Jul 28, 2010

Bait ball obliteration:

Jaw dropping. Guaranteed.

The lowest note ever sung.

Let's communicate with whales!

Jul 27, 2010

Kick ass 15th century mistress.

"I have an ermine. Not a pelt. The whole animal."

A portrait of Cecilia Gallerani by Leonardo Da Vinci

The trees and the forest.

Here's a good visual lesson.

This is how I picture hermit crabs...

...in Monte Carlo.

Jul 26, 2010

Don't forget that all branches of an extant evolutionary tree end at the same level. Today.

"The number of species represented is approximately the square-root of the number of species thought to exist on Earth (i.e., three thousand out of an estimated nine million species), or about 0.18% of the 1.7 million species that have been formally described and named." - David M. Hillis, Derrick Zwickl and Robin Gutell, University of Texas.

Jul 25, 2010

You will always be in my heart...

...just like Angiostrongylus vasorum.

Jul 24, 2010

Hoversharks.

Armageddon should include them.

Jul 23, 2010

Here monkey, monkey...

Margay cats mimic the calls of its prey, the pied tamarins.

Jul 22, 2010

From a sexist point of view this could be a win-win situation:

Higher BMI was associated with poorer cognitive function in women with smaller WHR. Higher WHR, estimating central fat mass, was associated with higher cognitive function in this cross-sectional study (Kerwin et al, 2010).
Translation for the mass media: Big hips "impair" women's memory.

Jul 21, 2010

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

I dare you to create a biologic term to beat this 45-letter monster word. I think there is a prize. And if there's not, it should.

Jul 20, 2010

The math within.

"Even now the zoologist has scarce begun to dream of defining in mathematical language even the simplest organic forms. (...)When he sees in snail, or nautilus, or tiny foraminiferal or radiolarian shell a close approach to sphere or spiral, he is prone of old habit to believe that after all it is something more than a spiral or a sphere, and that in this 'something more' there lies what neither mathematics nor physics can explain." - D'Arcy Wentworth Thomas.

Jul 19, 2010

Douglas Adams: The greatest craftsman in neuronal jewelery.

Just give yourself 1h 30m and enjoy an amazing talk.

Jul 16, 2010

Can you please read this for me?

Are you sure?

Jul 15, 2010

Cetaceophagy.

"Call me Leviathan melvillei."

C. Letenneur / Natural History Museum

According to the rules I have to state that I lost The Game:

You can't beat ironic processing, so you have lost too.
White bears will eat our brains inside out.

Jul 14, 2010

The Object Body.

We will found ourselves in the deepest valleys.

Jul 13, 2010

Behind those eyes there is an inquisitive mind.

The fact that it is from a bird is slightly disturbing.

Jul 12, 2010

The decerebrator: H. P. Lovecraft meets Neuroscience.

"... participants were exposed to low frequency sound waves by means of electrodes attached to the temporal lobes. During winter nights the spastic screams of the victims could be heard piercing the arctic air as the decerebrator ratcheted into place (...). It quickly became apparent that the procedure had gone terribly awry when gaunt and emaciated survivors were seen bumbling about in broad daylight, addled beyond repair." - Gilbert Alter-Gilbert.

Jul 9, 2010

Right now...

...malaria is the least of my concerns.

Jul 8, 2010

Sexual cannibalism: A unexpected twist of Rule 34.

"Love will tear me apart."

Jul 7, 2010

A true story:

The photo you are seeing came from a set of pictures provided by the owner of a house to some people who were looking to rent it for the weekend. They saw this picture and thought it was a lake, so were all excited and looking forward to boating and jet skiing and stuff. When they asked the owner about it, the lady emailed them back and said: “unfortunately that is not a lake, it is a wall“.

Jul 6, 2010

So how come scientists say they're older than that? and died way before Jesus?

"Well, son, they just make that up. Dinosaur bones don't have labels on them to tell how old they are. In fact, there is no proof whatsoever that the world and its fossil layers are millions of years old. No scientist saw dinosaurs die."

Jul 5, 2010

Killing mosquitoes with laser.

The malaria part is just to justify funding for an incredible crazy cool geek toy.

Jul 4, 2010

Take precautions while choosing a model organism for your scientific research.

"...particularly undergraduates...".


Jul 3, 2010

Trophy wife 2.0.

The desire for status increase always drove mankind to funny paths. All types of status, I'm not taking myself out from the game.

Jul 2, 2010

Fatal exceptions:

No place for them in living systems.

Jul 1, 2010

Oceanic cleaning stations:

Manta Rays arrive there, wait in for their turn, then open their mouths and let the little fish in to eat any bacteria or parasites.
Exactly like that. Without any literary freedom.