Tangled Bank 96 - Toadally

Hey everyone, and welcome to the 96th Tangled Bank blog carnival! This is where you can toadally catch up with the best recent blog writing on the life sciences.

Beasties

• Grrlscientist at Living the Scientific Life explains why bright blue tits make better mothers.
• Tangled Up In Blue Guy gives us a run-down of the phylogeny of bioluminescent animals.
• Podblack Cat describes her contribution thus
  
  A brief look at taxonomy quirks
  (and you thought being famous had perks...) -
  Crypto-zoo claims,
  Real wacky names
  And Seuss shows some science in his works!
• Jeremy at Stand Up For REAL Science discusses Indohyus, the latest and cutest proto-whale.
• Bora at A Blog Around the Clock comments on new research into the taxonomy of giraffes.
• Kevin Z at The Other 95% discusses new research into the evolution of barnacles.
• Matt at Behavioral Ecology asks, Why are models tall anyway?

Microstuff

• Charles at Science and Reason discusses FoxO transcription factors that affect genes related to cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, longevity, and embryonic development.
• The Bad Idea Blog reports on new findings about the early evolution of the RNA-protein complex.
• Ian at Mystery Rays from Outer Space tells us that clams have herpes. But do they have crabs?

Medicine

• Chris at Ouroboros talks about the biology of aging.
• Alvaro of SharpBrains offers an interview with Elizabeth Zelinski about training regimens to combat age-related cognitive impairment.
• Larry, also at SharpBrains, has a post about brain evolution and why it is important for improving brain health.
• The Mad Tea-Party blog discusses the possibilities of a general flu vaccine.
• Archaeozoology gives us an introduction to caries. Hello, caries.

Climate

• Jeremy at Agricultural Biodiversity writes up four papers about what global warming promises for agriculture.

General Science-Related

• Grrlscientist at Living the Scientific Life gives her thoughts on the ScienceDebate 2008 initiative: "In search of a science-literate leader".
• Larry Ferlazzo offers a selection of science web sites for students and teachers, with commentary.
• Bora at A Blog Around the Clock has announced the table of contents of the soon forthcoming 2007 Open Lab Science Blogging Anthology.

The 97th Tangled Bank will come on-line at The Inoculated Mind on 23 January. Don't forget to submit good stuff -- your own or others'.