Jewels made out of neurons

The revenge of Comic Sans.

2011-02-22T13:08:00.000Z

History, English and science students performed better in the relevant class assessments when the study materials were printed in Comic Sans Italicized, Haettenschweiler or Monotype Corsiva than did the pupils who learned from the original teachers' fonts.

More things on the Bold and the Italicized

Many Consumers Believe 36 Months Is Longer Than 3 Years.

2011-02-21T13:22:00.005Z

Remember, remember...

...the arbitrary nature of the unit in which information is expressed.

Where else?

Brains.

2011-02-18T10:45:00.000Z

Even cheaper than printer ink.

Terra incognita.

2011-02-17T13:15:00.000Z

"A library or a single book can be compared to a virgin land that can be reached by some colonizing organisms that behave like pioneer species on a nude soil."

Technicalities here.

Professor Badass by himself:

2011-02-16T15:00:00.003Z

In 1958, B.F. Skinner and Erich Fromm attended the same California symposium. Skinner found that Fromm “proved to have something to say about almost everything, but with little enlightenment,” and “when he began to argue that people were not pigeons, I decided that something had to be done”:

"On a scrap of paper I wrote ‘Watch Fromm’s left hand. I am going to shape a chopping motion’ and passed it down the table to Halleck Hoffman. Fromm was sitting directly across from the table and speaking mainly to me. I turned my chair slightly so that I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He gesticulated a great deal as he talked, and whenever his left hand came up, I looked straight at him. If he brought the hand down, I nodded and smiled. Within five minutes he was chopping the air so vigorously that his wristwatch kept slipping out over his hand. (...) It was an unfair trick, but Fromm had angered me — first with his unsupported generalizations about human behavior and then with the implication that nothing better could be done if ‘people were regarded as pigeons.’”

From Skinner’s 1983 memoir A Matter of Consequences.

Mammalian strategies...

2011-02-15T16:27:00.003Z

..were adopted by the Transformers.

Stimulus Generalization:

2010-12-09T13:14:00.005Z

Humour made it simple.

Telling the bees.

2010-12-09T13:02:00.003Z

“And he said if a man owned a beehive and that man died, the bees must be told about it before sun-up next morning, or else the bees would all weaken down and quit work and die. Jim said bees wouldn't sting idiots; but I didn't believe that, because I had tried them lots of times myself, and they wouldn't sting me.”

Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn.

Much more here.

The plural of u is us.

2010-11-24T12:45:00.001Z

Taking the "it's complicated" to a whole new dimension.

CreatureCast - Siphonophores and Individuality from Casey Dunn on Vimeo.

Another step towards the future world domination by cephalopods:

2010-11-23T00:40:00.000Z

Flying squids.

Photo by Bob Hulse

And you know why mama elephant does not like lizards?

2010-11-22T16:50:00.002Z

Bad manners. She does not like theirs.

Photo by Martin Nyfeler

This is the Eye of Providence.

2010-11-19T11:02:00.000Z

Peacock mantis shrimp eyes' are capable of serial or parallel vision; possesses trinocular vision (WTF?!) and depth perception; colour vision from ultra-violet to infra-red using at least 16 different photoreceptor types (you, my friend, only have 4); detection of polarized light and circular polarized light (you don't even imagine what this is, right?).

The anatomy of the kiwi.

2010-11-18T11:31:00.000Z

You know this was bound to happen.

Proboscidea Herpetophobia.

2010-11-17T11:00:00.000Z

Mama elephant does not like lizards.

Meta Flamingo...

2010-11-16T15:23:00.003Z

...is now available to do Olympic opening ceremonies, dictators' birthdays, weddings and bar mitzvahs.

A world of PDF's.

2010-11-15T10:10:00.003Z

Even AI's will not be able to fight against the scientific referencing contingencies.

The weird converter.

