Dang, That's Cool!

A boy and his father have recently discovered an extremely well preserved fossil in South Africa. It has been dated to 1.9 million years old and is suspected of being a member of a new species of human ancestor. Here’s the CBS article:  Link!

Also check out the 60 minutes coverage for a great look at the fossil itself as well as conversations with its discoverers and other paleontologists: Link!!!

Pebble plants (Lithops salicola) among rocks. What distinguishes one from the other?

What is it, exactly, that makes a thing alive? Why do we call a rabbit alive, but not a rock? Here’s a little dialog to help clarify the problem. This is hardly comprehensive and I reserve the right to make sweeping edits in the future! But here it is, just below the fold: Read the rest of this entry »

The man himself! Sir David Attenborough.

The unparalleled naturalist David Attenborough has participated in a huge number of fantastic nature documentaries over the year, and it turns out a fair number of these are available on youtube! Having stumbled on these yesterday and spent several hours enjoying them, I felt compelled to share them with you, the public hungry for knowledge!

Youtube user akhilind has posted many of these videos so I direct you to this person’s channel. He’s got the Private Life of Plants, which makes extensive use of time lapse photography to bring slow (but fascinating!) plant behavior into the realm of human perception. He’s got the classic Planet Earth, a practically pornographic (in the lushness of the visuals, I mean!) look at our planet from pole to pole. He’s got Blue Planet, which focuses on the watery parts of our globe. He’s also got a wide variety of other documentaries, with the emphasis seeming to be on environmental preservation and appreciation. So give it a look!

As a personal recommendation, let me suggest the episode of the Private Life of Plants called Flowering, which provides many many examples of unique and wonderful flower/pollinator relationships. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96hhTmNCX0

[[EDIT: These episodes of the Private Life of Plants have been taken down as of Feb. 20, 2010. Try user shienlen for some the regulators seem to have missed (http://www.youtube.com/user/shienlen).]]

Now keep in mind this is just one person’s channel! There are many other users who have uploaded many other entertaining and informative videos from all kinds of different productions. Just search around for a topic of interest and you’re sure to find some material you’ll enjoy. Youtube is an excellent resource for education, and if you can for a moment gently push aside the videos of obese men eating pizza or small mammals rapidly turning their heads, you can discover a treasure trove of wonderful things. Sometimes people complain that the internet is not used to its full potential as an information disseminating medium, but that is hardly the fault of the internet! It’s simply ours. The material is there, waiting to be viewed. It’s only up to us to click the link!

So go look! Go on! I promise you’ll find something you like.

-Neil

Ooooh, Johnny, lay another dose of those sweet scientific sounds on me! The new track is titled “The Unbroken Thread,” and it features David Attenborough, Carl Sagan, and Jane Goodall. Here it is:

Until next time!

-Neil

The matter of the Chimpanzee and the matter of the stone are not so different...

Today I want to discuss something more philosophical than usual. This post contains personal thoughts that are not scientific and upon which there is not a consensus opinion. But I find the topic very, very interesting and I felt like sharing. So here we go.

The topic is Emergent Phenomena.

Let us start with a neuron.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two majestic marine mammals

Greetings, faithful blog readers!  My name is Sam and I’m going to take you on a fascinating tour of the animal kingdom over my next few posts, as well as whatever other scientific topics strike my fancy.  Today, I’d like to talk about our fishy friends, the whales (not actually fish, though we’re sure you knew that), and the fascinating topic of animal intelligence.

Everyone knows that the dolphins at SeaWorld can learn tricks, but the assumed limits of whale intelligence are being shattered regularly.  Dolphins are capable of recognizing their own reflections (a sign of self-awareness), singing the “Batman” theme song (reproducing rhythm and pitch) and most recently, hunting with sponges to protect their noses (tool usage).  Clearly, the cognitive ability of our marine amigos is not to be underestimated! Read the rest of this entry »

A flashlight fish, one of the many denizens of the deep.

Top DTC reporter Sam alerted me this morning to a press release by the Census of Marine Life with some new photos of deep sea critters. Go to their site and have a look! The organization has lots of photos of amazing creatures, and video too!

There’s some seriously cool stuff down there.

-Neil

I recall reading a discussion on science and poetry. I recall the author (I can’t remember who it was) asking, where are the poets inspired by science? Given the indescribable beauty and majesty of this universe we live in, and are part of, why is it that we find so few poets or artists inspired by scientific discoveries? I don’t know the answer to the question, but I have a bit of evidence that contradicts the assumption that science fails to inspire art!

Hot off the presses, here’s another stirring melody from John Boswell of Symphony of Science. You will remember him from the two other pieces he has composed, also posted on this site.

Without further delay, here’s “Our Place in the Cosmos,” by John Boswell, and featuring the words of Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku and Robert Jastrow.

Beautiful!

What are your thoughts on our place in the cosmos as revealed by science? Do you find it frightening to confront our smallness? Does the enormity of time, stretching so far in either direction, make your life seem vain? Do you struggle with the idea that you and all your wonders stem from a body made of matter? Or does our smallness inspire you to consider with what luck we exist at all? Does the enormity of time force an emphasis on this very moment? And does all of human complexity stemming from common matter elevate that matter, rather than degrading the human? What do you think?

-Neil

Just look at him. As majestic as the Milky Way.

Holy Moley did I cry with joy when I learned this. Our friends at Hulu have put up all thirteen episodes of Carl Sagan’s magnum opus, Cosmos. If you’re unfamiliar with Cosmos, it’s an awesome series. Sagan explores a different topic each episode, outlining a particular feature of our wonderful universe with his characteristic awe and infectious enthusiasm. Stars, galaxies, the formation of the Earth? The origins of the elements, the subtleties of star death? You’ll find it here! I whole heartedly recommend you watch every single episode. Dang, it’s just so cool!
Go now! Go and be entertained and educated!

-Neil

Beautiful fall colors! But where do they come from, and why are they coating the ground?

Hello! I haven’t done one of these long posts in a little while, so I thought I would remedy that. If you’re one of those people who seem to be suddenly coming to visit this site in great numbers, welcome! I’m glad to have you. Anyway, let’s get on with it.

I wanted to discuss the changes going on all around for those of us living in temperate deciduous forests like the kind in the northeastern United States. Every year, billions and billions of trees shed their leaves to prepare for winter. The precursor to this amputation is the emergence of beautiful and vivid fall leaf color.  But what accounts for this color, and why do trees shed their leaves in the first place? In this exciting two-part series, we’ll answer both questions! First, why do some trees lose their leaves in the fall? Read the rest of this entry »