1. A wobbly planetary tilt
2. An extremely elongated orbit
3. A complex Milankovitch cycle
4. Oceans, currents, and winds
5. A combination of all factors
Can’t handle it. People are awesome.
(via discoverynews)
The Corpse Flower
“Rafflesia arnoldii is the world’s largest flower having a diameter of about one meter and weighing up to ten kilograms. It is a rare flower and not easily located. It grows only once a year and blooms for around five days. According to researches in discovery news, this flower that looks and smells like rotting flesh is related to flimsy flowers like violets, poinsettias and passionflowers. Hence it also called as “meat flower” or “corpse flower”.
The flower is pollinated by flies and carrion beetles attracted by its vile smell. It contains about 27 species and found in Indonesian rain forests of southeastern Asia and Philippines. Rafflesia is an official state flower of Indonesia, Surat Thani Province in Thailand and Sabah state in Malaysia.”
Happy Halloween, dia de los muertos, etc.
(via laboratoryequipment)
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purkinje cells (some of the largest neurons in the human brain—the largest are coming up soon)
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a subspecies of Bare-faced Go-away Bird (Schizorhis leopoldi, now Corythaixoides personatus leopoldi)
from the journal Ibis (1881), Joseph Smit
Go-away bird!
OH YEAH?! Well you’re a… a… BARE-FACED GO-AWAY BIRD!
Geekin’ out (via Academy of Natural Sciences)
The more I re-read this study, I keep coming back to two thoughts (all generalized, of course):
1) The idea of there being “feminine fields” that are non-science seems a bit sexist to me, although I am not a female and not uniquely qualified to judge such things.
2) Despite the undertones I am picking up on from the study, there does seem to be something underlying women’s reactions to science. Some sort of cognitive dissonance is setting in. Somewhere in the subconscious, their imagery (even though it may not be true imagery) of what it means to be a female scientist doesn’t match up with what they think/want/feel … on some level, anyway.
The findings come from a series of studies, funded in part by the National Science Foundation, that were undertaken to determine why women, who have made tremendous progress in education and the workplace over the past few decades, continue to be underrepresented at the highest levels of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Lead author Lora Park, associate professor of psychology at the University at Buffalo, and her co-authors found converging support for the idea that when romantic goals are activated, either by environmental cues or personal choice, women—but not men—show less interest in STEM and more interest in feminine fields, such as the arts, languages and English. The research is described in the article to be published in the September issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
“When the goal to be romantically desirable is activated, even by subtle situational cues, women report less interest in math and science,” says Park. “One reason why this might be is that pursuing intelligence goals in masculine fields, such as STEM, conflicts with pursuing romantic goals associated with traditional romantic scripts and gender norms.”
via infoneer-pulse
More subtle social pressures having huge effects on women’s role in STEM fields. Of course, if more of the romance of science were apparent, if the drama of the journey to discovery were made more clear, perhaps this could be different?
I mean, science (and scientists) is/are sexy, in their own way. Some people hate the use of sexy in this way, but how else do you describe the primal excitement of discovery and learning, the rush of satisfaction? And the lab coats … so hot, amiright?
The above study is evidence of past failures in the imagery of science put forth, but not an unassailable problem. We can put our hearts in this along with our minds.
I have so many thoughts about this that I can’t even form coherent sentences.
(via jtotheizzoe)
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Jane Goodall and David Greybeard
In elementary school, everyone knew and looked forward to (or dreaded) the Big 5th Grade Project: writing a biography. I chose to research and write about Jane Goodall and have been in love with her ever since. And my biography was also probably the best project I’ve ever done.
(Source: forages)
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Never thought I’d say this, but I’m a big fan of entomology… (via Academy of Natural Sciences)
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More polar bear cubs die as Arctic ice melts
Polar bears hunt, feed and give birth on ice or on land, and are not naturally aquatic creatures.
This makes me really sad.
You wanna know what makes me REALLY ANGRY. On my drive to the camp I’m working at every day, I pass a car that’s parked stupidly on the street and in my way and I hate it and it has a bumper sticker that says “GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX.” OH REALLY!!? I AM TYPING SO HARD ON MY KEYBOARD I CAN’T EVEN SJLNDKHFGOJL
“Caddis fly larvae are known to incorporate bits of whatever they can find into their cocoons, be it fish bone or bits of leaves. Hubert Duprat gave them gold, turquoise, gems and pearls.”
oh my god that’s the coolest thing i’ve ever seen
ew this doesnt change the fact that larvae are fucking DISGUSTINg
Definitely relevant hello I’m interning at a natural history museum and went on a stream study last week. CADDISFLY AND MAYFLY NYMPHS GALORE.
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Alice wonders about mirror milk (by Meg Hunt)
If you do not already listen to Radiolab, please do RIGHT NOW. It’s a super-intriguing podcast that breaks down these really big ideas (sleep, falling, symmetry, etc.) into groups of anecdotes from scientists and regular people, making you think about these average, everyday concepts in mind-blowing new ways.
Or you could just follow them on tumblr until they astound you with their brilliance and make you realize that I’m totally right and you go and download every single podcast.
