Dolphins and Porpoises
Monday, March 24th, 2008Yesterday’s post about rabbits and hares brought to mind another pair of species that are often confused.
Dolphins and porpoises belong to the same scientific order, Cetacea. This order includes all whales, even the great whales, to which both dolphins and porpoises are related. All cetaceans are completely aquatic mammals, have a streamlined body, a tail fluke, […]
Splitting Hares…and Rabbits
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008This being Easter, I thought it an appropriate time to explain the differences between two commonly confused species that are really very different; Rabbits and Hares.
The differences between the two species become apparent from the time they are born. Firstly, baby rabbits are called kittens, while baby hares are called leverets. Rabbits are born completely helpless, naked and blind. Hares […]
Recombinant DNA?
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008Yesterday’s post, Sci-Fi Movie Survival Tips, touches on a recurrent theme in sci-fi movies; the manipulation of genetic materials. In the realm of science fiction, tinkering with nature inevitably leads to disaster. Africanized “Killer” Bees demonstrate that this is sometimes true in the real world as well.
Some of the genetic combinations proposed in science fiction movies seem quite absurd indeed. One fails […]
My Kitty ate my Gyroscope
Friday, March 7th, 2008
My Kitty ate my Gyroscope
A Poem by Science Junkies
I’m just about to give up hope
My kitty ate my gyroscope!
Like a dervish he does spin
across the room and back again
Whirling, twirling like a top
I don’t think he will ever stop!
Gimbal, axis, rotor, string
Not a very tasty thing
Just what possessed my crazy cat
to swallow such a thing […]
A Shrewdness of Apes?
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Did you know that a baby alpaca is called a “cria” or that a group of cheetahs is known as a “coalition”? Me neither!
EnchantedLearning has compiled a comprehensive list of animals with the correct nomenclature for the male, female and young of each species. This site also provides the terminology to describe a plurality of each animal so that if […]
Orange you a little yellow?
Monday, March 3rd, 2008I knew a girl once who’s skin turned an orangey-yellow color because she had eaten so many carrots. I kid you not! This relatively benign condition is called Carotenemia. My friend’s yellow-orange skin hue was a tell-tale sign of a beta carotene overdose resulting from her over-zealous carrot consumption. Beta carotene, along with other plant pigments generally called […]
Quit Cloning Around
Thursday, February 28th, 2008Another great poem; this one about cloning….And of course, some facts!
I Cloned Myself on Friday Night
A Poem by Kenn Nesbitt
I cloned myself on Friday night.
By Saturday at three
my clone had made another clone.
They both looked just like me.
They walked like me and talked like me.
They acted like me too.
They wore my clothes and used […]
The Ant Farm goes High Tech
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Remember the classic Ant Farm with the little plastic barn and silo? Well, it’s about as out-of-date as a VCR!
The Ant Farm has gone 21st Century! The updated model features a translucent gel medium that not only gives the Ant Farmer a better view of his herd but also provides the ants with […]
The Good, the Bad, and the Eyeless
Saturday, February 16th, 2008
In my last post I described how we measure visual acuity in people. That got me wondering how well human eyesight measures up in the context of the animal kingdom. Here’s what I found out:
The Good
Birds of Prey, such as Hawks and Falcons are believed to have an acuity of around 20/2, which is about […]
Berry Sneaky!
Friday, February 15th, 2008The next time you bite into a piece of fruit you better look twice!
Scientists have discovered a parasite that disguises an ant as a fruit.
When tiny, microscopic parasites called nematodes infect a gliding ant, they turn the end of the ant’s abdomen bright red. In the sunlight, it looks like a juicy berry.
Steve Yanoviak, Tropical […]
