Author Archives: cicada

Genetics of autism: is it safe to marry an engineer?

Posted on July 16, 2007 by cicada

from xkcd.com A few months ago, I dreamed that I attended a cocktail party, where I mistook Simon Baron-Cohen (the neurobiologist) for his cousin Sacha Baron Cohen (better known as Borat). I don’t know why either of them was in … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Science | 13 Comments

Ow, my eyes

Posted on July 15, 2007 by cicada

The famous Rotating Snakes illusion I was in the subway yesterday when the repeating pattern of concrete blocks started messing with my head. I did a little research later, but couldn’t find anything about the illusion I experienced (probably because … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Frivolity | 3 Comments

Aesthetic outsourcing: arthropod artisans

Posted on July 13, 2007 by cicada

Peacay just let me know about this cool article in Cabinet Magazine, written by Jeffrey Kastner. The aquatic caddisfly constructs a shell-like “case” for itself out of debris in its environment. For years, artist Herbert Duprat has been supplying his … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Frivolity | 5 Comments

The End of Jane

Posted on July 12, 2007 by cicada

Apparently Conde Nast has pulled the plug on Jane Magazine. I’m depressed. Jane was trash, but always amusingly, smugly arch in its trashiness. The result was a sometimes disorienting pastiche of fashion, gossip, and quirky cultural surprises. Case in point: … Continue reading →

Posted in Science in culture & policy | 3 Comments

Lakewold

Posted on July 10, 2007 by cicada

a girl whose hair is yellower than torchlight should wear no headdress but fresh flowers -Sappho (translated by Mary Barnard) I’ll be traveling for the next three weeks, so posts will be sparse. But I’ll be on the lookout for … Continue reading →

Posted in Destinations, Photography | 2 Comments

My physics envy: derailed by pesky exponents

Posted on July 10, 2007 by cicada

Earlier, it seemed like everyone in the biology blogosphere (including me) voiced their opinion on whether biology is perceived to be easier than physics, and whether that explains why we see so much inaccurate popular biology perpetrated by non-biologists. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Frivolity, Science | 1 Comment

A batch of biology education links

Posted on July 10, 2007 by cicada

The Science of Addiction Time Magazine Graphic by Fielding Cage and Joe Lertola • Time currently features a solid non-specialist article on the biology of addiction, including some nicely executed web graphics showing brain structures (above) • These little “Brain … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Education | Comments Off

A non-trivial trivia question

Posted on July 10, 2007 by cicada

Dear readers, I’m in need of advice.  I love Trivial Pursuit, but I have the original questions long memorized (long live Avery Brundage!), and some of my friends have the same problem with subsequent Genuses. When I went online to buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Department of the Drama, Frivolity | 4 Comments

Wellcome Medical Image Library

Posted on July 9, 2007 by cicada

The Wellcome collection of medical images has been made available for non-profit use under a Creative Commons license. This is a really fabulous resource. Just for fun I searched “trepanation” and got nine images like these: Thanks to Stranger Fruit … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Education, Photography, Retrotechnology, Science | 5 Comments

Memento mori: cadavers in the classroom

Posted on July 8, 2007 by cicada

The LA Times recently reviewed Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab, a memoir by medical resident Christine Montross. I’ve been trying to decide if I want to read it, and I’m still uncertain. Although a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Books, Education, Science | 6 Comments