The nice thing about a sciency blog is that any subject can be tarted up with some factoids and presented as science. When it is in fact tarted up whining. I have a migraine. So let’s just see what a migraine can tell us about nature, biology, and life. When I was [...]
A couple weeks ago I blogged about why you want friends around if you’re planning to have a stroke. Today’s news: If you’re worried about osteoporosis, you want friends and lovers near. Really near. Researchers are reporting that oxytocin, the “love chemical” that our bodies release after various social/reproductive interactions, impacts female bone [...]
Damn! I missed Crow and Raven Appreciation Day! I would have made a special delivery of dog food kibbles to the back yard. Well, the truth is I appreciate my crows every time I see them. They’re the closest thing we have to chimpanzees up here in the north. Based on their intelligence and tool [...]
One of the questions I get most often is: If humans can sniff out each other’s immunity profile (and we can), then what do perfume and deodorant mean for our mating prospects? Are we covering up really important information? Previously, my stock reply was: Humans take so many things into account [...]
The ever-popular subject of infanticide has reared its little head. Vasectomies and abortions have both become more popular, says Reuters. The news agency did a nice piece of reporting, turning up a 50% increase in vasectomies in the practice of a major urologist, and a similar increase in women seeking financial help from a New York [...]
Driving home last night in the rain it took a moment to realize the fluttering objects in the headlights weren’t leaves. They were frogs. I pounded the brakes and got home without squashing any little hopes and dreams. From the human perspective it seems so random: Rainy night, road suddenly covered with salamanders, toads, frogs. [...]
Ever since people stopped shooting guns (well, rifles and shotguns, I should specify, given the current trend of humans shooting each other with handguns) in the suburbs and cities, wild animals have been edging in. Once driven to the deepest woods by the dreaded firearm, various critters slowly reversed their trajectory. Humans, if [...]
The boring side of butterfly wings? And the bright side? Two different uses. And two different rates of evolution! Hadn’t thought of either one, but that’s why we have scientists. To review: When butterflies are just hanging out, resting, or sleeping, or perhaps warming up, they close their wings. (Oops — another thing I [...]
I don’t hate Texas. Texas has fabulous fossils, stunning bird migrations, sirloin tips, and Lyle Lovett. I mean, some of my best friends are from Texas. I only wish they sat on the Texas Bored of Education instead of the pinheads currently enthroned. The Texas Pinheads are the latest clan to issue [...]
Just the quickest mouse update, since I may have left the impression the world could soon contain one mouse less. Mitzi, for the record, has made what appears to be a full recovery. From the start I thought it sounded like a cold (I’m not a mouse doctor, but I have had colds…) [...]