2010-11-12T16:37:00.000Z

1 African elephant weighs as much as 110 Jennifer Aniston’s.
The length of 1 T-Rex is equivalent to almost 126 flaccid penis.
106 humans producing saliva during their lifetime will fill 1 Olympic swimming pool.

More weird conversions.

Migration.

2010-11-11T14:19:00.000Z

Do it at least once.

The data output of human ejaculation.

2010-11-10T12:57:00.000Z

If a human sperm cell contains 37.5 MegaBytes of genetic information (Similar to a CD capacity), and in a milliliter we have 100 million sperms (Roughly the population of Mexico), and on average one ejaculation releases 2.25 ml of sperm (Half of a teaspoon), that means an average ejaculation represents a data output of 1687.5 TeraBytes (The equivalent of the collected data of 10 U.S. Library of Congress).

Other details here.

Literary mimicry.

2010-11-09T14:02:00.001Z

And then the photometric and radiometric parameters came along and spoiled all romanticism.

Glo-Glo le poisson rouge. Luce et Pierre Morel, 1946.

The Noetic Electrician.

2010-11-08T12:28:00.000Z

And that's why I don't like fringe science: Somehow they turn a clean, radical, but still untested scientific hypothesis in a new-age lifestyle philosophical non-sense.

Carrion eaters can be awesome.

2010-11-05T11:08:00.002Z

"Upward winds brought me news of your death".

Ant singularity.

2010-11-04T17:07:00.002Z

"...first described in army ants by Schneirla (1944). A circle of army ants, each one following the ant in front, becomes locked into a circular mill. They will continue to circle each other until they all die. Beebe (1921) described a circular mill he witnessed in Guyana. It measured 1200 feet in circumference and had a 2.5 hour circuit time per ant. The mill persisted for two days...".

Excerpt from the Ant Room.

Behind every mythology...

2010-09-28T17:09:00.004+01:00

...there is an untold sad story.

From Jimmy Swinnerton, Near to Nature babies (1927)

Bait ball obliteration:

2010-07-28T15:34:00.000+01:00

Jaw dropping. Guaranteed.

The lowest note ever sung.

2010-07-28T13:52:00.000+01:00

Let's communicate with whales!

Kick ass 15th century mistress.

2010-07-27T22:27:00.000+01:00

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

A portrait of Cecilia Gallerani by Leonardo Da Vinci

The trees and the forest.

2010-07-27T15:42:00.000+01:00

Here's a good visual lesson.

This is how I picture hermit crabs...

2010-07-27T00:56:00.000+01:00

...in Monte Carlo.

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

2010-07-26T00:58:00.000+01:00

"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.

click here to see it in it's breath-taking magnificence

You will always be in my heart...

2010-07-25T16:48:00.000+01:00

...just like Angiostrongylus vasorum.

Hoversharks.

2010-07-24T00:57:00.000+01:00

Armageddon should include them.

Here monkey, monkey...

2010-07-23T10:48:00.000+01:00

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

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

2010-07-22T14:07:00.000+01:00

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.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

2010-07-21T00:41:00.000+01:00

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.

The math within.

2010-07-20T10:59:00.000+01:00

"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.

Douglas Adams: The greatest craftsman in neuronal jewelery.

2010-07-19T13:45:00.000+01:00

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

Can you please read this for me?

2010-07-16T13:07:00.000+01:00

Are you sure?

Cetaceophagy.

2010-07-15T14:01:00.000+01:00

"Call me Leviathan melvillei."

C. Letenneur / Natural History Museum

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

2010-07-15T13:29:00.000+01:00

You can't beat ironic processing, so you have lost too.

White bears will eat our brains inside out.

The rules for The Game

The Object Body.

2010-07-14T11:27:00.000+01:00

We will found ourselves in the deepest valleys.

Alex S. Kliszynski

Behind those eyes there is an inquisitive mind.

2010-07-13T10:14:00.000+01:00

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

The decerebrator: H. P. Lovecraft meets Neuroscience.

