Category Archives: Education

Useful things for teachers of biology (and other subjects)

I’m a fro-elly-what-what?

Posted on October 18, 2007 by cicada

Jason at Cephalopodcast.com challenged me to visit this site, sponsored by the New York Zoo, to create my “wild self.” It’s like one of those flip books where you mix and match body parts. As a biologist, such egregious phylogenetic … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Blogs and Blogging, Education, Frivolity | 2 Comments

Wired Science on PBS

Posted on October 3, 2007 by cicada

AC Gilbert chemistry set, 1922 From Wired Science on PBS Tonight is the premiere of a new PBS science series, Wired Science. My fear is that, as with so many other science programs, it will be the kind of staccato, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Film, Video & Music | Comments Off

The biology is only as good as the labs

Posted on July 29, 2007 by cicada

I winced in sympathy at this account, “A biologist in Nigeria”, by Dave Ng (The World’s Fair) of his experience teaching a genetics course. The conditions were simply awful. But I’m afraid any non-biologist readers won’t understand how awful – … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Education, Science | Comments Off

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

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

Is biology hard?

Posted on July 1, 2007 by cicada

PZ Myers at Pharyngula just generated an interesting thread, “we don’t have physics envy, but we still have to deal with physics snobbery,” about whether biology is regarded as a lesser discipline, compared with “harder” sciences like physics. PZ references … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Department of the Drama, Education | 12 Comments

Why are peacocks blue?

Posted on June 18, 2007 by cicada

The white color of this albino peacock is due to the missing black melanine pigment. The usual rich colors of the peacock are seen because black pigment which absorbs most of the incident light, allowing us to see only the … Continue reading →

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

A&P quiz: This is a. . .

Posted on June 17, 2007 by cicada

Jim Stanis This lovely pink bauble is better known as a: A) gremlin B) globulin C) glomerulus D) gomphosis E) gomphus (answer below the fold. . .)

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Education, Science | 3 Comments

Religion in the biology classroom, circa 1951

Posted on June 15, 2007 by cicada

From the Bizarre Vintage Americana Time Capsule: “City of the Bees,” a 1951 bee filmstrip from the “Moody Institute of Science.” I happened across this film while researching an upcoming post. Until twenty minutes in, I suspected the MIS was … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Film, Video & Music | 3 Comments