Author Archives: cicada

A Garden of Neurons

Posted on December 27, 2006 by cicada

Purkinje Cells Ludovic Collins, confocal micrograph Wellcome Biomedical Image Awards 2006 After they get over the thrill of cutting it up, my students occasionally complain that brain tissue looks boring (somewhat like pinkish white cheese). Perhaps because the brain is … Continue reading →

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“Huge” Circadian Clock News

Posted on December 26, 2006 by cicada

A Blog Around The Clock : Huge New Circadian Pacemaker Found In The Mammalian Brain I love this stuff. In grad school, I wrote a hugely ambitious outside proposal on circadian photoreception mechanisms in the mammalian retina, prompting one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology | 2 Comments

Christmas Lightshow

Posted on December 26, 2006 by cicada

This remarkable light show in my home town is clearly visible from several miles away. I could only capture part of it in this photo, because the street was too narrow for me to back up far enough.

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Happy Holidays from bioephemera!

Posted on December 24, 2006 by cicada
Posted in Frivolity | Comments Off on Happy Holidays from bioephemera!

For once, a difficult vocabulary quiz

Posted on December 24, 2006 by cicada

Schmies Vocabulary Quiz I found this old but still amusing thing whilst rooting around online at 4am. (Procrastinator::Me.) I usually find vocab quizzes pretty easy, but this one’s tougher than usual. See if you can beat my score (183).

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The Economist on free will

Posted on December 22, 2006 by cicada

The Economist: Liberalism and neurology | Free to choose? As if the concept of free will wasn’t fraught long before we had MRI. Update: this post from musings on neurology, etc. offers a reading list of primary literature on neurology … Continue reading →

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Deyrolle

Posted on December 22, 2006 by cicada

Deyrolle is a French company specializing in biological objets d’art, including taxidermy, insect cases, and vintage posters (above). Unfortunately, it’s in Paris. Fortunately, they have a great virtual tour of their store: Deyrolle (Tour) They also have online shopping, although … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Museum Lust | Comments Off on Deyrolle

Is that Charlotte Bronte all covered in birds?

Posted on December 19, 2006 by cicada

Artist Julia Swaney has some interesting prints inspired by engravings of natural subjects and Victorian women. I like the slightly disturbing aesthetic of body parts fused with animals and plants; it could be pure whimsy, or it could anticipate the … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art | 1 Comment

u2 video collage/homage

Posted on December 19, 2006 by cicada

Sorry no art postings recently – I have a portrait commission and some applications to do before I can get on with the creativity. Right now I’m going through a collage phase, so you can expect some of that – … Continue reading →

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Homo sapiens whedonum?

Posted on December 18, 2006 by cicada

Rifters.com: Yesterday’s Nightmares for a Better Tomorrow “Natural selection would have weeded moral vampires out faster than you can say ‘Stephen Jay Gould’!” How did vampires evolve, anyway? And why do crosses upset them so badly? This parody is quite … Continue reading →

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