Science Wednesday
Could use a break from politics right now, don’t know about you guys. So, having just celebrated Darwin’s birthday, let’s see what’s going on in the world of science.
Speaking of Darwin, at my favorite science blog, Pharyngula, PZ Myers notes that there is no one simple evolution story. The stereotypical portrayal of the evolution timeline generally shows small apes becoming larger until finally Man emerges. In PZ’s words “It implies that evolution is linear, that it is going somewhere, and of course, that it is all about people — all the wrong messages.” He presents this, more accurate, illustration
and goes on to argue that evolution cannot be portrayed as a linear tale with a defined beginning and end but is more analogous to a soap opera with numerous plot lines and stories beginning and ending, constantly unfolding and continuing on indefinitely. It’s an intriguing read.
PZ also shares with us, in another piece the story of how a science professor he knows responded to a request from the Discovery Institute to debate the relative merits of evolution (on the professor’s side) and “intelligent design” (on theirs). Let’s just say the word “pwnd!” was used a few times in comments. And, no, the debate will not be scheduled.
Still somewhat on the evolution theme, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles announced the discovery of a huge find on their own turf. While excavating for a new parking garage, they uncovered, as they put it “an endeavor of discovery and research so enormous that it could potentially rewrite the scientific account of the world-famous La Brea Tar Pits and their surrounding area—one of the richest sources of life in the last Ice Age, approximately 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.” The site includes a massive cache of fossils including an almost whole mammoth skeleton being nicknamed Zed. Zed is sporting intact tusks that are 10 feet long! Very cool, indeed.
Less cool is the ongoing decline of American honey bees.
Colonies of wild or feral honey bees, as well as domestic colonies, have been declining for many years and the reasons are unclear. Pesticide use certainly contributes to this. Other causes include mites and other pathogens that attack bee larvae. Why should we care, you might ask? Well, if you like to eat fruit and vegetables and use vegetable oil in cooking, you should care because bees are important pollinators in the production of these, and many other, crops. Beekeepers continue to breed new hives of bees but this becomes more and more expensive as colonies of bees die off and disappear. Additionally feral bees provide important pollination for backyard gardeners and small growers. One theory of the decline is that the bees are not as well nourished these days and their immune systems are compromised leaving them more vulnerable to disease.
This, at least, is one area where people can help. Bees rely on flowers rich in pollen and nectar to create the honey that they live on. Most of the plants that create these flowers are hardy and easy to grow. I have been a tree hugging, bee lover for years and fill my garden with all kinds of herbs, especially salvias and lavender, sedums, echinacea, penstemons and monarda. Old fashioned roses are great too. Annuals that attract bees include zinnias, marigolds, daisies and sunflowers. If you don’t have a garden, window boxes and pots on patios and balconies work fine. The color, fragrance and (in the case of herbs) contributions to the table are all welcome too. I get lots of busy bees working on my flowers all summer long. Multiply that by a few thousand more households and we might get some bees healthy again!
Just be careful your garden or window boxes aren’t so pretty you cause envy in your neighbors. Because, according to the NY Times envy is an emotion that registers very closely in our brains to regions that register actual physical pain. On the other hand, schadenfreude, which could be said to be envy’s flip side, registers very close to pleasure centers. I guess that would be how the neighbors feel when a hail storm wipes out your lovely garden. The author even speculates that envy could have played a part in the currently unfolding financial crisis. Massive oneupsmanship in the executive washrooms led to the out of control compensation and related problems (such as artificially running up stock prices to make one’s own options that much more valuable. But that’s a whole other post.) This is an interesting article and a good argument for counting your own blessings and leaving the Jones’ to worry about theirs.
Posted by marindenver on 02/18/09 at 06:34 PM • Permalink
Categories: I Don't Know Much About Art, But I Know What I Like • Messylaneous • Relijun •
Share this post: 
