Today  I read of another huge snake finding in Florida that got me thinking once again about invasive species and evolution, as did the original story from earlier this year in which I learned of the invasion.1
Over the past eight years, a population of Burmese pythons has been exploding in the Florida everglades. As of [...]

I fear nothing.
No, that is not statement of my own masculine machismo, which I generally lack. In fact, if you were to stick a fuzzy kitten or a baby before me, you would find me near-instantly reduced to fawning and cooing like a 5-year old girl. I’m not ashamed of that.
No, what I mean is [...]

I’ve had several people recently ask me about the reason for the name of this website and domain.
Let me first state that, no, I do not believe in any form of incorporeal, spiritual, immortal, or otherwise supernatural “soul.” There are many reasons that I disbelieve in a soul, but you can find a sufficient, if [...]

I had no idea such a thing existed, but thanks to Bora at A Blog Around the Clock, I am now registered for what seems like a truly enlightening and fascinating conference on science blogging.
It’s called ScienceOnline09 and will be held Jan. 16-18, 2009 at the Sigma Xi Center in Research Triangle Park, NC.
To quote [...]

I recently designed a couple of logos for Dr. J. Christopher Ellis to adorn his biological database website. I thought I’d throw him a link as well as showcase the two logos I made.
The first is for the frontpage of his site evolveathome.com. I made this using the 3D animation software, Maya 7, and Flash. [...]

The latest edition of the blog carnival, the Tangled Bank #114 is now up over at Science Made Cool. Go check out the latest in science blogging from the past fortnight.
They have included my own recent post on using the new Vaccine/Autism study, which further confirms the LACK of any connection whatsoever between the two, [...]

I just got home and happened to look up into the corner of my porch today, when what do I see but a Northern Black Widow (Latrodectus variolus) tending her egg case above my steps.
I have seen hundreds of black widows at my house (see some really cool closeups in my previous post on black [...]

The latest edition of the Carnival of Evolution, CoE #2, is now posted over at Jason Rosenhouse’s EvolutionBlog. So go wrap your brains around the tidbits he has served up. Also, though he didn’t link it within the CoE, he posted his own excellent article on the Anglican Church’s apology to Darwin.
Next up is Greg [...]

Dr. Jim West has implicitly claimed that because evolutionists often defend the theory of evolution so passionately and vociferously (or as he puts it, with “religious zeal”), then that must mean that evolution is “doctrine” 1. (his post title: If It’s Not A Doctrine, Why Are People So Defensive?).
I hear this argument all the time, in [...]

Update: all is well – I found the offending code and eliminated it mercilessly.
Sorry, but if you’re viewing this blog through Internet Explorer – almost NOTHING is working right.
I’m working to figure out what the heck is wrong. It seems to work fine in Firefox.

Thanks to PZ Myers at Pharyngula for finding this one.  I post it here for the simple fact that this is side-splittingly hilarious! Go get your giggles on.
Excerpt:
Malwin dismissed critics who claimed that smashing animals together at high speeds was cruel to the animals. He said, “The animals won’t be feeling anything. The collision will [...]

When you work in a building with lots of blind corners, where people routinely carry noxious chemicals, toxins, carcinogens, animals, and microorganisms through the hallways, it is probably best not to run full speed while watching the geese outside the window.
I’m not talking about myself.

Okay, so let me first state upfront that I am a scientist throughout every level of my psyche. I do not believe in Gods, the paranormal, homeopathic remedies, astrology, magic, UFOs, immortal souls, the chupacabra or any other such nonsense.
That being said, from an entertainment standpoint, I am a huge fan of nearly all science [...]

Taking the form of Nostradamus’ The Very Lost Prophecies, the 95th edition of the Skeptics’ Circle is now live over at the Skeptic’s Dictionary, hosted by Skeptimedia.
Go now – revel in the prescience of those long lost quatrains – find that hidden meaning you’ve sought – discover the course of the future – and please, [...]

As I’ve mentioned before, I am currently teaching an intro level biology course for freshman non-majors. At the moment we’re still talking about the nature of science, specifically focusing on junk science and common misconceptions and misrepresentations of science in the media and in public opinion.
One of the things I’m using is a clip [...]

Miguel over at No Answers in Genesis Discussion Board recently posted a link to the new Carnival of Evolution blog carnival (which I much appreciate).
One of the commentators, however, had some fairly scathing remarks on the existence of this blog carnival and the subtitle and description. I respond to them here, because he paints an [...]

I decided to self-host this blog instead of relying on being hosted through blogger.com.
As such, you may notice a few things out of whack, ugly placements of things (such as those horrible ads on the right), or strange errors.
I hope to have most of the kinks worked out over the next few days, so please [...]

In a class I’m teaching right now, we’ve been talking about the nature of science and also about the common misconceptions, misunderstandings, and simple ignorance that pervades our mainstream media. Yesterday, I ran across this article on Reuters: Clones’ offspring may be in food supply: FDA.
The first line:
Food and milk from the offspring of [...]

The next edition of the Tangled Bank blog carnival, #113, is now up over at En Tequila Es Verdad.
The intro is one of the more entertaining carnival intros I’ve read as of late.
My favorite part (aside from the many awesome links within it), is the description of the time-traveling narrator’s pant besuited appearance before Charles [...]

I witnessed a pretty awesome display today by my friendly neighborhood Golden Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia), that I had never before seen. In fact, I had no idea that spiders would make such defensive displays.
As I approached her web, I noticed the web start to vibrate back and forth in quite an exaggerated fashion. [...]

Jason Rosenhouse, the eloquent ScienceBlogs writer over at EvolutionBlog has graciously offered to host the 2nd edition of Carnival of Evolution.
So get those intelligent fingers a tappin’ and send your posts to him (deadline for this edition is September 14th). There’s a world of evolutionary change out there to discover, and I for one want [...]

One of the most fascinating lines of research within the field of evolutionary biology is the search to find the genes that changed at the split between ancestral mammals and our own closer ancestors, the great apes.
In a fascinating new study in the August 8th edition of PLoS Genetics, Lia Rosso and colleagues have [...]