2010-07-12T10:57:00.000+01:00

"... 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.

The rest of an epic post in here.

Right now...

2010-07-09T14:31:00.000+01:00

...malaria is the least of my concerns.

Sexual cannibalism: A unexpected twist of Rule 34.

2010-07-08T11:44:00.000+01:00

"Love will tear me apart."

OK, today I will give a clue.

A true story:

2010-07-07T10:54:00.001+01:00

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“.

in a mighty blog

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

2010-07-06T00:31:00.000+01:00

"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."

The Searcher

Killing mosquitoes with laser.

2010-07-05T13:52:00.000+01:00

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

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

2010-07-04T14:28:00.001+01:00

"...particularly undergraduates...".

Trophy wife 2.0.

2010-07-03T14:11:00.000+01:00

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

Fatal exceptions:

2010-07-02T13:58:00.000+01:00

No place for them in living systems.

Oceanic cleaning stations:

2010-07-01T00:31:00.002+01:00

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.

War.

2010-06-30T00:24:00.001+01:00

"Bands of chimpanzees violently kill individuals from neighboring groups in order to expand their own territory, according to a 10-year study of a chimp community in Uganda."

iStockphoto/Gary Wales

I have to agree on this:

2010-06-29T13:56:00.001+01:00

It looks much better than Green Pheasants or Kois.

Some like it clean and pure, some like it messy and dirt.

2010-06-28T23:07:00.002+01:00

I go both ways.

xkcd of course

Dolphins rip waves for fun.

2010-06-26T13:03:00.000+01:00

Draw your conclusions.

Kitsune.

2010-06-25T12:43:00.001+01:00

Be like the fox.

Welcome to the fantastic world of onomatopoeic birds.

2010-06-24T12:07:00.007+01:00

"My name is a word born from the sound of vibrations on my syrinx".

Born again.

2010-06-24T10:24:00.004+01:00

Turritopsis nutricula can use transdifferentiation to transform one's cells backwards to polyp stage and begin the whole cycle.

For the uninitiated: This is a kind of biological immortality. In an animal.

(Photo: Peter Schuchert)

Pacific Ocean is fun!

2010-06-11T11:14:00.003+01:00

How about a cocktail with tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine?

The Autistic puzzle:

2010-06-10T17:04:00.000+01:00

You won't solve it by stopping vaccination.

Strange adaptations:

2010-06-08T17:20:00.002+01:00

Cute Overload. So cute they blow your head off if you stare too long.

Another round in the eternal fight between...

2010-06-02T14:08:00.005+01:00

...Times New Roman vs. Arial.

Plato with a twitch:

2010-05-13T15:45:00.006+01:00

Necessity is the mother of adaptation.

Good news from home (...so far away now):

2010-05-12T16:07:00.002+01:00

Greater Flamingo breeding for the first time at Lagoa dos Salgados, Algarve.

"Screw the majority! There is no way to prove my qualia is wrong!"

2010-05-12T12:50:00.006+01:00

Replied color-blind Johnny.

Resistance is futile*.

2010-05-11T16:45:00.003+01:00

* Disclaimer: Only valid for voltages higher then threshold and suitable intra- and extra-cellular sodium and potassium ionic concentrations. Due to security reasons, resistance is absolute during refractory period. Individual channel resistances and capacitances were not considered. Voltages and currents associated with resistance futility may vary.

Newton it!

2010-05-11T14:30:00.001+01:00

"The fine tuned universal gears made me do it!"

The first step is Evolution...

2010-05-11T14:15:00.002+01:00

... the second is Revolution.

Evolution can try and try, but in the end wet fur always looks lousy.

2010-05-10T14:32:00.004+01:00

"Hey man, next time check the goddamn five-day forecast before planning the picnic."

Specialization is for insects.

2010-05-10T14:16:00.001+01:00

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-Robert Heinlein

Cognitive Bias Song:

2010-05-10T14:11:00.004+01:00

And this post is here because of Déformation professionnelle.

