Moby Dick!

On By A.P.In Literature, The SeaLeave a comment

In 1851, Heeman Melville wroteMoby Dick, based on an Essex crew member’s account of a horrifying 1820 ordeal in which the Nantucket, Massachusetts whaling vessel Essex was rammed and sunk in the South Pacific by a sperm whale.  George Pollard Jr. and his surviving crew resorted to cannibalism in order to survive while they drifted in the open ocean for more than a month.  Eventually, Pollard took command of another whaler, the “Two Brothers.”   On Feb. 11, 1823, however, his 2nd ship hit a shallow reef off the coast of Hawaiit, and the crew was rescued the next day by a fellow whaler who happened along their location.  Now, 188 years later, maritime heritage archaeologists, working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has found the Two Brothers shipwreck nearly 600 miles northwest of Honolulu, off French Frigate Shoals in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12439656

Hissing Roaches for Valentine’s Day

On By A.P.In Human Behavior, Nature, Roaches, sexuality1 Comment

 

According to the Bronx Zoo, “Flowers wilt. Chocolates melt. Roaches are forever.” 

This year the Bronx Zoo is exhibiting 58,000 giant Madagascar hissing roaches, and offering Valentine’s Day naming rights for $10 apiece. 

http://www.bronxzoo.com/name-a-roach/

Could there be at beter way to let your loved one know how you feel on this special day?

The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo, suggests  “Maybe it’s in recognition of your one and only’s virility, or strength in the face of high radiation.”

The roaches, which are native to the island of Madagascar off  the south-eastern coast of Africa, are not pests and do not inhabit human dwellings.  In fact, they are actually popular pets because of their hissing sound, large size, and appearance. 

They generate their hissing sound by  forcing air through breathing pores on each segment of their thorax and abdomen.  They are believed to be the only insect that can “growl” in this manner. 

Their hiss takes three forms: the disturbance hiss, the female-attracting hiss, and the fighting hiss. All cockroaches can generate the disturbance hiss, and only males use the fighting hiss (when challenged by other males).  The fighting hiss is used to establish a dominance hierarchy by one of the males backing down and the fight being over. Males hiss more often than females. The males are also known to ram one another with their horns and shove one another about with their abdomens during competition for standing in the roach hierarchy.

What’s Happening to the Scientific Method?

On By A.P.In Alzheimer's disease, Depression, Health, Medicine, Neuropsychiatric Disease, schizophrenia, ScienceLeave a comment

All sorts of well-established, repeatedly-confirmed findings have started to look increasingly uncertain in a wide range of scientific fields, from psychology to ecology.  This phenomenon is particularly widespread in the field of medicine. 
To read more about this, click on this article by Jonathan Lehrer in the The New Yorker:

Mental Illness and the Sun

On By A.P.In Depression, Health, Neuropsychiatric Disease, schizophrenia, Science, seasonal affective disorder, The Brain1 Comment

It’s l

It’s been known for a long time that winter-born babies are more likely to develop severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, depression and seasonal affective disorder.  Researchers at Vanderbilt and the University of Alabama may have identified clues as to how seasonal sunlight exposure could affect expression of clock genes that control our normal biological rhythms.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=blame-it-on-winter

The First Synthetic Organism Created

On By A.P.In Uncategorized1 Comment

In May 2010, after 15 years and $40 million, Criag Venter succeeded in synthethesizing the entire genome of a bacterium (Mycoplasma mycoides, which ordinarily invades goats) and transplanting it into another one, creating the first self-replicating species on the planet whose parent was a computer.  Some are concerned that artificial life forms could escape the laboratory and become an invasive species with unforeseen dangers, while others believe that this paves the road to a new era in which we will synthesize microbes for specifica purposes, such as cleaning pollutants or producing drugs and biofuels.  Venter has founded a company based on this new technology, Synthetic Genomics, that hopes to work with Novartis to make new flu vaccines, and with ExxonMobil to create fuel-producing microbes.

Click here to read more, and hear Venter describe his work:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form

Superbowl XLV Seats Missing Last Night

On By A.P.In Football, Human Behavior, Popular Culture, Sports, Wealth and PowerLeave a comment

Local organizers tried to break the Super Bowl record for attendance by exceeding 105,000, but ended up having to tell about 400 people that they’d paid for seats that weren’t there.  Can you imagine arriving at the stadium and finding out that your seat doesn’t exist?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/06/us-nfl-superbowl-scene-idUSTRE71525620110206

Pizza 4 Patriots

On By A.P.In Food, Football, Popular Culture, Sports1 Comment

Uno Chicago Grill has teamed up with DHL and Pizzas 4 Patriots to dish out 7,000 pizzas to United States servicemen and women on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6; the largest pizza delivery day of the year.

Operation Pizza Bowl was conceived by Retired Air Force Master Sergeant Mark Evans and his son Kent (of Elk Grove, Ill.), with the objective of providing enough deep-dish pizza to feed around 28,000 servicemen and women at several bases throughout Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and the Philippines in time for Super Bowl Sunday.

The pizzas will leave the DHL New York Gateway and arrive at several bases throughout Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and the Philippines in time for the game.

The pizzas, along with letters of support to the troops, are transported from New York through the DHL hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport where they move onward to regional DHL hubs in the Middle East and Asia.

DHL, which donates its global shipping network for the event, provides door-to-door, final mile delivery for the entire distribution, working closely with the U.S. military to ensure the pizzas are delivered fresh and ready to heat and serve at various military bases.

A special ceremonial send-off will take place on Feb. 1 from UNO’s restaurant at 432 Columbus Ave. in New York City.

“UNO is delighted to once again partner with Pizzas 4 Patriots to ensure our troops can enjoy a slice of home during this year’s Super Bowl,” said UNO’s CEO Frank Guidara.

Vets, active duty also treated

Meanwhile, troops — both active duty and veteran status — who are not currently deployed will also be treated to a meal by the company for its Operation Pizza Bowl promotion.

To celebrate the “deployment” of the pizzas to service members in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea and the Philippines, UNO is inviting all members of the military, both veterans and active duty, to enjoy a free individual deep dish or thin crust pizza with the purchase of an entrée or pizza of equal or greater value on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. No coupon is necessary.

For redemption, customers simply need to show their military or veteran’s ID.