Weekend Reading Feb. 21, 2014

I can't always recommend the blog What's in John's Freezer because I know some people are squeamish about necropsy (an autopsy on an animal) photos but this post is just x-rays. Not gross, instead they are FANTASTIC images of an ostrich (and who doesn't love Ostriches? If you raised your hand go sit in a corner till you've changed your mind. Ostriches are COOL).

http://whatsinjohnsfreezer.com/2014/02/14/freezermas-track6/

Elephants show empathy. Great work by Josh Plotnik and Frans de Waal. I worked with Josh on his elephant research in Thailand, they are absolutely amazing animals when you get to know them!

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/02/reassuring-trunk-evidence-consolation-elephants/

We have had five Mass Extinction events in Earth's history - events where at least 70% of all species on Earth go extinct in a relatively short time period. We know that a meteor caused the extinction that killed off the non-avian dinosaurs but we don't know what caused the others.

New evidence has come out about the biggest extinction event in our history - where over 90% of all species went extinct. It happened fast, in less than 100,000 years, and we still aren't sure what caused it, but we're getting closer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/science/earth/Mass-Extinction-Permian-Period.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto&_r=0

Here's an animal I've never heard of before. (This is not a common occurrence.) Say hello to the Sea Sapphire.

http://deepseanews.com/2014/02/the-most-beautiful-animal-youve-never-seen/

WOW. First every photos of a snow leopard kill (not graphic). One thing that amazes me is how hard it is to see the snow leopard against the rocks. I guess their coloration is good camouflage even without snow.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/20/the-first-ever-successful-snow-leopard-hunt-and-kill-caught-on-camera/#.UwbIhsCqqXA.twitter

Attendance and the Successful Student

I do not require attendance in my lectures. Mostly because when you have 48 students and a significant fraction of them come in late taking attendance takes too much time. I take attendance in smaller classes just to learn students' names.

Attendance in class and success usually go together. Study after study show that students who come to class so significantly better than students who skip lectures. Want an A or a B? - come to class. Want to skate by with a C or D? - then maybe you can skip some classes. Your absence affects YOU much more than it affects me.

Just remember, even though I don't take attendance during lecture, when the semester ends and you come to me and ask me if you can take the exam late, because your grandmother is dying, if I don't recognize you from class because you were absent a lot the answer will be a gentle but definitive NO. If, instead, you were there, and I remember seeing your face half way back on the left side every class, I might consider your request.

Just don't miss more than two labs. In THOSE attendance counts!

Weekend Reading Feb. 14, 2014

How long can an organism live? Check out the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest to find out!

http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/earths-oldest-living-things/

More Misconceptions about Evolution. What you thought was wrong about evolution is, well, wrong.

http://ryanellingson.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/5-more-misconceptions-about-evolution/

Don't believe we need to change how we're fishing? Take a look at the change in size of trophy fish photographed in front of the same sign between 1958 to 2007. Frightening. To paraphrase Alex Wild - being a biologist in today's world is like being an art lover in a world where they burn an art museum every day. It's hard to stay optimistic.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/big-fish-stories-getting-littler_kw/

Just in time for Valentine's Day, The Brain Scoop does a video on ANT SEX.

You know you want to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWw3SHCIAw&feature=c4-overview&list=UUkyfHZ6bY2TjqbJhiH8Y2QQ

Think love is just for the birds and mammals? Some "cold blooded" reptiles have complex lives with monogamy and child care, just like us.

http://blog.socialsnakes.org/squamate-sociality/

Weekend Reading Feb. 7, 2014

I'll be really disappointed if none of my students do a presentation on flying snakes and show this video.

http://www.popsci.com/blog-network/eek-squad/watch-tree-snakes-fly-they-dont-need-plane

Do NOT use dynamite to try to get rid of a dead whale.  Very funny (if you're a biologist) video at the bottom of this post (not as gross as you're afraid it might be).

http://www.itsokaytobesmart.com/post/68504302684/exploding-sperm-whale

AANNTTSS IINN SSPPAAAAAACCEE!!!

http://www.yourwildlife.org/2014/01/ants-take-over-space-station/

Whoa!  This leach can survive temperatures colder than any every recorded on Earth.  It can survive repeatedly being frozen in liquid nitrogen and then thawed.  And we don't know HOW this is possible.  Yet.

