Minn Chris Grinter, fuq 25 Marzu, 2010 I sab il-full-test PDF tal-artiklu kamla anfibji u estratti-siġra li turi l-radjazzjoni ta 'dan il-grupp ta' speċi u l-evoluzzjoni probabbli tal-karatteristiċi anfibji. Interessanti li wieħed jinnota l-forma każ, u kull kamla hija endemika għal vulkan tagħha stess fl-arċipelagu ħawajjan.
Din hija analiżi Bayesian ta 'phylogeny tliet ġene mibnija bi EF1-alpha, CAD u COI. Jekk xi ħadd irid kopja tal-karta, tibgħatli nota. Jinġibed minn: Rubinoff D., Schmitz P., Invażjonijiet akwatiċi multipli minn endemika, terrestri, Radjazzjoni kamla ħawajjan. PNAS Marzu 2010.
Minn Chris Grinter, fuq 25 Marzu, 2010 UR6FVJ2S3B8H
Xejn ħażin mar-reliġjon stabbilita…
Tista' taqra kollox dwar l-istorja tiegħu mill- New York Times. Naħseb li l-iktar ħaġa tal-biża’ dwar dan l-iskandlu kollu ta’ abbuż (skandlisssss) hija li l-knisja fil-fatt temmen li dan huwa l-ħidma ta 'satana – mhux l-imħuħ mibrumin tal-bnedmin individwali. Iva, “ix-Xitan qiegħed jaħdem ġewwa l-Vatikan”, allura għaliex jikkastigaw raġel li biss jeħtieġ ix-xitan megħlub? Oh stenna, lanqas jeżorċizzaw qassisin għax huwa biss a “tentazzjoni” maż-żgħażagħ, trux, subien. Imbagħad kif inhu li dawn is-saċerdoti li huma tant faċilment ittentati telqu f’pożizzjonijiet ta’ poter? It-tweġiba hija faċli… bħal kull gvern, il-knisja Kattolika hija profondament inkompetenti.
Minn Chris Grinter, fuq 25 Marzu, 2010 For all those who abstained from voting (I want to assume some readers must have known the identity of our mystery caterpillar, but were too lazy to comment), here is the answer (after the break).
Continue reading Answer to last week’s Genius of the Press
Minn Chris Grinter, on March 24th, 2010 
Another amazing animal from Hawaii – a completely amphibious caterpillar (published in the March 22 PNAS). While there are a few aquatic Lepidoptera, all of them have gills that keep them restricted to the water (mind you, we are talking only about the larval stage). If their stream dries up, so does the caterpillar. The novel adaptation in these insects is the ability to live comfortably, and apparently indefinitely, on dry land jew submerged in fresh water – a trait distinctive to these 12 new species of Hyposmocoma (Cosmopterigidae). This is unique not only to Insects, but to all known animals. Hemm, of course, amphibians. But unlike these caterpillars they require moisture to survive and often desiccate rapidly. Hyposmocoma thrive in desert like conditions, or submerged for weeks. Not only were 12 different species discovered (that are also the first known caterpillars to eat snails), but it even appears as if this amphibious ability has evolved three separate times. Clearly the selective pressures on small lepidoptera in these areas are extreme.
The Lepidoptera as a whole have evolved a full range of adaptations, including species that are parasitic, detritivorous, fungivorous, endophagous, carnivorous (also on Hawaii), aquatic and now fully amphibious. Hummm, sounds like a bad song (to this music). Clearly, leps are cooler than any other order.
Perhaps if I were Rubinoff I may have named one moth Hyposmocoma aquamana. Dażgur, Aquaman was pretty worthless on the land… so maybe it should have been H. potioaquamana (potio- coming from the Latin for superior or more effective).
Minn Chris Grinter, fuq Marzu 22, 2010
Spring has come to northern California and moths are on the wing. I took a quick trip up to the Sierra foothills over the weekend and hiked up the steep slopes above the American River. Above is pictured Xanthothrix ranunculi f. albipuncta (Noctuidae: Stiriinae). It happens to be sitting on a beautiful california poppy. The hostplant, madankollu, huwa Coreopsis stillmanii and grows in small patches of serpentine soils on southern facing slopes along the central valley. Here is a Xanthothrix sitting on the host.
This moth was originally described as a form of X. ranunculi fil 1925 (form roughly equals subspecies today), and then completely forgotten about and unseen until 1990. It was left out of a major revision of the subfamily, so the legitimate status as a subspecies or full species remains unknown. Ibqa' sintonizzat.
Minn Chris Grinter, fid-19 ta’ Marzu, 2010 Ejn parti oħra tas-serje favorita tiegħi, il-ġenju tal-istampa. This article comes from ABC news, min jista’ jidentifika dan il-caterpillar? It is decidedly MHUX a gypsy moth.
Fellow entomology blogger Myrmecos had a similar story last week.