The zebra finch blues:

2010-03-24T16:57:00.003Z

"Oh, the dogs begin to bark, and hound begin to howl,
Ooh, watch out strange kind people,
Cause little red rooster is on the prowl."

I'm the Manetee.

2010-03-23T17:41:00.000Z

This one was trickier.

To those who praise the Noble Savagery:

2010-03-23T17:32:00.006Z

Humans are animals too. Don't forget that next time you preach against Humanity.

Baitball.

2010-03-23T14:41:00.003Z

"I'm not here, this isn't happening".

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.

2010-03-23T14:38:00.001Z

Feast on the muddy banks.

"King Charles I's parrot".

2010-01-30T15:01:00.002Z

Rather odd skeleton? Well, it's not if you rearrange a rabbit skeleton in a position reminiscent of a bird. Oh! And, of course, if your last name is Buckland.

Stealth.

2010-01-29T14:30:00.000Z

Sometimes silence is the annihilation of sound waves.

Palm reading? Phrenology? That's sooo last millennium!

2010-01-29T14:22:00.002Z

Don't you see that the future is written in male's hair nipple patterns?

Swallowed.

2010-01-29T11:35:00.000Z

That's why they call them swallows.

Enlarge your penis!

2010-01-28T11:06:00.000Z

Ask me how.

Mating barnacles from Casey Dunn on Vimeo.

Fire all the engineers.

2010-01-28T10:24:00.000Z

If you want to design a railway system, use slime mold.

Rules for Biologically Inspired Adaptive Network Design, Science 327.

Portrait of the artist as a young city sparrow.

2010-01-27T15:13:00.000Z

Pigeon gangs are the least of my problems.

Biography of a hamster:

2010-01-27T09:57:00.000Z

Good senses and instincts.

Ruth Tzarfati, 1964

I'm the Walrus.

2010-01-26T15:26:00.002Z

That was too easy.

The magic egg.

2010-01-25T15:01:00.000Z

And then a sense of poetic tautology struck me.

by Lalande for L'Oeuf Magique, 1937

My Dan Brown moment:

2010-01-24T16:47:00.000Z

Michelangelo's deus ex cerebrum.

The improbable pollinator.

2010-01-24T14:38:00.000Z

"Hey little cricket, now that bees are dying all over, are you interested in the job vacancy?"

And when you confront the myth again...

2010-01-23T14:30:00.001Z

...you will know the truth.

Sperm Whale vs. Giant Squid

2010-01-23T13:11:00.000Z

Guess who won.

Lachryphagous Moths.

2010-01-22T13:37:00.000Z

"Dry my tears with our proboscis".

Birds of Pray...

2010-01-21T13:18:00.004Z

...or how misspellings can lead us to interesting routes.

How to put a wolverine (not that one!, the Mustelidae) in order:

2010-01-21T13:09:00.002Z

Show it the fate of these poor young rats.

In the depths...

2009-12-16T00:30:00.002Z

...whale bones become gardens.

Just to inform you all:

2009-12-14T14:53:00.009Z

I had a close encounter with one of these beauties. I dare to say in a mystical sense too. Kind of.

One hard truth:

2009-12-11T14:20:00.001Z

...except my friends, of course.

abstruse goose

A glimpse on animal insanity.

2009-11-10T14:06:00.008Z

Sometimes a little anthropomorphization is needed.

from Werner Herzog's 'Encounters at the end of the world'

It looks almost like a movie scene:

2009-11-10T11:02:00.008Z

San Francisco by night, empty city streets, the last bus to 46th Av., twenty raccoons scurrying for food...

Royal Inbreeding:

2009-11-06T23:00:00.004Z

Forming political alliances among elite power-brokers and strange human phenotypes since... Well, since ever.

Charles II, King of Spain (1661-1700), by Juan de Miranda Carreno.