Nagraj Sambrani of Hoxful Monsters

If any of you have not read Hoxful Monsters, you should leave me and go there immediately.

I swear - everytime I read a post by Nagraj Sambrani, I find myself at least a tenth of an IQ point smarter (that's a joke - no IQ debates here...). That adds up!

Nagraj's latest post (New tree of animal suggests nervous system evolved only once in animal history) is on a recent huge study that analyzed a large number of genes throughout the "early" metazoan lineages, coming to the conclusion that the nervous system only evolved once (among other conclusions).

The amazing thing about Nagraj is that he has about as in-depth a grasp of the intricate data of metazoan taxonomy and phylogeny as possible (not to mention his expertise in developmental biology - a huge plus in my eyes).  And for someone for whom English is not a first language, he is an incredibly excellent writer, and getting better all the time.

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Nagraj and point some more readers his direction, as he is most assuredly among the best writers to cover the detailed evolutionary and developmental science being published.

Scientifically speaking, Hoxful Monsters is most definitely my absolute favorite blog!

Waking the Baby Mammoth

As some of you have no doubt noticed, I've been a bit absent from this digital home of mine for the past couple of weeks. What can I say? I've been incredibly busy with actually doing science.

Hopefully I'll get back to regular blogging soon (including my review of the press screener for the upcoming National Geographic Channel program "Waking the Baby Mammoth" - Thanks Minjae, Digital PR Consultant for NatGeo! My shiny disc and press release arrived via UPS today!). In the meantime, there are a few blog carnivals that you should definitely read.

Scientia Pro Publica

First and foremost, everyone should check out the inaugural edition of the new Scientia Pro Publica carnival, started by GrrlScientist of Living the Scientific Life to fill the void created by the extinction of the Tangled Bank. This sure-to-be-successful carnival is dedicated to all the good science blogging out there written for the layperson. So if you blog science to reach the masses, start submitting to this new carnival.

GrrlScientist also recently hosted the Circus of the Spineless #37 dedicated to the spineless creatures of the world - which included my post on insect dorsal ocelli.

If you haven't made your way over to The Oyster's Garter, go check out Miriam's awesome edition of the Carnival of Evolution #10 - which included my post on the evolution of icefish blood and antifreeze.

Also recently out at Deep-Sea News, Kevin Zelnio has published the Carnival of the Blue #23, filled with salty ocean goodness.

However, as I have come to expect from Miriam, she completely knocked the socks off of my expectations with her shiny new edition of the Carnival of Evolution (#10), composing the entire edition as a series of hilarious diary entries.

Excerpt:

"Dear Diary,

Friendly creationists were a bust. First Gravity and Levity refuted creation “science” comprehensively and with citations. Then Adaptive Complexity introduced them to the basic evidence for evolutionary by reviewing the book Why Evolution Is True. When the no-longer-friendly creationists feebly countered with examples of evolutionary frauds, Tangled Up in Blue Guy beat them lightly about the head and neck with the real facts about Haeckel and Piltdown Man and peppered moths and Archaeopteryx.

The sauciest one muttered about half a wing being useless, but Migration demonstrated that half a wing is useful indeed. The final straw was when the Evolving Mind noted that evolution does not inevitably lead to intelligence. They ran away, leaving me alone once more in the internet wilderness."

Be sure to check it out, for it will certainly go down as one of the more creative editions - owing in no small part to the excellent evolutionary writings linked from within.  Among those included is my own recent post on the Evolution of Channichthyidae Icefish Blood and Antifreeze.

I guess this just goes to show that Miriam didn't get syndicated by Slate's XX Factor for nothing (just announced by Miriam herself in the Podcast of the Blue #1)!

Next month, Carnival of Evolution #11 will be hosted by Allie of Oh, for the Love of Science!

Use this form to submit your posts for next month's edition.

Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species

Just a couple of quick notes to my fellow developmental biologists out there:

First, due to my recent post, Science Blogging: The Future of Science Communication & Why You Should be a Part of it, I was reminded through my comments at Larry Moran's reaction post at Sandwalk that I haven't met very many developmental biologist bloggers out there.

In fact, there is only one dedicated developmental bio blogger I've found: the superb Hoxful Monsters by Nagraj Sambrani. His blog is written for scientists - and if you care about the nitty gritty details of development and evo-devo, his is a blog you should not miss. (Yes I know PZ of Pharyngula is a developmental biologist and posts on the subject as well - but I think he has "evolved" well beyond being developmental-centered - feel free to disagree)

But there must be at least a few more out there, right? If there are, please let me know.

Second, I recently started listening to Scientific American's "Science Talk" podcasts again on my long drive to work. In the February 28th episode, there's an incredibly fascinating interview with one of the premier evo-devo researchers, Dr. Sean Carroll, in which he talks about his new book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species. This is one book I will definitely be picking up with due haste.

I highly recommned the podcasts as well.

Squid Larva (from squidblog.net)

Here's a big congratulations to Miriam Goldstein of The Oyster's Garter fame, who managed to get a truly fascination article published on Slate.com.

Her article, entitled "Motion in the Ocean" is all about the Valentine woo-pitching (quote: "making the beast with two beaks") of squids off the California coast. I highly recommend the read, and be sure to check out the linked videos from the article as well!

And since I'm doling out the link love, I'd like to welcome the newest addition to the science blogging community, Anna of Anna's Bones, a blog dedicated to anthropology and evolution. Go check her out...

The entries for the Blog for Darwin "blog swarm" are only just beginning to roll in. In this post, you will find my favorite Darwinian entries.

First and foremost, I would like to ask you all to read my own post, Darwin and the Heart of Evolution, which recounts a simplified evolutionary history in the development of our cherished organ - the heart.

On to the link love!

• The Beagle Project Blog gives their own rundown of the best Darwin posts, here, here, and here.
• The Digital Cuttlefish sings us the single most amazing science song ever written. It is pure beautiful poetry. Everyone should read it and hang the lyrics upon their wall.
• Richard Wiseman Blog brings us an amazing afterimage optical illusion of Darwin himself  - a great alternative to the ubiquitous and similar Jesus illusion.
• Observations of a Nerd explains why she is not a "Darwinist" (and why no one should be, really). As I like to say, Evolutionary Theory is to Darwinism as the blue whale is to Pakicetus.
• If I ever gave Valentine's Day a second thought, I would most certainly give this Valentine's Day Card to my wife (hat tip to The Oyster's Garter). Thankfully my wife views the wretched holiday in the same light as I do.
• FYI: Science! tells a great tale of teaching evolution in high school biology classrooms.
• The Southern Fried Scientist and WhySharksMatter over at Southern Fried Science, and Kevin Zelnio of The Other 95% and Deep Sea News have begun a massive undertaking, celebrating both Darwin's birthday and the Origin's publication in November: They are growing beards from scratch between now and November for "The Great Darwin Beard Challenge". Now that's some dedication!
• Life Science Tools of the Trade gives an incredibly entertaining look at Darwin's methods of specimen collection. In Darwin's own words (describing a rare and now critically endangered fox), "He was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers, that I was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the head with my geological hammer."
• It's Alive!! speaks of Darwin's ecological villainy. It's in the same vein as the previous link - you just have to read it - short and very funny. Excerpt: "Darwin did eat a bunch of endangered turtles, lizards, birds and other animals during his voyage. It’s one of 10 fun facts about Darwin. Hah! Take that vegans."
• Mike of 10,000 Birds gives a beautiful rundown on why birders should love Darwin.

Those are all the posts I've managed to read through thus far. I am certain that many new and wonderful posts will arise over the coming days, my favorite of which I will continue to add to this post.  Cheers! And have a Happy Darwin Day!