grrlscientist | July 20, 2009
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux).
Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power)
-- Sir Francis Bacon.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) was published today at A DC Birding Blog.
Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) is a traveling blog carnival that celebrates the best science, nature and medical writing targeted specifically to the public that has been published in the blogosphere within the past 60 days.
The host for the upcoming 3 August edition is Bjørn, author of Pleiotropy. To send your submissions to Scientia Pro Publica, either use…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinna in summer, 2.
Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I have returned to one of my two favorite haunts in Helsinki; Suomenlinna. This island fortress was built from stone by the Swedes to protect Finland (a part of Sweden in the 1700s) from invasion by sea.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Birdwatchers in southeastern Australia have been thrilled to see the arrival of about a third of the total national population of the highly endangered Swift Parrot, Lathamus discolor, on the Far South Coast.
Image: Max Sutcliffe, Narooma News [larger view].
Birds in Science
Bird deaths around the Baltic Sea and possibly elsewhere in the world may be caused by a shortage of the vitamin thiamine, researchers say. Wild birds of varied species along the Baltic coasts have been dying of hard-to-explain paralysis since…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Spot-Bellied Eagle-Owl, Forest Eagle-Owl, Malay Eagle-Owl, Bubo nipalensis, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Spot-Bellied Eagle-Owl, also known as the Forest Eagle-Owl or the Malay Eagle-Owl, Bubo nipalensis. This interesting bird, which is a pet, is endemic to Southeast Asia. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: "juannasue."
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, photographed at roughly 9am in the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Bardiac, 7 June 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: TEDTalks, medicine, infections, new technology, alpha-gal aptomer, antibiotics, Kary Mullis, streaming video
Drug-resistant bacteria kills, even in top hospitals. But now tough infections like staph and anthrax may be in for a surprise. In this video, Nobel-winning chemist Kary Mullis, who watched a friend die when powerful antibiotics failed, unveils a radical new cure that shows extraordinary promise [4:42]
TEDTalks shares the best ideas from the TED Conference with the world, for free: trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses, all giving the talk of…
grrlscientist | July 20, 2009tags: science, geology, Grand Canyon, religion, creationism, humor, funny, streaming video
The Grand Canyon is such an icon of the Earth's geological history, of slow and steady uplift, erosion, submergence and deposition, that the creationist crowd thought it essential to tackle it head on. So they have come up with an explanation as to how it might have got there in a world created only 6,000 years ago. Their attempts to squeeze this majestic testament to natural processes into bronze age mythology are not just clumsy, they're the stuff good comedy is made of [10:03]
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 1851 - 1139 - 1091 - 738 - 562 out of 339 candidates registered. I have excellent news: I am once again in second place after one of my Reddit peeps whipped up support for me among my fellow Redditers! THANK YOU REDDIT!
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay; hopefully, you will agree…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinna in summer.
Image: GrrlScientist, 18 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I have returned to one of my two favorite haunts in Helsinki; Suomenlinna. This island fortress was built from stone by the Swedes to protect Finland (a part of Sweden in the 1700s) from invasion by sea.
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"How does one distinguish a truly civilized nation from an aggregation of
barbarians? That is easy. A civilized country produces much good bird
literature."
--Edgar Kincaid
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and…
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Ruddy Turnstone, Arenaria interpres, photographed at Galveston, East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: religion, fundamentalism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, terrorism, Marcus Brigstocke, streaming video
In this video, Marcus Brigstocke rants about religion. Not for the faint-hearted! And I agree with everything he says, too. So there. [Audio from 'The Now Show', Radio 4, Saturday 21 July 2007. Pictures compiled, animated and sequenced by Alien8ted] [7:21]
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: religion, afterlife, humor, satire, Edward Current, streaming video
In this video, Edward Current shares his thoughts on god and the afterlife. He writes, "Frankly, one reason I've remained a die-hard Christian is to cover my behind in the afterlife. But I recently realized I need to worship ALL gods that might possibly exist." [3:26]
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 1831 - 1057 - 931 - 728 - 550 out of 333 candidates registered. I am in THIRD PLACE to a guy who STOLE one of the points I made in my essay and used it as his own -- hardly a stellar example of good sportsmanship or good writing ability.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay; hopefully,…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009tags: Tvärminne, zoological field research station, Finland, nature, image of the day
Wildflowers photographed at Tvärminnen eläintieteellinen asema
(Tvärminne Zoological field research station) in southwestern Finland.
[read more about it: English Suomeksi PÃ¥ Svenska]
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Can you name the species?
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009tags: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Movie Premiere in NYC, interview, celebrity gossip, funny, streaming video
This is a streaming video of the new Harry Potter movie: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and its premier in NYC. All commercials are removed, so you can sit down and watch this with your coffee uninterrupted. I recommend that you see this film, if you haven't done so already. This film is so good that I am already planning to watch it again on the big screen [32:24]
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009tags: Swee Waxbill, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Estrilda melanotis, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-bellied Waxbill, also known as the Swee Waxbill, Estrilda melanotis, photographed on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | July 18, 2009tags: TEDTalks, medicine, bone marrow, new technology, Marrow Miner, Daniel Kraft, streaming video
Daniel Kraft demonstrates his Marrow Miner -- a new device that quickly harvests life-saving bone marrow with minimal pain to the donor. He emphasizes that the adult stem cells found in bone marrow can be used to treat many terminal conditions, from Parkinson's to heart disease [4:42]
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.
grrlscientist | July 17, 2009The current Antarctic Trip Vote count is as follows; 1821 - 1032 - 821 - 713 - 543 out of 328 candidates registered. I am in THIRD PLACE! Worse, second place STOLE one of the points I made in my essay and used it as his own -- hardly a steller example of good sportsmanship or good writing ability.
If you've already voted, then please encourage your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for the person whom you think would be best for this unique job: traveling to Antarctica for the month of February 2010 and writing about it for the public on a blog. Here is my 300-word essay;…
grrlscientist | July 17, 2009tags: Tvärminne, zoological field research station, Finland, nature, image of the day
Wildflowers with beetle photographed at Tvärminnen eläintieteellinen asema
(Tvärminne Zoological field research station) in southwestern Finland.
[read more about it: English Suomeksi PÃ¥ Svenska]
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Can you name the species?