Things I Learned This Semester #6

One of the things I did get done when I moved into my new home was dig an outdoor turtle pond for my Northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin).  She has been very happy since she moved out of her indoor tank and into her new digs.  I adopted "Jersey" about 5 years ago, and a little under a year ago, she did some adopting of her own.  I noticed last spring that a female Northern green frog (Rana clamitans melanota) had moved into the pond. I was, of course pleasantly surprised; the pond isn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but it still managed to attract some local wildlife. And this frog in particular went on to have  a very good spring and summer.  There was no competition for space, she was protected from predation (the pond is enclosed in a wood and wire frame to keep other critters at bay), and she had all the food she could eat.

This semester, I learned Frog and Turtle are friends. Maybe I'll write a children's book about it.

Interweb Science of the Week #10

This week, ISW goes to a website that, like last week's awardee, is primarily aimed at school aged children interested in learning about biology. Ask a Biologist aims to provide the best scientific information to anyone (not just children) interested in learning in the ins and outs of the biological sciences, including paleontology - huzzah! It's a really brilliant concept: go to the website, ask a question, and have a professional scientist answer it. Too easy, right? I know, it's awesome. Lots of questions have already been asked, but there are still plenty more out there. If I was going to ask anyone, it would be this lot.

Coincidentally, ART Evolved is also sponsoring an "Ask a Biologist Initiative" at the request of Dave Hone. They are looking for printable posters and blog icons to be used on their site, so if you want to break out your mad art skills and contribute something in honor of them being awarded with "Interweb Science of the Week", now would be a pretty good time.

... and such a let down.

2:00PM EST. I've been waiting all day for this. Whatever the news, I want to hear it. So I click the link. The link that NASA has been teasing me with all week. The page opens, the NASA TV video player appears and then...

Such a tease...

At 2:00PM EST today, NASA has scheduled a conference on an "astrobiological finding that will impact the search for extraterrestrial life". When this was announced on Monday, the first thought that occurred to many was that life had been discovered somewhere else in the Solar System. Looking at the list of participants, I have to admit I thought it was a possibility. An extremely optimistic one, but a possibility nonetheless. There are several planetary moons in our solar system that have been proposed as potential hosts for life (Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Titan being two of the most prominent). But in my humble opinion, if NASA had discovered life elsewhere in the Universe, they wouldn't have waited a few days to tell everyone.

Like a virgin, NOT touched for the very first time.

Let's face facts. Life on Earth is pretty awesome. But in order to classify as a living organism, you have to do a number of things, like adapt to your environment, undergo metabolism and maintain homeostasis, have the ability to grow, and most importantly, reproduce. Our human-centric view of reproduction is rather limited. Two partners, one male and one female, engage in the act of combining their genetic material to produce offspring. This method of sexual reproduction is found all across the plant and animal kingdoms, and allows certain advantages. The recombination of genes produces new genetic identities, resulting in diversity and variation in breeding populations. This variation is essential when facing selective pressures in the natural world.

Fibonacci Film Friday!

The Fibonacci Spiral, or Golden Spiral, from Wikimedia Commons.

Happy Friday everyone! In the interest of getting some content out before the weekend, I figured I would share something with you all that really made my day. Digital artist and animator Cristóbal Vida has made a wonderful short film called "Nature By Numbers" in which he showcases the elegant relationship between mathematics and the natural world. Check out the project webpage here for an introduction, here for a look at the Fibonacci Sequence and background information, or here to view the video.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. If weather and time permit, try and get outside and observe math in nature for yourself!

Happy Mother's Day!

For all the mothers out there, this one's for you.


From cadamole via YouTube.