Replace “antelopes” with “humans” and I think most of us would nod in agreement. But this is the first time researchers have found “intentionally misleading behavior in animals for the explicit purposes of mating.” Ars Technica has a great overview of the study: The four-year study looked at the behavior of topi antelopes (Damaliscus lunatus) …
Monthly Archive: May 2010
May 21 2010
Who needs God when you have biologists?
Yes, I’m being very sensationalist – but this still freaking awesome. Craig Venter’s research team has officially created the first artificial organism. The complexity of this endeavour is mind boggling – a genome isn’t a simple thing – which makes this very technically impressive. But in addition to being able to say “Look what we …
May 20 2010
Don’t forget to visit me in Chicago Saturday!
This is just a friendly reminder that I’ll be giving a talk about feminism, skepticism, and boobquake this Saturday in Chicago! It’s for Women Thinking Free (yes, WTF), and should be a load of fun. Especially since it’s in a pub. The Skepchicks have all the details over here. You know how I know it’s …
May 18 2010
Indiana congressman resigns because of affair
Indiana congressman Mark Souder (R) is resigning after admitting he had an affair with an aid. PZ summarized my shock perfectly: “He’s one of those conservative, abstinence-only sorts of politicians whouses family, family, family to flog his politics for him, so it’s no surprisethat the reason he’s quitting is that he got caught with his …
May 17 2010
Feminist toys
I may have already come up with an atheist toy, but now here are some for little feminists:
May 17 2010
Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
Twenty years ago on May 17, the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental health disorders. To commemorate that, we have the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. From the IDAHO (not the greatest acronym…) website: In 2008, sexual relations between persons of the same sex were punishable by death in 7 …
May 16 2010
I graduated!
I now have a Bachelor of Science with the Honors curriculum in Biology from Purdue University! Major 1: Genetic BiologyMajor 2: Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental BiologyMinor: PsychologyHonors thesis: Inferring mating habits in banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) using DNA extracted from copulatory plugs Wooooo! A big thank you to my family, friends, and instructors for …
May 15 2010
No talking about animal sex in academia!
A while ago a paper was published that discussed oral sex in bats. Now, if you’ve ever hung around biologists or evolutionary psychologists for more than five minutes, you know that we tend to be a little obsessed with sex. Seeing papers like this greatly amuses and interests us – I know I was sent …
May 14 2010
Why Boobquake failed: God’s relationship with mankind is passive aggressive and abusive
Kazem Sedighi apparently got wind that people around the world were laughing at his ridiculous claims that immodestly dressed women cause Earthquakes. Apparently we misunderstood what he really meant, so during this Friday’s prayer sermon, he offered further explanation: “Some ask why (more) earthquakes and storms don’t occur in the Western world, which suffers from …
May 13 2010
What do you want to delete from your brain?
Sometimes I wish I could delete useless information that has slowly accumulated in my brain to make room for stuff that really matters. It makes me sad that I can still sing the whole Pokerap and every other song from the Pokemon CD, but memorizing stuff for biochemistry was nearly impossible. 150 Pokemon? No problem? …
About the Author
Recent Comments