Sci is at Sci Am Blogs today, talking about a new paper which mapped the connectome, the series of connections between neurons, for the posterior section of a C. elegans male. And what’s in the posterior section? Well it’s all about mating, of course! Head over and check it out.
Preliminary note: When I look at some of these papers, I start out amused. Then I gradually get more and more annoyed. Who the HECK let this one past any kind of preliminary review?! And how come THIS got published when my perfectly decent study that actually addresses a hypothesis that makes rational sense came […]
Imagine for a minute. You’re in a coffeeshop, or a bar, or at a swanky cocktail party (whichever you prefer). There are people around, chatting nearby. But you’re speaking to the person directly across from you. Somehow, you can pick their voice out of the chatter and attend to what they are saying, even though […]
Over at SciAm Blogs, Sci is talking about a recent paper looking at the phenomenon of mimietic desire, the idea that an object grows in value when you see that other people want it, and probably explains the popularity of almost every single pointless trend. How does it work? Head over and check it out!
Today’s Friday Weird Science comes to you courtesy of Bug Girl, who never fails to send me all the completely crazy entomology stuff she comes across. And she sees…a lot. And insects have some truly amazing mating systems. Including this one. (Source) Yup, that’s a walking stick. And boy can those sticks go at it! […]
I try not to make these “ads” for Scientopia too frequent, but I also want to keep you aware. We at Scientopia founded this site to do what we love, and we all, ALL, do it for free. In fact, we do it for less than free, since many of us have put in a […]
Sci is at Sci Am Blogs today, talking about a recent fMRI study looking at caffeine and responses to socially threatening stimuli. Is your boss threatening you? Or can you blame it on your cup of coffee? Head over and find out!
…but they mean much more than most people think they mean. People on blogs talk about work-life balance a lot. We talk about working “only” 60 hours a week. We talk about having a hobby. We talk about having kids. We talk a lot of balance. But there’s one big aspect of academic life that […]
Sci has blogged before on why asparagus makes your pee smell. It turns out there are sulfurous compounds in asparagus that come out during digestion, making your pee smell significantly musty and weird for many hours after. Unless, of course, you can’t smell it at all. I have to admit, I thought EVERYONE could smell […]
I think it was Andrea Kuszewski who alerted me to this paper. And it definitely pricked up my ears. Is sleepin’ around good for big brains? Does promiscuity make for additional smarts? Does getting more tail make your brain extra hale? Well…sort of. But “promiscuity” is probably the wrong word. Take out promiscuity…and put in […]