Category Archives: Science

Rethinking fat

Posted on June 25, 2007 by cicada

Normalcy One Size Does Not Fit All, 2002 Beverly Naidus A while ago, I promised to share my impressions of Gina Kolata’s Rethinking Thin. I finished the book last month, but I wanted to let my response percolate before posting. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Books, Department of the Drama, Science | 3 Comments

And who exactly would Mother Goose’s “peers” be? Peter Rabbit and Squirrel Nutkin?

Posted on June 23, 2007 by cicada

My PhD is four years old, and has long lost what transient lustre it held for me. Yet I’m somehow still involved in never-ending rounds of revision on a paper based on graduate work to which I will never return. … Continue reading →

Posted in Frivolity, Science | Comments Off

What’s up with the bees?

Posted on June 20, 2007 by cicada

Bee and Echinacea watercolor, 8.5″ square 2007 A few weeks ago, I asked a beekeeper at the Portland (Oregon) farmer’s market whether his bees were ok. “Yeah, they are,” he said, “but I get that question a lot.” On Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, My Artwork, Science | 7 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

Everything you wanted to know about trepanation

Posted on June 12, 2007 by cicada

Self-portrait Madeline von Foerster, 2005 I’ve wanted for some time to post this evocative self-portrait by artist Madeline von Foerster, but I knew if I did, I would have to accompany it with an article about the history of trepanation. … Continue reading →

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

Is this art? (part 2)

Posted on June 12, 2007 by cicada

Ferrofluid Felice Frankel “Most people think of science as abstract and numerical. In fact, science is a surprisingly visual endeavor: both data and theory are often driven by pictures and images. Felice Frankel’s work conveys the tremendous beauty and excitement … Continue reading →

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

Bodyscope 1935: Man, Woman, and a dash of dated rhetoric

Posted on June 11, 2007 by cicada

Bodyscope Anatomical Chart, 1935 approximately 20″ x 16″ Ralph H. Segal, Bodyscope Publications Inc., Educational Building, 70 5th Ave., NYC From 1935, two ornate Bodyscope teaching charts. Three windows in each chart allow a cutaway view of the torso and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Museum Lust, Science, Wonder Cabinets | Comments Off

Here there be Seadragon

Posted on June 7, 2007 by cicada

This is the sort of pretty toy I’m used to Apple giving me. Why, why is this from Microsoft? I’m confused, but I want! Via: all over the place. Source: TED Conference.

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

Tiny, liverwort-loving aliens?

Posted on June 5, 2007 by cicada

The NYT picked up this AP story originally from the Knoxville News Sentinel about bullseye-like “mini crop circles” on tree bark. I admit, I’m puzzled, because – that looks like an ear to me, not a bullseye or a crop … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Science | Comments Off