http://bioephemera.com the art of biology & the biology of art Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:24:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Ok. . . just a final reminder that I've moved to Scienceblogs, where I've just been welcomed by a flattering and totally undeserved accolade from the Neurophilosopher! I'm blushing. Apologies to any of you who tried to click through last week and found the link to my new blog broken - ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/02/14/bye-bye/ That title sounds pretentious, doesn't it? I've decided to make a big change. As of today, bioephemera will be moving to Scienceblogs. I hope that all of you will join me there; please update your bookmarks to point to http://www.scienceblogs.com/bioephemera The RSS feed should be http://scienceblogs.com/bioephemera/index.xml but I've been told it may not ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/02/06/the-end-of-an-era/ Ok. . . apparently a new neurological disorder has been linked to the inhalation of aerosolized pig brains. According to the Washington Post, The 12 sufferers of the neurological illness -- most are Hispanic immigrants -- all work at or near the "head table" where the animals' severed heads are processed. One of the ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/02/05/pigbrains/ Friends & readers, I have to put bioephemera into stasis for a few days. I have a lot of topics backing up, so there is more coming, and I will update you all next week.  Till then, hang tight . . .! (I probably won't be answering emails or comments ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/02/01/holding-pattern/ I've had the sniffles now for a few days, and as always, I feel self-conscious about where my germs are landing. This little tutorial combats wayward nasally-propelled microbes with the Sneeze-In-Your-Sleeve strategy. Very amusing - and it suggests another possible use for the tentacle arm.  And seriously - don't sneeze on people. Or your hands. Euw.  (Thanks ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/29/sneeze-in-your-sleeve/ Businessweek has this little slideshow of a LEGO factory. Neat. Apparently the system is so precise, only 18 in a million LEGO bricks are defective. Which sounds about right; I've never found an irregular LEGO, and I've handled thousands. Still, a LEGO-making factory is just not as impressive as a factory ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/29/the-making-of-a-lego/ Great Horned Owl Kathryn Spence Kathryn Spence's owl sculptures work on several levels at once. This Great Horned Owl is a Lear of birds, ragged but regal. Like an impressionist painting, up close, he's a bundle of discordant rags - old clothes, bits of recycled cloth - but back away and ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/26/wise-old-recycled-owl/ Photo by Eugene Richards From "North Dakota, The Emptied Prairie" National Geographic Magazine These photos bear an eerie, graceful, painful resemblance to the country where I grew up. The year I finished high school, my parents left "town" (7,000 people) for twenty acres outside a decaying farming village of 50 people (more or ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/21/empty-houses-blind-eyes/ OK - enough frivolous posts for the moment. There's an election in the offing, and I want to address those of you who care whether the next President is science-and-technology-literate. Which should be ALL of you, right? Sciencedebate 2008 (of which I am a supporter, along with a zillion other science ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/19/seriously-now/   What more is there to say, really? It's a tentacle arm. A friend of mine told me I need "at least two" of these. . . . . . at LEAST two???? What?? And once the first one's on, how do you get the second on. . . ?  Do I want to ... http://bioephemera.com/2008/01/19/tentacle-arm/