Southern Fried Science

Six sea monsters that make their horror movie counterparts look tame

September 8, 2013January 3, 2017 Andrew Thaler

Evolution is infinitely creative. Sometimes, amid the beauty and wonder, the awe that emanates from the shear power of natural selection, and the poetry of descent with modification, evolution produces something that terrifies. I am not talking about our natural predators, for whom fear is part of our evolutionary heritage, but rather creatures that appear as though they emerged from our darkest nightmares. But even our nightmares are limited by our finite minds.

Evolution has no such limits and the immense size and incomprehensible diversity of the oceans has produce animals that make us yearn for the comforting familiarity of the common Pumpkinhead. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I present six sea monsters that make their horror movie counterparts look tame:

1. These mind-bending tapeworms crawled straight out of Slither.

Here is a classic horror movie scenario for you: alien/parasite/mutant invaders enter your body, latch on to you brain, and take control, forcing you to do their bidding as they multiply and infect those around you. From Body Snatchers to Slither, mind-controlling parasites are a mainstay of the genre. But you’re a reader of Southern Fried Science. You already know all about barnacles that take over crab brains and induce sex-changes when necessary or fungi that invade ants and force them to climb to their doom. Mind control parasites aren’t really all that uncommon, but they mostly infect invertebrates. There aren’t any deadly mind-melting monsters that can take over us higher organisms, right? Right?!

Wrong.

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Conserving the Endangered African Wild Dogs of Zimbabwe

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 Guest Writer

Conservation

Dr. Rosemary Groom grew up in Zimbabwe and has spent the last 12 years working in wildlife conservation in East and southern Africa. She is a dedicated conservation biologist, with a strong belief in the importance of large scale multidisciplinary conservation programs. Rosemary has worked on various different projects, from reptiles to large African herbivores, but for the past five years she has been working on large carnivore conservation in Zimbabwe, for the small, home-grown, hands-on charity The African Wildlife Conservation Fund. The endangered African wild dog is the focal species for the program, but Rosemary also runs the Gonarezhou Predator Project, focussing on African lions. Rosemary is a member of the IUCN canid specialist group and is currently acting as the southern African coordinator for the Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetah and Wild Dogs. She has published several papers in peer reviewed scientific journals and currently holds a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Johannesburg.

African Wild Dogs. Photo courtesy Rosemary Groom

African wild dogs are the most endangered large carnivore in southern Africa. There may be as few as 660 packs left in the wild – that’s only 660 breeding females! African wild dogs are beautiful, amiable and charismatic animals with very endearing pups – not the feral domestic dogs that some people believe them to be.

In fact, African wild dogs have their own evolutionary lineage and are more closely related to wolves than they are to domestic dogs.

But unfortunately they are highly endangered and their global population is declining… Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, wire snaring, disease, human persecution and even predation by lions.

Sick of fictional mermaid documentaries? Try some dystopian maritime science fiction, instead!

September 2, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler 4 Comments

Popular Culture

Welcome to the Fleet! It’s the near future, the rising tides have swallowed much of the world’s coastlines, and the last survivors of a deadly plague are scattered across a new and vastly different ocean. But all is not well in the Reach. The fish are dwindling, the currents are shifting, and secrets long thought … Read More “Sick of fictional mermaid documentaries? Try some dystopian maritime science fiction, instead!” »

And now for something completely different: An experiment in Science Fiction and Kindle Direct Publishing

August 29, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler 3 Comments

Popular Culture

Longtime readers have occasionally humored my attempts at short science fiction stories, the like of which can be found in Eno Magazine and Nature. Writing these short pieces is fun, but there’s a longer story that’s been festering in my head for the better part of a year and it’s finally time to come out.

Welcome to the Fleet.

Fleet is set in the near future, in a world of maximum sea level rise where the human population has been reduced to a few small enclaves and disease outbreaks are rampant and devastating. Amid the hardships, a trio of fishers slowly begin to unlock a long buried mystery that will challenge their loyalty to the fleet and each other.

#Ocean2Ocean: The final entry.

August 28, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler

Blogging

We arrived in sunny California last Thursday evening after 6 days of driving and more than 3000 miles covered. The goats were delivered to their new yard, where they have settled back down to an enviable routine of eating, sleeping, and headbutting each other. Our little neighborhood in Vallejo is delightful, it not a touch … Read More “#Ocean2Ocean: The final entry.” »

The Pizza of Privilege: My Experiences with Anti-Semitism in Academia

August 22, 2013October 27, 2013 David Shiffman 45 Comments

Science

davesquare

Anti-Semitic graffiti similar to this has been found on U.S. universities. This comes from a private residence in New York. Photo credit: Alex Silverman/WCBS 880.

Since I joined Southern Fried Science in 2009, I’ve written almost 1,000 blog posts. This post has unquestionably been the most difficult one for me to write. Although I’ve always enjoyed sharing and debating my opinions (even when they’re unpopular in certain circles,) I’ve never been comfortable discussing negative personal experiences. And yet, I feel that the topic of anti-Semitism in academia , something that is in fact much more pervasive than most non-Jews believe, is too important for me to remain silent any longer. More than 40% of Jewish students reported being the victim of some degree of anti-Semitism at their college or university. This can range from mockery to exclusion to the Michigan State student who was beaten while his attackers made the Nazi salute last summer.

I want to state upfront that it is not my intention in writing this post to start a “which minority group is the most oppressed” competition, nor am I naive enough to believe that my post will be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back and fixes these issues once and for all. I also want to state that while I could write a whole book about my experiences with anti-Semitism in the context of my personal pro-Israel advocacy, this post is not about that, other than to say that while not all criticism of Israel and Israel’s policies and actions can be considered anti-Semitic in nature, some of it certainly can. Finally, it’s important to note that while not all of these examples are necessarily anti-Jewish specifically, all are anti-someone-different-from-me and contrary to a culture of diversity and inclusiveness. My goal is simply to continue an important and ongoing conversation about academic culture by sharing my personal experiences, and perhaps to bring another group into that conversation. Please feel free to share your own experiences in the comments section.

10 Tips for grad students to make the most of a scientific conference

August 21, 2013October 27, 2013 David Shiffman 22 Comments

Science

davesquare

Presenting research at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Victoria, BC. — Presenting research at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Victoria, BC (2011).

I just returned from the Society for Conservation Biology’s International Congress for Conservation Biology. It was a great meeting, and I learned a lot. It also marked a milestone for me, as although I am just starting the 3rd year of my Ph.D., the ICCB was the 20th scientific conference I’ve attended. Inspired by this milestone, by Josh Drew’s recent post on the subject, and by the excellent graduate student networking workshop held at the ICCB, I wanted to share my tips and tricks for graduate students to get the most out of a conference

Please note that while these tips have served me well and are generally applicable to professional meetings in the sciences, they may not be appropriate for every field or every person’s goals for a conference. Additionally, some may be considered quite basic, but I assure you that I’ve met people (particularly graduate students attending a conference for a first time) who don’t know them. I welcome a discussion in the comments.

#Ocean2Ocean: Dorkface has Died of Dysentery Edition

August 20, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler

Blogging

Location: Scotts Bluff, NE

Distance Traveled: 1837 miles

Distance Remaining: 1163 miles

MPG: not great.

After replacing the surge-break assembly on the trailer, we resumed the long haul across Missouri, ending the day with a 10 PM arrival at the Diamond B ranch. The goats we’re ready to get out of the car.

Tired, but still wired from too much caffeine and a frustrating day, we made the mistake of turning on the TV to see if there were any good shows on. We discovered something along the lines of Doomsday Castle Builders. I adore Doomsday Preppers and find their mentality absolutely fascinating. However, I adore them in much the same way that I adore the poor one-eyed cat that constantly tries to get into our chicken coop. If there actually were a doomsday, these guys are the last people with which you’d want to be stuck. Anti-social, paranoid, trigger happy — I can’t help but assume the fact that they operate under the assumption that people will immediately resort to roving gangs of murders is less about understanding the human condition and more about projection. The entire mentality of the “prepper” movement necessarily ignores the fact that civilization exists because we’re an inherently cooperative species. It does make for entertaining television.

Actually, on second thought, we’re probably better off if the preppers go lock themselves in bunkers and let the rest of us get on with the business of recovery.

#Ocean2Ocean: Corn Maze Edition

August 19, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler

Blogging

Location: Columbia, MO

Distance Traveled: 1119 miles

Distance Remaining: 1881 miles

MPG: 12.8

Status: awaiting repairs

The drive through Indiana and Illinois was long and uneventful. The goats have settled into their routine, and now seem to prefer napping in their crate to climbing in and out of the truck for a walkabout. We did get to see the St. Louis Arch as we drove through town, which the most exciting moment of the drive. Otherwise, we saw plenty of corn.

We stayed the night at the Circle B Ranch, another fabulous horse hotel. No llamas, this time, but the goats were delighted to have a stall to wander around and the horses were very curious about their new barn companions.

This morning, after more than 1000 miles, we finally had our first breakdown, as the surge-break assembly on one of trailer tires rusted out. We’re currently sitting in Columbia, MO awaiting a mechanic to come out and take a look. For what it’s worth, UHaul’s roadside assistance was professional and responsive.

#Ocean2Ocean: Bluegrass State Edition

August 18, 2013October 27, 2013 Andrew Thaler 3 Comments

Blogging

Location: West of Lexington, KY

Distance traveled: 645 miles

Distance remaining: 2355 miles

MPG: 12.2

Last night we checked in to the delightful Sunday Stables, where Luna and Hermione shared a barn (but not a stall) with horses, cats, chickens, and a llama. Susan Sunday was a fabulous host and the goats were glad of solid ground and some room to roam.

We crossed the border into Kentucky earlier this morning, and we greeted with the sight of massive oil refineries as well as an Amazon.com warehouse, very different from the mountains and coal plants of West Virginia.