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I Was Supposed To Go See James Watson Talk Today ...

...and quite frankly I am pretty pissed off that his lectures have been cancelled. James Watson...

Twins: Identical, Mirror Images, Fraternal And Chimeras

Cloning is not a human invention; nature has been creating clones for millions of years, among...

Why Does My Baby Have A Tail?

As I’m having a baby my mind has recently been turned to thoughts of the very weird and wonderful...

Arrogant Scientists Battle To Represent All Of Humanity

American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, died on 12 Apr 1897. Cope is best remembered for his...

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Sarda SahneyRSS Feed of this column.

Sarda Sahney is a Ph.D. student at the University of Bristol studying macroevolution, with focus on the evolution of vertebrate communities.

She also writes Read More »

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Continuing on the whale theme today, an Australian couple has had an extraordinary windfall: walking along a remote beach they found 32-pounds of sperm whale puke, for which the proper scientific word is ambergris and the technical details are that ambergris is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale (Physeter catodon).
 
The Encyclopedia of Life project will detail 1.8 million known plant and animal species in the format of an online archive. Each species will have its own page with descriptions, photographs, videos, and maps, compiled by experts.

It is hoped that the $100m USD (£50m GBP) archive will be complete in 10 years and that in addition to an educational tool, the archive will have value for conservation efforts.
After eight years and I am still learning new things my husband: we were walking down the street yesterday when the clouds parted, revealing a bright sun and he consequently sneezed! Now I realize that this phenomenon affects a significant number of other people I know. So in case you were ever wondering why looking at the sun on a bright day makes you sneeze here is the answer:

Some criminals get caught in the act of smuggling strange cargo and are not always very clever about heir tactics. In the United States, wildlife smuggling is the nation’s second-largest black market, (behind narcotics), worth $9 billion a year.

Some of the more interesting highlights seen at Los Angeles International Airport include: In 2006 A Japanese man was arrested for smuggling Queen Alexandra’s birdwings, one of the largest butterflies in the world, worth $8,500 USD. And in the same year four people were accused of trafficking in the endangered dragon fish.
Memed again! Here are some great blogs that make me think 'outside of my box'. Pass on the meme... Secret Sex Lives of Animals A weekly column on the bizarre, wonderful, colourful and sometimes shocking world of animal mating habits.
The Domestic Minx
A deliciously dysfunctional diary about domestic living.

The Dragon's Tales
A great mix of science and current events from all over the globe.

A letter, supposedly sent to the Smithsonian Institute. Hilarious!

Paleoanthropology Division
Smithsonian Institute
207 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20078

Dear Sir: