Category Archives: Biology

A leaf on the family tree

Posted on January 24, 2007 by cicada

Study for Transmission no. 3 Binh Danh, 2006 leaf preserved in resin Haines Gallery A timely post from Sciencesque identifies two artists, the late Axel Erlandson and Binh Danh, whose medium is living plant material. Binh Danh’s leaf prints are … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Photography | Comments Off

Deep Blue Seaweed

Posted on January 23, 2007 by cicada

Anna Atkins Dictyota dichotoma cyanotype from Photographs of British Algae, 1843-1853 Like many women in science of previous centuries, Anna Atkins (1799-1871) had the immense advantage of an educated father. John George Children was a prominent scientist and member of … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Photography | 1 Comment

The Ironic Workout: five muscles at once!

Posted on January 19, 2007 by cicada

This is a screenshot from a wonderful anatomy learning tool, Artnatomy, by artist and educator Victoria Contreras Flores. It’s meant to teach facial anatomy in a Fine Arts context, but would work equally well in an introductory A&P course. Teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Education, Science | 1 Comment

Spiders on Crack!

Posted on January 17, 2007 by cicada

When I was a graduate student, I fed crack cocaine to mutant fruit flies. I don’t think they really enjoyed it – they convulsed and died. But even so, I was moved by nostalgia when a friend sent me this … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Film, Video & Music, Frivolity, Science | 2 Comments

The Open Laboratory

Posted on January 16, 2007 by cicada

The Science Blogging Anthology – the Great Unveiling! Coturnix over at A Blog Around the Clock has just finished editing the new anthology of science blogging. Through the mercurial quickness of on-demand publishing, the book is available as a physical … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Books, Science | 4 Comments

morpho ishihara

Posted on January 15, 2007 by cicada

morpho ishihara watercolor on Winsor & Newton paper, 2007 The Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plate series is still the most common clinical test for colorblindness. Most Ishihara test plates are pointillist circles containing an Arabic numeral, which should be visible (if a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, My Artwork | 7 Comments

Too much of anything (including water) is bad for you

Posted on January 14, 2007 by cicada

Woman dies after taking part in radio station contest A very sad story: a 28-year-old woman participating in a radio station contest died of apparent water intoxication. Basically, she consumed so much water so quickly that her body fluids were … Continue reading →

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Wombs, Waxes and Wonder Cabinets

Posted on January 5, 2007 by cicada

This essay has been reposted at the new bioephemera, Feb 19, 08. Anatomical Teaching Model of a Pregnant Woman Stephan Zick, 1639-1715 Wood and ivory Kunstkammer Georg Laue is a Munich antique/art gallery informed by the sensibility of the “wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Museum Lust, Wonder Cabinets | 14 Comments

Fashionable nature

Posted on January 1, 2007 by cicada

Still life: Photography by Guido Mocafico Guido Mocafico has worked as a fashion photographer, but his interests range from landscape to still life to nature to architecture. His website is a true cabinet of curiosities, including collections of jellyfish, snakes, … Continue reading →

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A truly weird case of mimicry

Posted on December 28, 2006 by cicada

The moth in spider’s clothing, via the Neurophilosopher’s weblog Earlier, I posted about the tendency of prey species to mimic the appearance of other prey, usually to take advantage of the predator’s learned aversion to noxious species. Now the Neurophilospher … Continue reading →

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