Minn Chris Grinter, fid-19 ta’ Marzu, 2010  (kreditu tar-ritratti)
Il-monarki bdew il-migrazzjoni tar-rebbiegħa tagħhom lejn it-tramuntana u tista 'saħansitra ara waħda dalwaqt (mhux eċċitanti jekk tgħix fi FL jew HI fejn hemm residenti s-sena kollha, jew f'CA fejn hemm spots separati tax-xitwa). Ir-rapporti mill-lokalitajiet tax-xitwa tagħhom fil-Messiku madankollu huma diżastrużi; possibilment bl-inqas daqs tal-popolazzjoni peress li l-kolonji ġew skoperti fis-snin 70. Ftit maltempati ħżiena ġewwa u tul ir-rotta tal-farfett, flimkien mal-frammentazzjoni tal-ħabitat u l-qtugħ tas-siġar, aktarx qatlet 50-60% tal-popolazzjoni tal-monarka Messikana (skond rapporti hawn taħt).
 (kreditu)
Din hija xi ħaġa speċjali li tkun imħasseb dwarha? Ma naħsibx b'mod partikolari hekk. It-temp kien l-attur ewlieni fil-popolazzjoni baxxa rekord ta’ din is-sena, u nista' nimmaġina li l-friefet raw numri daqshekk ħżiena qabel ma konna l-bnedmin biex ngħodduhom. Jien se nagħmel imħatri fuq xi ħaġa li l-popolazzjoni tagħmel irkupru fis-snin li ġejjin, l-ebda ħtieġa li jiġru madwar screaming, il-monarka se jkun fil-ġnien tiegħek dan is-sajf u li jmiss.
Il-monarki huma sbieħ u t-tfal iħobbuhom, għalhekk ma jeħtieġx ftit l-immaġinazzjoni biex insemmu għaliex isir tant sforz biex jiġu mmonitorjati. Imma bħala lepidopterist, xejn mhu boring daqs rapport ieħor dwar il- “qagħda mwiegħra” tal-monarki Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Għandi t-tendenza li nemmen li hemm kwistjonijiet aktar urġenti li għandhom jiġu mħassba dwarhom, bħar-rata aċċellerata tat-telf tal-bijodiversità quddiem l-injoranza xjentifika. Monarchs do play an important role as a public mascot and even as a figurehead species that help preserve precious habitat – but let’s use them as a foot in the door for further education. Iva, l- Monarch Butterfly Fund, is striving for habitat protection and sustainability. A good thing. I understand that this achieves a positive outcome, but why only in the name of the monarch? This seems like a spectacular opportunity for science education that is just rounded down to “save the monarch”. These forests serve as much more than a shelter to one butterfly species and even more than “an important carbon sink and oxygen generator”.
My interpretation.
Instead I suggest this. It is by far, orders of magnitude, more interesting:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYAMDGMraA&hl = en_US&fs=1&]
Minn Chris Grinter, on March 13th, 2010 Published in the Santa Barbara News Press, Xitwa 2009. Who can tell me what’s wrong with these captions?
Page scan credit: Stuart Wilson.
Minn Chris Grinter, on March 13th, 2010 As if educational standards weren’t bad enough in this country, Texas has decided to make them worse. A recent push from a conservative school board has re-written history, literally. The logic may be a bit difficult to follow, but they have attempted to “balance” history by injecting more conservative ideals (mind you, no one is a historian on the board). What is to be changed:
- Adding confusion on separation of church and state – (iva, we know it’s not literally in the constitution. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.)
- Discussing how christian ideals helped to found our country.
- Conservative resurgence in the 80’s and 90’s, including the Moral Majority and the NRA.
- Discussing the violent nature of some civil rights movements and republican support of congressional civil rights votes.
- Adding that Germans and Italians were interned as well, not just the Japanese during WWII.
- Adding how senator McCarthy was correct in being paranoid over communism.
- Replacing the word “capitalism” with “free-market enterprise”.
- Removal of Thomas Jefferson from sections of the book.
This entire change is ghastly. I don’t have a problem mentioning some republican presidents and their positive role in history, or the role of the GOP. History may be written by the victors, but it should strive towards fair and balanced. The alterations made above are absolute bullshit and only serve to further their conservative, religious, agenda. What really pisses me off is the alteration of the civil rights movement and Japanese internment. Just because a bunch of old, fat, white men in congress realized they better pass civil rights laws does not mean they should deserve credit for it. U, are they really expecting us to believe that internment was not focused on the Japanese? That entire chapter in our US history is undeniably horrible and shameful, it was also fueled by racism. I do not understand how supporting bigotry and racism is considered a conservative value. Why must they unashamedly, and ignorantly, re-write history to further their agenda? The poisoning of the GOP and conservative values by religion is all to clear in this case. The bread and butter of religious fundamentalism is inculcating the youth. This strategy is very successful when you encourage large families and insane devotion. Now that the majority of conservatives are religious they are spinning their webs onto our children (ukoll, your children).
The worst is yet to come. Texas and California are the largest textbook markets in the country. If they pass legislation mandating the alteration of texts then the publishing companies must fall into line. Since printing different versions of books for different states is financially unfeasible, then only ONE book gets printed for US schools. If Texas successfully adds this BS to the history books then every public school in the US gets force fed (or as republicans like to say – rammed down our throats) these books.
What is a conservative today if not religious? What is coming next: insertion of more “balanced” ideals of global warming, cloning and evolutionary biology. Ibqa' sintonizzat.
Fail to Texas.
Minn Chris Grinter, on March 10th, 2010 Nipposta ta’ xi ħadd ieħor. Iltqajt ma' din is-serje f'taħdita ta' PZ Myers, pjuttost divertenti u għandek tmur check out Mr. Deity lilek innifsek.
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