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/leech-can-survive-24-hour-submersion-liquid-nitrogen

Tiger Beetles can run so fast that they're eyes can't gather light fast enough and they're blind!

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/04/tiger-beetles-become-blind-when-they-run/

Wars can be hard on local wildlife. Or they can keep humans out of an area and allow the wildlife to survive there when they are in decline in other places. One of the most war torn parts of the world has recently been discovered to have a thriving population of chimpanzees. And these chimps have unique behaviors not seen in other populations.

Wars and poachers make it difficult to study them but they also make it difficult to destroy their forest home for logging or farming.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/07/chimpanzees-congo-forest?CMP=twt_fd

Advice to Students

I have worked out an equation for success.  This applies to school, work, and life in general.

("Natural" talent) X (Hard Work) X (Luck) = Success

Some people are naturally talented.

Some people work hard.

Some people have very good luck.

You don't need all three to be successful but you need at least one of them.



"I wish the earlier me understood work and practice more. Just the repeated concerted effort to get better at things. I wish I didn’t have the notions of talent and genius I had back then. I thought, “Oh, these other people, they just have something that I don’t have.” When really, they are just people who work more.
I wish I understood work. Work is the key to anything you want to do. If you want to play the guitar—anybody can learn to play the fucking guitar—you can be good at it. Maybe you won’t get to be a genius but you could be good.
You can be good enough to write good songs or make a good film or whatever. There’s no such thing as not having enough talent to get to that level. I mean, persistence is talent, really. Just sticking with it. Talent is not stopping."

Filmmaker Kirby Ferguson

Weekend Reading January 31, 2014

This is great for the x-ray video of moles digging through Couscous.  Cause EVERYONE wants to watch an x-ray video of moles digging through Couscous.  Right?

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000002674130/sciencetake-moles-on-the-move.html?playlistId=1194811622277

Jurassic Park got it wrong.  A better evaluation of what Dilophosaurus probably looked like.  (please note, though, that the lower image, with the teeth outside of the mouth, is probably completely wrong.  For the vast majority of animals teeth go INSIDE the mouth.)

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/28/how-dilophosaurus-became-a-rock-star/

Most people who are bitten by poisonous snakes are bitten when they are trying to HANDLE the snakes (often when they're trying to kill the dangerous animal, that dangerous animal that would normally flee from the big, stomping human if they were given a chance).  Where you get bitten (hand vs. mouth [disturbingly a common location for snake bites] vs. foot) has a big impact on your prognosis.  New work shows that where the snake is from also has a big impact.  The same species can produce different types of toxins depending on the local environment.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/01/27/rattlesnakes-two-hours-apart-pack-totally-different-venoms/

Ants do some seriously interesting stuff.  Now it turns out that PLANTS are competing with each other to get the attention of certain species of ant.

http://entomologytoday.org/2014/01/16/certain-plants-compete-for-ants/

Think winter is a time of hibernation [or death] for the insects around us? Then let me introduce you to the SNOW FLEA!  (actually, they're kind of cute!)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/01/snow-fleas/

Boston area events

There are some upcoming events that might interest the true Biology Afficianados in my classes.  Both are at the Harvard Natural History Museum in Cambridge, MA


The first is a talk about a 25 year study of evolution in E. coli.  What happens when you grow a fast reproducing organism in captivity for over 2 decades?  Lots of surprising things!

"Join microbiologist Dr. Richard Lenski at Time Travel in Experimental Evolution, Wednesday, February 12, at 6:00 pm where he will discuss his twenty-five year study of Escherichia coli (or E. coli), a common form of intestinal bacteria that reproduces and mutates with incredible speed, making it an ideal organism for studying the evolutionary process. Lenski will share his discoveries and the new insights into natural selection, adaptation, and genetic evolution that have resulted from his lengthy study. 

Free and open to the public. Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking is available in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Part of the Evolution Matters lecture series, supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit. "

This one is more likely to be interesting to most of my students - how do wild animals adapt to living in and near cities?

"In cities and suburbs around the world, wild creatures such as coyotes, alligators, and mountain lions are showing up where least expected. How can they survive in the contemporary world of concrete, steel, and glass? At Wild Animal Neighbors, on Saturday, February 22, at 2:00 pm, author Ann Downer will discuss the factors that bring these creatures to our backyards and ways to create spaces for people and animals to live side by side.

Regular museum admission rates apply."

Before you ask - no, you don't get extra credit for going to these.