good worked out…
Photo courtesy of ICanHasCheezburger.com
That weird device in New York City’s subway system from the previous post? It’s an air quality monitor.
After a few dead-end phone calls and e-mails to the NYC DEP, I finally walked up to a police officer at the Union Square precinct, which is just a fart away from the machine (pun intended). Rough transcript of our conversation:
Me: Excuse me, what the heck is that machine out there?
Cop: It’s an air testa’, you know, to make sure there nuthin’ bad we’re breathin’ in.
Me: Do you know what it’s looking for or measuring, specifically?
Cop: Bad stuff. Stuff you don’t wanna breathe in.
Me: Like radon? Or aerosols? Or…?
Cop: Bad stuff, so we don’t get hurt down here.
Thanks for that explanation, because I had previously thought to myself, the subway is full of wonderful-smelling, healthy air particles. Such as brake dust, excrement, urine, vomit, etc.
Captain obvious aside, Cosmopolitanaut Kaylen also verified this conclusion in my previous post. She would know. She processes the data they generate.
But even Kaylen raised the point: how does it work? (more…)
If Bing is trying to sneak away Google’s share of nerds’ favorite means to search the ‘net, I have to say that they’re doing a great job.
Check this out, from a few days ago:
Io, the most volcanically active anything in the solar system, as the home page background? +5 nerd points.