Tag: biology

Drug-induced selective amnesia

Scientists have used a drug to wipe out a specific memory, while leaving others intact. Only in rats…so far.

New specimen of colossal squid landed

New Zealand fishermen have landed a half-ton, 39-foot-long colossal squid, probably the largest specimen ever recovered. I once wrote a science column about colossal squid (which are a different species from giant squid). I like this paragraph: “I can assure you that this is going to draw phenomenal interest. It is truly amazing,” said Dr. …

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Who needs a flash drive…

…when you’ve got DNA? Japanese scientists say it might be possible to use DNA to store text, images, music and other digital data for thousands of years inside living organisms. Masaru Tomita and colleagues at Tokyo’s Keio University say data encoded in an organism’s DNA, and inherited by each new generation, could be safely archived …

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Attack of the giant bird-eating bats!

I’m linking to this story just because it allowed me to write the above headline. Such are the little things that keep me amused.

You’ll never walk alone

Scientists have identified 182 species of bacteria that regularly live on our skin, and estimate the total number of species of bacteria on our skin numbers around 250. No need to go “yuck,” though: “Without good bacteria, the body could not survive,” added Dr. Zhan Gao, a scientist in Blaser’s lab involved in the study. …

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Eau de mer

“The smell of the sea” sounds romantic in books, but being a prairie landlubber, I always kind of thought that the sea, um…not to put too fine a point on it…is rather stinky. At least at first whiff. Meet the culprit: dimethyl sulphide. “On bracing childhood visits to the seaside we were always told to …

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Why talking on a cellphone while driving is stupid:

Neural Bottleneck Found That Thwarts Multi-tasking. A couple of excerpts: “While we are driving, we are bombarded with visual information. We might also be talking to passengers or talking on the phone,” Marois said. “Our new research offers neurological evidence that the brain cannot effectively do two things at once. People think if they are …

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A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and dissimilar major histocompatibility complexes

The candlelight is gleaming, soft jazz is playing, the fireplace is crackling, and you’re snuggled on the couch with the woman you love. You finger the diamond ring in your pocket. There’ll never be a better time to pop the question. You look deep into her eyes and say, “My darling, why don’t we get …

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Amazing microscopic photography…

…from Eye of Science, photographer Oliver Meckes and biologist Nicole Ottawa: As a two-person team of photographer and biologist, our aim is to combine scientific exactness with aesthetic appearances, and thereby help to bridge the gap between the world of science and the world of art. We are committed to the rigorous standards of scientific …

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Colossal calamari caught on camera:

Japanese scientists herald live giant squid footage (from PhysOrg.com): Japanese scientists have released what they say could be the first live video footage of the elusive giant squid, exposing some of the creature’s underwater secrets. Note this is a giant squid, not a colossal squid, which I only mention because “colossal squid” is a search …

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"Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds…"

…is how this story about Madagascarian insect life is headlined, but never mind the science: doesn’t “Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds…” sound like the start to a wonderfully evocative poem by some terribly sensitive poet? Something like: Moths drink the tearsOf sleeping birds;I drink up beersAnd slur my words. *Sniff.* Brings a lump …

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If I were Michael Crichton…

…this story of germs from the era of the dinosaurs found trapped in amber would be the beginning of a medical/biological/technological horror-thriller.

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