Weekend Reading August 2, 2013

Fucking Fantastic news from the world of poisonous snake bites.  A new nasal spray that can be used in the field that gives snake bite victims more time to get to a hospital to be treated.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/?p=3299#.Ufe5041QHuJ

The brain is an amazing and poorly understood organ.  Here's some food for thought about what we DON"T understand about the brain.

http://io9.com/8-things-we-simply-dont-understand-about-the-human-bra-949442979

Here's an extinction event we can all celebrate - coming soon (hopefully) the end of the Guinea Worm.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/an-extinction-to-celebrate.html

Great article on the Fiscal Shrike.  No, this has nothing to do with the current economic crisis.  It's about a modern version of a velociraptor.

http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2013/07/30/the-macabre-habits-of-the-butcher-bird/

It's a rare day when I learn about a completely new type of animal that I'd never, ever heard of before that isn't like anything I'd ever heard of before.  Today is one of those rare days.  Meet the Pyrosome (with video!).

http://deepseanews.com/2013/08/the-60-foot-long-jet-powered-animal-youve-probably-never-heard-of/