ResearchBlogCast #11: A Population Genetics Species Concept?
ResearchBlogCast #11: A Population Genetics Species Concept? avatar

A recent PLoS One paper by Birky and colleagues attempts to define species for asexual animals using the theoretical framework that has been developed by population geneticists. Many species concepts focus on reproductive isolation and are not applicable for defining what is necessary and sufficient for delimiting what species are in non-sexually reproducing organisms slike . . . → Read More: ResearchBlogCast #11: A Population Genetics Species Concept?

ResearchBlogCast #11: A Population Genetics Species Concept? avatar

If I had my way, we’d just sequence everything
If I had my way, we’d just sequence everything avatar

Sometimes I find it really frustrating that all we ever talk about is species (granted, I am very guilty of this too).  Is it new?  Where is it found? Where isn’t it found?   Where do we put it on the tree of life? Does it need protection? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz… The question I wished we asked . . . → Read More: If I had my way, we’d just sequence everything

If I had my way, we’d just sequence everything avatar

The Tide Pool: Divergent Flatfish, Eavesdropping Fiddler Crabs, Hurricanes Kill Urchins
The Tide Pool: Divergent Flatfish, Eavesdropping Fiddler Crabs, Hurricanes Kill Urchins avatar

An occasional series where we briefly report 3 new studies and tell you why they are cool! ———————————- Symphurus sp. collected from Macauley Volcano; scale is 5 cm long. Courtesy M. Clark (NIWA). The western Pacific is broken land, plates are crashing every which way creating earthquakes and volcanoes from Russian Kamchatka to New Zealand. . . . → Read More: The Tide Pool: Divergent Flatfish, Eavesdropping Fiddler Crabs, Hurricanes Kill Urchins

The Tide Pool: Divergent Flatfish, Eavesdropping Fiddler Crabs, Hurricanes Kill Urchins avatar

Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance
Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance avatar

Photo from Dan Herschman's Flickr Stream (Click on Image). A link from one of readers (thanks Ashley!) pointed us to a story on MSNBC about a very large Lion’s Mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) that broke apart and stung up to 100 people on a New Hampshire beach last Wednesday. Lion’s Manes can get very big, . . . → Read More: Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance

Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance avatar

EPIC WIN: Cruise Cruise Baby
EPIC WIN: Cruise Cruise Baby avatar

Words cannot even express the pure genius contained in this video… Broadcast Spawn!Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;}Words cannot even express the pure genius contained in this video… Broadcast Spawn!Tweet

Teach the Controversy: Seafloor Spreading
Teach the Controversy: Seafloor Spreading avatar

My labmate came across this compelling illustration today searching Google Images for seafloor spreading illustrations. Click on image for the original. Broadcast Spawn!Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;}My labmate came across this compelling illustration today searching Google Images for seafloor spreading illustrations. Broadcast Spawn!Tweet

Adopt a Microbe From the Deep
Adopt a Microbe From the Deep avatar

As part of the Expedition 327 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program aboard the ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution, Adopt a Microbe is unleashed!  From the website… The project in a nutshell: Adopt a microbe from the deep biosphere.  Get to know your microbe through exciting weekly activities. Submit your weekly projects online to qualify to win . . . → Read More: Adopt a Microbe From the Deep

Adopt a Microbe From the Deep avatar

Is It Too Soon For This? Gulf Spill Cocktail
Is It Too Soon For This? Gulf Spill Cocktail avatar

via Liquor Snob, Hat tip to Dr. Mah.. Sometimes you have to laugh so you don’t cry. 1.5 blueberry juice oz .5 oz Kahlua .5 oz chocolate liqueur 3 blueberries sand colored sugar, like raw or demerara Broadcast Spawn!Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;}via Liquor Snob, Hat tip to Dr. Mah.. Sometimes you have to laugh so you don’t cry. 1.5 blueberry juice oz .5 oz Kahlua .5 oz chocolate liqueur 3 blueberries sand colored sugar,…

12-month running mean global temperature reached new high…
12-month running mean global temperature reached new high… avatar

…in 2010 despite recent minimum of solar iridescence. “We conclude that global temperature continued to rise rapidly in the past decade” and “there has been no reduction in the global warming trend of 0.15-0.20°C/decade that began in the late 1970s.” Blue curve: 12-month running-mean global temperature. Note correlation with Nino index (red = El Nino, blue . . . → Read More: 12-month running mean global temperature reached new high…

12-month running mean global temperature reached new high… avatar

Dear BP, Sorry Ain’t Enough Anymore
Dear BP, Sorry Ain’t Enough Anymore avatar

This masterfully composed and performed song sums it up for me at the end of Day 91. Electrified trumpet solo was epic, and their message is right on point. Broadcast Spawn!Tweet#call_to_action h4{padding:0px 5px;}This masterfully composed and performed song sums it up for me at the end of Day 91. Electrified trumpet solo was epic, and their message is right on point. Broadcast…