Living Fossils

Check out this National Geographic link with amazing pictures of newly discovered species at the bottom of the ocean. Included are three "living fossils" which scientists think are links between things that hung out in primordial goop and humans today.

And this link if you're interested in birds that can see magnetic fields when their vision is sharp. COOL.

Canada's Volcanoes

Last weekend, a friend of mine was talking about Super Volcanoes (they're just what you think they are - big volcanoes that can superly mess things up). I decided to read up on them today which inevitably led me down a Wiki-hole to learn about volcanoes in Canada.


Did you know that there are over 200 potentially active volcanoes in Canada? 49 of which have erupted in the past 10,000 years! 10,000 years may seem like a long time, but in geologist-talk it's barely an instant.

The older I get, the more I enjoy learning about the world around me (and the more I realize I've lived in a bubble for 20-some-odd). Volcanoes are REAL! We live on a PLANET! Jersey Shore people DO EXIST! I never really thought Canada had volcanoes before...but it turns out volcanoes are the things that made Canada. Maybe everyone else knew this already (egg on my face!) but I'm pretty sure many didn't. The world is interesting.

"The Neuroscience of McGriddles"

An interesting article from a great science blog, The Frontal Cortex, about how our brains love and crave calories.

From the article:
" Let's imagine, for instance, that some genius invented a reduced calorie bacon product that tasted exactly like bacon, except it had 50 percent fewer calories. It would obviously be a great day for civilization. But this research suggests that such a pseudo-bacon product, even though it tasted identical to real bacon, would actually give us much less pleasure. Why? Because it made us less fat. Because energy is inherently delicious. Because we are programmed to enjoy calories. "

I enjoy calories way too much.

Red Autumn Leaves

An interesting article from Not Exactly Rocket Science with a different theory as to why some leaves turn red and purple in the autumn.

"Autumn is a time of incredible beauty, when the world becomes painted in the red, orange and yelllow palette of falling leaves. But there may be a deeper purpose to these colours, and the red ones in particular. In the eyes of some scientists, they aren't just decay made pretty - they are a tree's way of communicating with aphids and other insects that would make a meal of it. The message is simple: "I am strong. Don't try it."

Science and Tech to get a new home?

Anyone that knows me knows I love science. It’s something I love reading about, listening to and learning (even if I don’t always understand things). In fact, when I was a kid I wanted to be an actor, singer, scientist and paranormal investigator (and was determined I could be all at the same time). So, naturally, a trip to the museum was always exciting.

Ottawa has fabulous museums. There’s the National Art Gallery, Museum of Civilizations, Museum of Nature, Science and Tech Museum, the War museum…not to mention smaller ones like the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Bytowne Museum and a whack of others I don’t know about. Most of those museums lie in the downtown core within a bit of a walk or short cab ride of each other, and if you go to Ottawa, I’d really recommend spending a day and checking them out.

This CBC article talks about a third attempt at a study to bring the museum of Science and Tech closer to Ottawa’s downtown core; a move which, though it’s expensive and time-consuming, I definitely support. Even as a kid I remember thinking the museum was way the hell out of the way and now that I’m an adult and know how money and transportation work, I’m thinking that no tourist would ever pay cab fare to get out there for the day. It’s easier to just stay close to downtown and see the museums there (even though the Museum of Civ. is a little lame). Will the museum of S&T get their wish? They’ve been told no the past few times they tried…but maybe this time will be different. After all, the new War Museum opened up just a few years ago (and there’s no way that huge, empty-for-no-good-reason lobby was cheap) and maybe there are rich science nerds out there who can donate a million here or there.

Besides, I think downtown Ottawa could stand to use a few more rockets, lighthouses and crazy kitchens. There are only so many pictures of the parliament buildings a person can take…

Wisdom Teeth

My roommate had her wisdom teeth removed a few weeks ago and as I was watching her sit on the couch, drooling into a Kleenex and drinking chicken broth, I started wondering why exactly we get these teeth and why some people are different from others. For instance, my roommate had to get all four teeth removed and was stuck drugged up and in pain for days. I, on the other hand, only had two of them, one of which would never give me trouble and the other only causing a slight discomfort that probably would’ve went away. Since I was still covered under my mom’s insurance, though, I got the operation. I was in and out in 15 minutes and don’t remember feeling much, if any, pain or discomfort after the operation.

So why do we get these wisdom teeth? The first obvious thought is that it has to do with evolution and the olden days.

Yeah, that’s pretty much the answer…but it’s interesting nonetheless!

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that, for most people, grow in between the ages of 17-25ish (hence the name “Wisdom” – you’re wiser than you were at 12 years old). Scientists believe the reason we get this third set of molars so late in life is because back in the Stone Age, humans used to eat a very rough diet; raw vegetables, seeds, roots, meats…lots of stuff that required pretty heavy chewing and would eventually wear down and weaken teeth. If any teeth fell out, these third molars would come in and push the other teeth forward to fill in the gaps, as well as provide fresh new teeth for munching on your favourite Wooly Mammoth steak.

So why do they cause so many problems for so many people?

Over time, our jaws have evolved to be smaller. Where we used to be alright with holding 36 teeth up in there, now most people hold around 32 (or way less, in my case) so when these third molars come in, they’re pushing up against everything else that’s been in there for a few years and shit goes down. The wisdom teeth fail to move into their proper position, and therefore become impacted; they can’t break through the gums and come in crooked or facing the wrong direction, causing lots of mouthpain. The only way to make the pain stop is to remove the teeth causing the problems (there’s a gross YouTube video of the procedure you can watch if you want) and once out, poof! All better!

I figure that since I only had two wisdom teeth, this probably means I'm more highly evolved than my roommate, right?