Learning From Bee Flight

31 Dec

Flight is one of those areas that humans are far behind in. I suppose we have reached space, but we just don’t have the agility that birds or bats have. Or bees…

Their footage showed that no matter how flat or steep the surface, bees slow to a hover at 13 millimeters (about half an inch) away from wherever they’re going to land. That suggests, Srinivasan said, that the insects are somehow using their eyes to measure that specific distance.

“We don’t know how they’re doing it,” he said, “But they’re doing it.”

via Bees Always Have a Safe Landing : Discovery News.

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Photos from Another World

31 Dec

Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition:

Thumbnail images of the Olympus BioScapes 2009 winners and honorable mentions are displayed in this gallery. In order to view a larger version of the images (or to play videos), please click on the individual thumbnails.

Always fascinating.

Inducing Genetic Changes in Foxes via Domestication

26 Dec

In 1959, Soviet scientist Dmitri Belyaev began an experiment into the effects of domestication. He started with a population of silver foxes and bred them for only one trait: tamability. The results were truly fascinating; 40 years later, 70-80% of the foxes were more than just docile, exhibiting friendliness towards humans. Even more interesting, however, were the physical changes that arose in concert with domestication. From the article (which is fascinating to read in it’s entirety):

Forty years into our unique lifelong experiment,we believe that Dmitry Belyaev would be pleased with its progress. By intense selective breeding, we have compressed into a few decades an ancient process that originally unfolded over thousands of years. Before our eyes,“the Beast” has turned into “Beauty,” as the aggressive behavior of our herd’s wild progenitors entirely disappeared. We have watched new morphological traits emerge, a process previously known only from archaeological evidence. Now we know that these changes can burst into a population early in domestication,triggered by the stresses of captivity, and that many of them result from changes in the timing of developmental processes. In some cases the changes in timing, such as earlier sexual maturity or retarded growth of somatic characters,resemble pedomorphosis.

There are also videos of the foxes here and here. Finally, a slightly more up-to-date article (though still three years old) from the New York Times.

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The North Pole is Moving

26 Dec

North Magnetic Pole Moving East Due to Core Flux:

Earth’s north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet’s core, new research says.

Bizarre. Does this cause problems with navigation? I remember reading an article once about how the alternating magnetic strips along the mid-Atlantic trench were caused by the poles switching places over time.

Creation and Christianity at Christmastime

25 Dec

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

In a way, this verse from the classic Christmas hymn captures the themes that I’m striving to examine in this blog. Like the angels, we can also sing (and study) creation’s story. It is a story of beauty, wonder, and excitement. The origins of life, its development into the forms we see today, and the emergence of humanity serve to evidence God’s awesome power.

But the story doesn’t stop there. Not only do the angels sing creation’s story, they proclaim the Messiah’s birth! We live our lives in the middle of multiple dimensions: physical, emotional, spiritual. No single one will tell us everything we need to know about being human.

This Christmas day, think about what it means that God created the universe ex nihilo, that life formed and we evolved within that universe, and that God himself entered it in order to save us from our fallen ways. Think about these things, along with the angels, and ponder the wonder of this season.

Merry Christmas!

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China and Climate Change

23 Dec

An insider’s account from Copenhagen:

Copenhagen was a disaster. That much is agreed. But the truth about what actually happened is in danger of being lost amid the spin and inevitable mutual recriminations. The truth is this: China wrecked the talks, intentionally humiliated Barack Obama, and insisted on an awful “deal” so western leaders would walk away carrying the blame. How do I know this? Because I was in the room and saw it happen.

Sadly, this makes complete sense to me. It’s just how politics (international or otherwise—look at the recent health care hijackings) work. I wish it wasn’t so.

Climate Change Deniers vs The Consensus

23 Dec

From Information is Beautiful, we get this Climate Change Deniers vs The Consensus graph.

They’ve done a good job of laying out both sides of the argument without bias or name-calling. What is interesting to me is that throughout the entire thing, “The Consensus” is on the defensive. That seems to be true in the debate as a whole, from my understanding. It’s an unfortunate predicament to be in, because it detracts from one’s credibility even if there is no reason to do so.

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Evolving Fish of the Lower Congo

23 Dec

via Pharyngula we get this amazing video of “Evolution in Action” by the American Museum of Natural History.

I’m with Myers on this:

They too briefly showed a blind depigmented cichlid that apparently lives in very deep troughs in the river — I wanted to see more about that. It’s probably out of the question to send divers down into that maelstrom, but cameras? Someday? Please?

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New Botanical Finds in 2009

22 Dec

Every time I read articles like this it reminds me of how evolution showcases God’s awesome creation, as opposed to detracting from it.

The largest of the new finds was a previously unknown giant of Cameroon’s rainforest, stretching more than 42m (138ft) into the canopy of the Korup National Park.

Also, if you’re concerned about your coffee, be concerned about climate change:

Dr Davis estimated that almost three-quarters of the world’s wild coffee species were threatened, as a result of habitat loss and climate change.

“Conserving the genetic diversity within this genus has implications for the sustainability of our daily cup, particularly as coffee plantations are highly susceptible to climate change,” he added.

via BBC News – ‘Bumper year’ for botanical finds

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Global Warming Helps Cold Weather Plants in Sonoran Desert

21 Dec

An interesting study in the effects of global warming on a specific ecosystem:

Global warming is giving a boost to Sonoran Desert plants that have an edge during cold weather, according to new research.

While the temperature as a whole is going up:

In a previous study, Venable and his colleagues had examined the physiology of the nine species and found that some grow better under cold conditions and are more efficient at using water. Those species are now becoming more common as the changing climate shifts the onset of the winter rains.

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