Category: Good Writing

Daffodil Organs

Good Writing, My Personal Life, ,

Today is the first day of March, ushering in what (I desperately hope) is the spring season. To celebrate March and spring I wanted to share the article, “Oxford scientists say trumpets in daffodils are ‘new organ’.” Daffodils are one of my favorite flowers, and their arrival also marks the end of winter’s cold so I’m posting about them today as a form of wishful thinking.

The trumpet (gold) and petals (pale yellow) Source: Wikimedia Commons

The trumpet (gold) and petals (pale yellow)
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Daffodils are unique among flowers because they have five parts (called organs) instead of the typical four. The four parts all flowers have are the sepals, petals, stamens, and carpals. The fifth part that daffodils have is called the trumpet, or corona. Researchers have struggled in the past to determine what the trumpet is, typically lumping it in with the petals.

But now, researchers from the University of Oxford (UK) have determined that the trumpet is not a part of the petals, and is its own unique organ. The researchers discovered this by studying the flowers as they formed, and dissecting the bulbs to see how the different parts of the flower developed. In daffodils, the four main parts that all flowers have develop at the same time, while the trumpet is formed later. Because of this difference in development times, the researchers concluded that the trumpet is distinct from the other four organs.

For a little article about the classification of parts of a daffodil, I really like this story. The article has some interesting background and quotes that put the finding in context. This is a fun science article, and the next time I see daffodils, I’ll be sure to check out the trumpet-petal difference. Fingers crossed I’ll see daffodils (and spring!) sometime soon.

Thunder Thighs

Good Writing, My Personal Life, New Research

Perusing the BBC today, the headline “Dinosaur had thunder thighs” leapt off the page and made me laugh, so I couldn’t help but share it here. Coming from a background where I was in a sorority as an undergraduate, I can assure you that when someone dropped the term “thunder thighs” they were not talking about dinosaur muscles. But this is a case of scientists having a sense of humor, using the term to name a new dinosaur species.

The species is a sauropod, a type of dinosaur characterized by their long necks and tails. According to the researchers, the fossilized hip bone is larger than the hips in other similar species. This along with the unique shape of the hip socket which shows a large space for muscles to connect, led the researchers to conclude that B. mcintoshi would have had powerful legs capable of delivering strong kicks.
A representation of some long necked sauropods.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

The dinosaur species is technically called Brontomerus mcintoshi from the Greek bronto for thunder and meros for thigh. Leading to the common name, thunder thighs. The researchers from University College London who discovered the significance of the fossilized remains (which are fragmentary, but enough to draw conclusions) named the species the way they did because it would have had extremely powerful and muscular legs.

The fossils date back to the Early Cretaceous Period, and are estimated at 110 million years old. The finds were uncovered in the Hotel Mesa Quarry in Grand County, Utah. The site is known to have been scoured by fossil hunters, leaving researchers to speculate whether other interesting finds (like thunder thighs) may have been carried off to private collections.

I like the BBC’s coverage of this scientific find so much, because they had fun with the name of the species, but not so much as to dilute the importance of the find. The article is detailed and (I think) does a good job of explaining what is significant about the species and the location where it was uncovered. If nothing else, the title alone is clearly a success because it got me to read the entire article.

It is important to note that the bones were discovered in the 1990’s and stored at the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, but the significance of the hip bone wasn’t discovered until Dr. Mike Taylor from University College London evaluated them in 2007. Results of this study were published recently in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Discover Raises The Dead

Good Writing, Science History

I want to draw attention to a great info-graphic spread in Discover Magazine’s photo gallery. Dead People Science Won’t Let R.I.P. is a really interesting and fun way to do an article about all the different old deaths that modern technology has been able to shed light on.

From King Tut to Copernicus the graphic gives really good, concise descriptions of how certain historical figures died, why their deaths were controversial (or at least their cause of death disputed), and how modern technology helped clear up the details. Its definitely worth checking out, not only to learn a few things about science and history, but also to check out how Discover is doing their gallery articles.

How the Honey Bee Got Its Sweet Tooth

Good Writing, New Research

I love when people send me interesting science articles, especially ones in the New York Times since I still haven’t figured out how to get into my account, and therefore still do not have access to their web content. Thanks to Endri for this one, about honey bees in NYC.

The Mystery of the Red Bees of Red Hook by Susan Dominus is about the feeding habits of honey bees, but it also offers a comedic commentary on health and nutrition as an added bonus. Bees that are being raised in Red Hook (Brooklyn, NY) and on Governor’s Island have been showing up in their hives with red bellies, and have been producing bright red honey combs.

MacromaraschinoThe mystery that remains is how the bees are getting access to the liquid. Neighbors have reported seeing the bees in unusually high numbers around the factory, but no one has pin pointed how they are getting to the liquid. The cherry factory declined to comment for the article, but did hire the New York City Beekeeper’s Association to help find a solution to the problem.The bee keepers were perplexed about what would turn the bees and their honey bright red, so they decided to investigate. The culprit turned out to be the Dell’s Maraschino Cherry factory. The bees have been feeding on the syrupy-sweet red liquid that you see in the containers of cherries that you can buy in the grocery store. Researchers tested the honey for the red dye (No. 40) used in the cherry liquid, and confirmed that the bees have been bingeing on the liquid produced at the factory.

What I like most about Dominus’ treatment of the honey bees in the article is the way she paints them as disobedient children. Her opening centers on the fact that if the bees were raised right they wouldn’t be straying from home to go eat junk food. It’s a whimsical way to approach the topic, while inserting a little bit of her own commentary on human health and nutrition.

Isaac Newton and Alchemy

Good Writing, Science History

I was greatly amused by the article “Moonlighting As A Conjurer of Chemicals” by Natalie Angier for the New York Times. It is about Sir Isaac Newton and how in addition to giving us the laws of gravity and inventing calculus among other solid scientific findings, he was also very interested in alchemy.

Yup, alchemy – turning lead into gold? I liked the article because Angier did a good job of describing why someone of Newton’s genius would believe that alchemy is real. I also love science history, so overall that probably explains why I found this fascinating. I also love the title.

I also find this greatly amusing, and I was reminded of it by reading about Isaac Newton: