Seattle Visit: University of Washington's
GreenHouse, Part Two

post from Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) on 12 October 2008 11:59:59 PM. © Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)

tags: Seattle Washington, Biology Department Greenhouse, University of Washington, poison dart frogs, Dendrobates, Dendrobatidae

Captive-bred Dyeing Poison Dart frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, from the Guianas of northeastern South America.

Image: GrrlScientist 29 September 2008 [larger view].

This is part two of my UW Biology Department greenhouse photoessay. In part one, I showed you seedpods and a lot of flowers (some of which need to be identified), but in this, the second and last part, I am focusing on The Surprise I kept telling you about. As you can see, the surprise discovery I made in the greenhouse is the poison dart rainforest frogs! I am especially proud of these pictures because these tiny frogs move extremely quickly, so they are very difficult to photograph.

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sit_university_of_wa_1.php

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Insurance from the skies!

post from Bad Astronomy on 12 October 2008 11:22:00 PM. © Bad Astronomy

What are the odds of getting hit by a meteorite?I’m not even sure how you’d calculate those odds accurately (it would involve the number of meteorites known to hit the Earth, and the area of a single human compared to the surface area of the[...]

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http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/12/insurance-from-the-skie
s/

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Information Technologies Unite Russia and India

post from Science in Russia on 12 October 2008 10:58:00 PM. © Science in Russia

Indian authorities named three main directions for cooperation with Russia in information technologies. These three are telemedicine, extension of IT-parks and software development for product certification.

Indian authorities think that Russian scientists and IT experts have profound experience in mentioned fields of interest. Future cooperation between the two countries may also be in information security, since India suffers from IT crimes.

Read more:
Information Technologies Unite Russia and India

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http://scienceinrussia.blogspot.com/2008/10/information-technologies-unite-russia
.html

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Spaceship Tests Finished

post from Science in Russia on 12 October 2008 10:55:00 PM. © Science in Russia

Central Institute of Aerohydrodynamics recently announced about successful acoustic trials of the ?Express MD-1? space vehicle. The tests confirmed quality, safety and working efficiency of satellite?s flight model.

The trials took place in the reverberant chamber RK-1500, simulating acoustic loads, which the ship experiences in space. The vehicle was exposed to high-frequency pressure pulsations, which appear during take-off, transonic flights and maximum ramming.

Read more: Spaceship Tests Finished

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Tiger shot in the Sunderbans after twenty years

post from Of Cats on 12 October 2008 08:06:00 PM. © Of Cats

Though tigers are reportedly poached in the mangrove delta of Sunderban in eastern India every now and then, this is the first time an official acknowledgement has been made in nearly two decades. And strangely it seems that the killers were not even poachers looking for tiger skin or parts. For the tiger was found floating in water some days ago with none of its claws, bones or teeth missing. Shot twice through the head with a locally made weapon and left afloat the waters of Sunderban - a sad fate for the lord of the jungle.

It appears that the killers were deer poachers who were perhaps surprised by the tiger. A very sad thing in any case and it is hoped that the perpetrators are soon brought to justice. Man-animal conflict is nothing new in the delta. Every year a number of honey collectors and fishermen lose their lives to the tiger when they stray illegally into the designated core area of the forest. Changing water levels and inreasing human intrusion into the buffer zones means that contact between people and the big cats will continue to occur unless some short and long term conservation measures are soon undertaken. More here:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Tiger_killed_in_Sunderbans/articleshow/3573280.cms

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Virgin Birth for Another Shark Species

post from Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog on 12 October 2008 06:42:00 PM. © Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog

Virgin shark birth in Virginia

The first time it happened, scientists thought it might be a fluke. A female hammerhead shark residing at a zoo in Omaha, Neb., had not been in contact with male sharks for at least three years and yet experienced a “virgin birth.” She delivered a single pup.

But it has happened again, according to today’s issue of the Journal of Fish Biology. This time, a blacktip shark, similar to the one pictured above, had spent nearly her entire eight years at either the Virginia Aquarium without any male companionship from her kind.

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http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/2008/10/12/virgin-birth-for-another-shark-s
pecies/

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Skeptical parenting

post from Bad Astronomy on 12 October 2008 05:23:00 PM. © Bad Astronomy

One of the issues with being a skeptic who happens to have reproduced is that you wind up with a kid who asks a lot of questions. Of course, every kid asks a lot of questions, but when you’re a skeptic you tend to have more of a dilemma about it.[...]

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http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/12/skeptical-parenting/

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I am so proud of Philadelphia

I lived in Philly for seven years, so I do have a connection and retain my affection for the city, and a respect for the addytood Philadelphians have always had. I felt a real tingle of sentiment when I heard that Philadelphia sports fans booed Sarah Palin. Clenched fist salute for Philadelphia!

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_of_philadelphia.php

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