biology
grrlscientist | December 29, 2006
Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens.
One does not ordinarily think of a soldier fly as a pollinator, but this one, with some green
camoflauge, was sipping from a Philadelphia fleabane last year at Anahuac NWR, Texas
on 2 April 2005.
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image…
tfk | December 27, 2006A source tells the Washington Post that Uafter much pressure, the Feds will be listing the Polar Bear as a "threatened" species:
The Bush administration has decided to propose listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U.S. government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world's most recognizable animals out of existence.
This is a remarkable step, and it is not the least bit surprising that the administration is announcing this between Christmas and New Years, when the minimum number of people read newspapers or the Federal…
grrlscientist | December 27, 2006
Northern Ribbon Snake, Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis,
at Mill Pond Conservation Area, near Portland, Ontario.
Image: Bev Wigney.
Happy Holidays to everyone.
I am receiving so many gorgeous nature pictures from you, amigos bonitos, and I am overwhelmed by the beauty of these images and the creatures and places depicted. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: Northern Ribbon Snake,…
grrlscientist | December 26, 2006
Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus.
W. 11th St. Park Butterfly Garden, Houston, Texas.
28 October 2006
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly, Fiery Skipper, Lepidoptera, zoology
evolgen | December 25, 2006Carl Zimmer has an article in the upcoming edition of Scientific American that looks at cancer from the perspective of evolutionary biology. The most obvious parallel is that of cancer cells within an individual modeled as an evolving population:
Rare mutations, for instance, may cause a cell to lose restraint and begin to multiply uncontrollably. Other mutations can add to the problem: They may allow deranged cells to invade surrounding tissues and spread through the body. Or they may allow tumor cells to evade the immune system or attract blood vessels that can supply fresh oxygen.
Cancer,…
evolgen | December 24, 2006As Lynn Margulis elegantly explained, some eukaryotic organelles -- such as mitochondria and chloroplasts -- are the product of an ancient endosymbiosis event. Free living prokaryotes were absorbed by primitive eukaryotes and, over many generations, become entangled in an obligate host-symbiont interaction. There are other examples of such interactions between eukaryotes and intracellular symbionts, such as those found within deep sea tubeworms, sponges, and plant roots.
The structures we currently call organelles were, at one point, merely endosymbionts. Where do we draw the line between…
evolgen | December 23, 2006Molecular markers are becoming more and more popular for species identification -- a practice known as DNA barcoding. Researchers sequence a region of the genome from an organism of interest and search that sequence against a DNA database using BLAST. Such an analysis is contingent on a comprehensive database containing sequences from representatives of many diverse taxa.
We do not possess such a database for fungal species. Researchers have estimated that less than 5% of all fungal species have been identified, which means the chances are good that you may be the first person to sequence…
grrlscientist | December 22, 2006
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae incarnata.
A Gulf Fritillary basks in the sun in early afternoon at the West 11th St. Park in Houston on 12 November 2006. It was cool the previous Sunday with temperatures in the 60s, so this butterfly, an ectotherm, was warming its wing muscles in the sun as a response to the low temperature. This butterfly's host plant is native species of Passiflora. The park has lots of P. lutea growing within the open canopy and, therefore, has a large population of Gulf Fritillaries. P. lutea favors lower-light locations.
Image: Biosparite.
I am receiving so…
razib | December 21, 2006Via Genetics and Health, Many Clinics Use Genetic Diagnosis to Choose Sex (on NPR radio feed). Of course, the couple profiled are brown.
Related: To breed a better human - we have the technology.
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006A giant sauropod, which is estimated to have weighed between 40 and 48 tons, was recently discovered in Spain. This animal, which is named Turiasaurus riodevensis, is estimated to have lived 150 million years ago.
In the past such large dinosaurs have primarily been found in Africa and the New World.
"The humerus -- the long bone in the foreleg that runs from the shoulder to the elbow -- was as large as an adult" human, Brooks Hanson, a Science deputy editor, said in a statement. The claw of the first digit of its pes, or hoof, is the size of an NFL football.
The researchers found several…
grrlscientist | December 21, 2006
Ingenuity
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: canary, Ingenuity, bird
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006
Poppies.
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: flower, poppy, flowering plant, botany
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006Flora the Komodo dragon has become pregnant without any male help. She is carrying seven baby Komodo dragons.
"We were blown away when we realized what she'd done," said Kevin Buley, a reptile expert at Flora's home at the Chester Zoo in this town in northern England. "But we certainly won't be naming any of the hatchlings Jesus."
Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.
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The cases…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006Birds including robins, thrushes and ducks that would normally fly south from Scandinavia, for instance, have been seen in December -- long after snow usually drives them south. And Siberian swans have been late reaching western Europe.
"With increasing warmth in winter we suspect that some types of birds won't bother to migrate at all," said Grahame Madge, spokesman of the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
Many individual birds were leaving later, and flying less far.
One Swiss study this month suggested that Europe has just had the warmest autumn in 500 years.…
grrlscientist | December 20, 2006
Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
Image: Bev Wigney.
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tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Aves, Ornithology, zoology
tfk | December 20, 2006Salto sobrius brings us Tangled Bank 69: War on Christmas, the last couple week's best scienceish blogging.
grrlscientist | December 19, 2006
Merganser family hitching a ride.
Orphaned Image. Please contact me for proper creditation.
I am receiving so many gorgeous pictures from you, dear readers, that I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the images and the creatures and places in them. If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image (I prefer JPG format) that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: duck, merganser, aves, ornithology, zoology