Here’s how different those supposedly “identical” twins really are
Growing up, we had a pair of identical twins in my school, and it was very unusual.
I could tell them apart… but only when both of them were standing together. They had slightly different personalities, but I didn’t doubt that one of them could easily pass for the other in a class or when hanging out with casual acquaintances.
They really looked as they’d both come from the same mold, and, in learning about them, I got my first taste of the wonders of genetics.
When it comes to twins, there are two types: identical twins, where both individuals came from the same zygote (fertilized egg), or fraternal twins, where each twin forms from a different egg but they both develop at the same time. …
Biotech has two worlds — and most newcomers aren’t prepared for the second
I’ll admit: when I was younger, as an idealistic undergrad, I got sold on the flashy “new world” hype of biotechnology as a career path.
The whole industry is a combination of the cutting-edge advances in cyberpunk, combined with “first-thirty-minutes-of-Jurassic-Park” idealism about how we can master our world, become the creators and controllers of biology.
From the outside, looking in, there’s a ton of world-changing stuff going on in the field of biotechnology. Consider:
- artificial limbs and advanced prosthetics that can be controlled by direct thought
- new drugs to cure previously deadly and unstoppable diseases
- genetic and genomic sequencing to understand how life works from the most basic building…
Jello shots aside, it’s not just drinks that ferment. These foods can contain alcohol.
During my days in college, I seemed perfectly set to be a habitual consumer of alcohol. Member of a fraternity, invited out to parties, in a state where booze laws were pretty lax and with plenty of older friends.
Despite these “ideal conditions”, I never really enjoyed getting too drunk. I has a fairly low alcohol tolerance, and it went straight to my head; aside from a couple of wild nights, I generally quit after a drink or two.
Since those halcyon days of undergrad, I’ve further cut back on the drinking. Most of the alcohol I consume these days is in the form of tasting home-brewed concoctions, or the occasional glass of wine. …
How the “extinction burst” means we’ll see more bad behavior, not less
Although I live out on the west coast of California, I have a close friend who lives in Washington, D.C., and is part of the United States political apparatus.
On Wednesday, when protests by Trump supporters turned into riots and anarchy as the protesters fought their way into government buildings, I reached out to him to make sure he was safe. Thankfully, he was well away from the streets.
There are many articles and discussion around why the protest turned violent, how it became a mass of people who stormed the Capitol building, whether the police were complicit or if they merely underestimated the potential for violence, whether the individuals who lost their lives were committing crimes deserving of the outcome. …
Yes, you can have “too much of a good thing” — and it can have consequences
When I was in college, I went through a brief but intense “vitamin phase,” perhaps better labeled as a vitamin craze.
It’s true that I was on the college diet, which meant that I mostly lived off of ramen noodles, instant macaroni and cheese bowls, pizza, and any free meals that I could scrounge from clubs or events. My primary focus for my diet was less on complete nutrition, and more on paying for a full week’s worth of meals without running out of money.
Suddenly, I realized, I knew what my problem was. …
And other shocking facts about these incredible, enduring fish
It’s a classic wildlife scene, showing the strength and brutality of nature: a salmon swims through a rushing stream, fighting its way against the current to ascend, leaping out of the water to climb over obstacles — only to be snagged by a waiting bear who is hungry for a meal.
Salmon are one of the most well-known examples of anadromous fish — that is, fish that migrate from the sea to rivers in order to spawn. …
Trump’s update left out a critical recommendation, against the advice of experts
Back in elementary school, I remember gazing with mingled interest and boredom at the food pyramid, the recommendation of a healthy diet as issued by the FDA.
Why some animals (and people) have two different-colored eyes
More than any other feature, the color of our eyes can be the most striking thing that someone first notices. Brilliantly blue, sparkling green, deep brown — we notice eye color.
And it’s especially striking when we encounter a creature, be it human or animal, that has eyes of two different colors. Perhaps one is blue and the other is hazel, like the kitten pictured above. Or maybe one is dark and the other is light.
The term for this is heterochromia, literally meaning “different colors.” …
How these real-life dragons pull off true “immaculate conception”
When it comes to taking over an environment and increasing your population as fast as possible, bacteria have a huge advantage over humans and most animals: asexual reproduction.
Imagine if humans were capable of having offspring, without needing to ever have sex. No need to get another person involved; you could just focus your resources for a few months on creating a clone, and pop! Out comes a doppelgänger, ready to continue your legacy.
Most plants and animals on Earth aren’t capable of this self-replicating asexual reproduction — and it makes sense. …
Wind? Something with gravity? Could you explain to a 5-year-old?
Look, I know that the reason why the ocean has waves is because of the Moon. I learned that back in elementary school, and I’ll state it with full confidence.
But if you asked an innocent follow-up question, my confidence would unravel. I know that there’s some connection, that there’s some sort of link between the phases of the moon and the strength of the tides. Didn’t sailors used to know about the tides by looking at the moon?
- How are tides caused?
- Does the Moon pull harder at some times to make stronger waves? …
About
