Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Category: Uncategorized

I built an open-source robot that steps your steps when the steps you stepped weren’t counted by your step counter: Frequently Asked Questions

Posted on January 6, 2019January 7, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

The future of fitness tracking is here! reStepper is an open-source, arduino-powered machine to walk your fitness tracker after those unfortunate workouts when your steps didn’t get logged. Did you have the audacity to take you child for a walk in a stroller? Get those steps back! Were you foolish enough to go swimming when you could have walked in aimless circles around the pool? Don’t let the credit drift away! Reckless enough to do something, anything, that might require you to take off your jewelry before working up a sweat? Let the reStepper sweat it all back! Maybe you just don’t want third parties to know where you run, or where your secret morel patch is, or how fast they need to make the people harvesting machines in order to catch Charlton Heston.

The reStepper, an engineering marvel.

Ummm.

It’s funny.

So what is it?

The reStepper is an open-source machine that “walks” a fitness tracker for you.

Read More “I built an open-source robot that steps your steps when the steps you stepped weren’t counted by your step counter: Frequently Asked Questions” »

Orca protection and vanishing Arctic lakes: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 20th, 2018

Posted on December 20, 2018December 20, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow YouTube science communicator Kurtis Baute on twitter! Ottawa designates two new areas as critical habitat for killer whales in B.C. waters. CHEK news. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): Arctic lakes are vanishing by the hundreds. By Chelsea Harvey, for Scientific American. Even fish get the bends. By Anna Saleh, … Read More “Orca protection and vanishing Arctic lakes: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 20th, 2018” »

To tweet to whom – a tweeting guide for marine scientists

Posted on December 18, 2018December 19, 2018 By Chris Parsons
Uncategorized

“Logic is a tweeting bird” – Spock, Star Trek

Social media can be a great tool for spreading and disseminating published science. Potentially it can reach a wide audience and for free !

Most platforms allow you to insert links to direct readers to the original paper or publication. If you are working in an area that is relevant to conservation or policy, social media can be a great way of getting papers to the right audience that may need that information (Parsons et al., 2014). Moreover, there is now increasing data that using social media can increase download and citation rates of scientific papers, which in turn is good for the careers of scientists in an academic setting.

Read More “To tweet to whom – a tweeting guide for marine scientists” »

Amazing fish eyes, the real cost of halibut, and protecting local species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 13, 2018

Posted on December 13, 2018December 13, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow UBC’s wildlife conservation economics lab on twitter!  The Deep-Sea Fish with the Telescopic Tubular Eyes. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News.  How to take action to help endangered species near you. A Revelator News Podcast by John Platt.  Spoils (long reads and deep dives): Why does halibut cost so … Read More “Amazing fish eyes, the real cost of halibut, and protecting local species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 13, 2018” »

Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations

Posted on December 11, 2018December 13, 2018 By David Shiffman 2 Comments on Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations
Uncategorized

After months of expert and public consultation, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has announced the draft text of new regulations that will govern land-based shark fishing. It’s mostly very good news that directly addresses most of our concerns! 

A review of the problem
Land-based anglers in Florida (those who fish from beaches, docks, and piers) catch large numbers of threatened, protected species, handling them in needlessly cruel ways that likely result in mortality or permanent injury. Anglers are aware that what they’re doing causes harm to certain species and violates some existing regulations. Hammerhead sharks in particular are extremely physiologically vulnerable and need to be released much faster than they are currently being released or else they will very likely die. 

(Learn more: see my paper on this subject, my blog post summarizing that paper, an open letter calling for action, an op-ed I wrote about this, a review of the existing rules and how they’re regularly violated, and a years-old blog post describing one problematic incident with land-based shark fishing)

Read More “Florida releases draft land-based shark fishing regulations” »

Dive bombing birds, octopus intelligence, and a red tide update: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 6, 2018

Posted on December 6, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow Joe Cunningham, a marine engineer who was just elected to Congress, on twitter! The dive bombing birds of Newfoundland. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News How much does it cost to save a species? Less than you think! By Erik Vance, for the last word on nothing. Spoils (long … Read More “Dive bombing birds, octopus intelligence, and a red tide update: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 6, 2018” »

Fun Science FRIEDay – Gut Enzyme Turns Blood Into Type O

Posted on November 16, 2018November 16, 2018 By Kersey Sturdivant
Uncategorized

The process of blood transfusions, started in the late 19th century and perfected in the early 20th century, were a big advancement in modern medicine and the treatment of human health. Part of the improvements in this procedure was the discovery of the various blood types in humans, and how that affects how the immune system responds to and “accepts” blood transfusions. Recently, researchers from the University of British Columbia may have found a reliable way to use a bacterial enzyme from the human gut to convert any type of blood into type O – which is compatible with nearly everyone.

Animation of red blood cells (Photo credit: meghanmecrazy)

Read More “Fun Science FRIEDay – Gut Enzyme Turns Blood Into Type O” »

Ancient fish farming and popular invasive species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 18th 2018

Posted on October 18, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow everyone in this amazing thread of twitter wildlife biologists started by David Steen. Ancient Egyptians farmed fish thousands of years ago. By the New Arab. This is a neat story about a new archaeological study, which tells us about ancient humans’ relationship with the sea. Fun fish festivals around the … Read More “Ancient fish farming and popular invasive species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 18th 2018” »

Banning Arctic fishing and protecting public beach access: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 4th, 2018

Posted on October 4, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Cuttings (short and sweet): Follow fisheries biologist Justin Rizzari on twitter! Commercial fishing banned across much of the Arctic. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian. Slavery with your seafood. By the Save Our Seas Foundation blog. The top fish books for kids. By Abigail Lynch, for the Fisheries Blog. Spoils (long reads and deep dives): … Read More “Banning Arctic fishing and protecting public beach access: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, October 4th, 2018” »

Dear Shark Man, are the relative sizes of sharks in the “baby shark” dance scientifically accurate?

Posted on October 3, 2018October 3, 2018 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Welcome to  Dear Shark Man, an advice column inspired by a ridiculous e-mail I received. You can send your questions to me via twitter (@WhySharksMatter) or e-mail (WhySharksMatter at gmail). Dear Shark Man, Are Daddy and Grandpa sharks really morphologically bigger than Mommy and Grandma sharks? Sincerely, Addicted to “Baby Shark” in Arizona Dear Addicted, Thank you … Read More “Dear Shark Man, are the relative sizes of sharks in the “baby shark” dance scientifically accurate?” »

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 6 7 8 … 119 Next

Popular Posts

At least 74 practicing shark researchers: How a silly thing I said online raised thousands for conservationAt least 74 practicing shark researchers: How a silly thing I said online raised thousands for conservationFebruary 26, 2025David Shiffman
Why the new Trump order to shoot wolves is both illegal and a dreadful precedent for endangered speciesWhy the new Trump order to shoot wolves is both illegal and a dreadful precedent for endangered speciesSeptember 5, 2026Ali Gaster
5 things I learned helping to reassess the global conservation status of every species of tuna and billfish5 things I learned helping to reassess the global conservation status of every species of tuna and billfishSeptember 15, 2026David Shiffman
That's not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI SlopThat's not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI SlopDecember 19, 2025Andrew Thaler
How to build a canoe from scratch on a graduate student stipendHow to build a canoe from scratch on a graduate student stipendApril 17, 2010Andrew Thaler
The Trump Administration’s latest attack on endangered speciesThe Trump Administration’s latest attack on endangered speciesSeptember 17, 2026Ali Gaster
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
I'm a scientist. A social scientist. Please opine on the validity of my discipline.April 4, 2013Bluegrass Blue Crab
What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2026 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown