Southern Fried Science

New special issue of elasmobranch nervous systems “highlights the evolutionary relevance” of sharks and rays

November 1, 2012 David Shiffman

Science

The journal Brain, Behavior, and Evolution has just released a special issue on the nervous systems of cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates, rays, and chimeras). The six research articles contained in the special issue both summarize and greatly expand what’s known about elasmobranch brains. Dr. Kara Yopak, an elasmobranch nervous system expert who served as the editor … Read More “New special issue of elasmobranch nervous systems “highlights the evolutionary relevance” of sharks and rays” »

Hurricane Sandy Update and Open Thread

October 28, 2012October 31, 2012 Andrew Thaler 4 Comments

Uncategorized

At 450 nautical miles, Hurricane Sandy is currently tied as the second largest storm on record. Right now she’s sitting off the Carolina coast delivering massive amounts on rain to Southern Fried Science HQ, but the real trouble is going to start in a two days, when she makes landfall somewhere between Maryland and New … Read More “Hurricane Sandy Update and Open Thread” »

What if you’ve never seen the ocean? Donor’s Choose Project – In Search of Marine Diversity

October 24, 2012October 24, 2012 Andrew Thaler 5 Comments

While my illustrious co-blogger has taken over running the Donor’s Choose challenge for Southern Fried Science this year, I decided to take up a single, worthy project to focus on. One of the challenges with Donor’s Choose is that it’s hard to fund the most expensive projects. People like to see the results of their … Read More “What if you’ve never seen the ocean? Donor’s Choose Project – In Search of Marine Diversity” »

DonorsChoose Update: Over $700 raised so far, 4 new projects added, 12 days to go!

October 24, 2012 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

The 2012 DonorsChoose Science Bloggers for Students Challenge is shaping up to be another big success! As of this morning, 132 people had donated a total of nearly $10,000 to help support science education in public schools, and Team Surf and Turf (Ocean and Geology Bloggers) is in the lead with over $3,000 donated. 14 Southern … Read More “DonorsChoose Update: Over $700 raised so far, 4 new projects added, 12 days to go!” »

Anonymity, Pseudonymity, and a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy

October 17, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Uncategorized

Since the outing of one of reddit’s most notorious trolls last week, the internet has been buzzing with issues of anonymity, pseudonymity, and privacy. Joe Scalzi’s discussion of the larger issues of privacy is the best I’ve seen, so rather than rehash, I’ll just point you there. What I would like to do, is take a moment to review Southern Fried Science’s policy as it applies to our own community. We welcome both anonymous and pseudonymous commenters, and, of course, we post under pseudonyms (granted, our real identities are literally one click away). Our pseudonyms are a matter of convenience, consistency, and tradition, but we recognize that our commenters may have other reasons to use a pseudonym, including, but by no means limited to, protecting themselves from physical, social, and emotional harm as a result of voicing their opinions. Southern Fried Science strives to create a safe space for people to discuss science, politics, conservation, and any of a thousand issues related to our oceans, our planet, and our future.

Read More “Anonymity, Pseudonymity, and a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy” »

Alberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planet

October 16, 2012October 16, 2012 Andrew Thaler

Science

Great Pyramid of Giza. Photo by Nina Aldin Thune.

Pharaoh Khufu must be rolling in his monumental grave. Since its construction in 2560 BC, the Great Pyramid of Giza stood as the largest man-made pyramid ever built*. For 3800 years, it held the title of the tallest man-made structure of any kind. It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that our buildings began dwarfing this wonder of the ancient world. Even still, the Great Pyramid is massive, with a volume of 2,580,000 cubic meters. But there is another pyramid, more massive than Giza, and it wasn’t built to entomb a mighty king. It’s not a monument of any kind. The largest (by volume) pyramid in the world resides in Alberta, Canada and it’s made entirely of sulfur.

Wait, what?

Help students in need with the DonorsChoose Science Bloggers Challenge!

October 15, 2012 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

I’m pleased to announce that Southern Fried Science has once again joined the DonorsChoose Science Bloggers for Students Challenge! For those of you unfamiliar with DonorsChoose, they are an online charity that allows public school teachers to describe projects, and allows anyone to donate to these projects. In the past, the Science Bloggers Challenge has … Read More “Help students in need with the DonorsChoose Science Bloggers Challenge!” »

The Trouble with Teacup Pigs

October 14, 2012June 12, 2017 Andrew Thaler 13 Comments

Popular Culture, Science

I adore Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. That’s right, I said it. There’s a soft spot in my brittle old heart for that whole family, Sugar Bear, Mamma June, and all. Especially Glitzy.

tumblr_m9a2tsTAZQ1r0fz0d — Glitzy the Pig. Image from The Learning Channel.

Glitzy, for those of you who don’t know, is a “Teacup” Pig (as you can tell from the video, pigs don’t like to be held). Pigs are cute. Piglets are super cute. Pigs are very intelligent, highly social, and make surprisingly good, house-trainable pets. Unfortunately, 800-lb hogs are not cute. Over the years, various breeders have tried to create pigs that retain all of the adorableness of a piglet without reaching the potential half ton plus mass of a full grown adult hog. Among the most popular “miniature” is the Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, a delightfully spry porcine that tops the scales at a manageable 300 pounds. When legitimate breeders talk about miniature pigs, they’re talking about these 300-lb cuties. Pot-bellied pigs are surprisingly diverse, and, although extremely rare, adults have been reported as small as 20 pounds (most breeders would regard an adult pig that size to be extremely malnourished). This huge size range prompted many breeders to attempt to create even smaller pig breeds, selecting from only the smallest stock. Enter the teacup pig.

A teacup pig (or a micro pig, nano pig, or any of a half dozen variations of “small”) is supposedly a tiny pig breed. Some breeders claim that their pigs only reach up to 30 pounds in weight. Combined with the intelligence and sociability that pigs possess, it would seem that teacup pigs should make a perfect pet. There is only one problem: there’s no such thing as a teacup pig.

Brief Blog Notice: Changes to the Comment Policy

October 8, 2012October 19, 2012 Andrew Thaler 4 Comments

Uncategorized

We’ve updated the ever-evolving, often changing comments policy and added a link to John Scalzi’s excellent “How to be a good commenter” article. As an experiment, I cleared the moderation queue giving previously banned commenters a second chance. Here is the current policy in its entirety: Commenters (including blog authors) are asked to adhere to the philosophy … Read More “Brief Blog Notice: Changes to the Comment Policy” »

Breaking news: CITES protections for hammerheads, manta rays, and oceanic whitetips proposed

October 5, 2012October 5, 2012 David Shiffman

Conservation, Science

A newly-released list of proposed amendments for the upcoming CITES Conference of the Parties includes proposals to protect ten species of sharks and rays, a record-breaking number. These include three species of hammerheads, oceanic whitetip sharks, porbeagle sharks, three species of freshwater stingray, and both species of manta ray. In total, 37 countries are involved in … Read More “Breaking news: CITES protections for hammerheads, manta rays, and oceanic whitetips proposed” »