Originally “Trying to understand statistics” from WSWCGS

Some examples of science oopsies that I have witnessed include characters touching their phones after touching a dead body/blood/preforming an autopsy (you wouldn’t do that! eww!) or when they take their gloves off the wrong way (by touching the outside of the glove, which defeats the whole purpose of wearing gloves in the first place). Another example are the blatantly obvious science montages, like in Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (which is obviously NOT a high quality film) where “science” consists of people pouring and mixing multicolored liquids in test tubes and beakers. Woo science!

Glowing liquid! Science!!!

I was recently watching Body of Proof (don’t judge me) and found this science oopsie by the main character Megan Hunt who is a medical examiner. She is pipetting what is supposed to be blood samples into a vial so she can test for drugs. Except she doesn’t use a pipette tip!!! What?!? That would never work!! Silly Megan.

Science Oopsie in Body of Proof, Season 3, Episode 8, “Doubting Tommy”

My friend Naomi (@naomilewski) and I were recently discussing how we appreciated that Amy Farrah Fowler (Sheldon’s girlfriend in the Big Bang Theory) takes her gloves of correctly, because shes a real life neurobiologist! She earned her PhD in 2007 and her dissertation was an investigation of hypothalamic activity in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome. How cool! (Side note: I did a big project on Prader-Willi syndrome in high school, another reason Amy and I would be BFFs).

Amy and Sheldon in the lab (Big Bang Theory)

I love that science is portrayed in pop culture, even if it is sometimes wrong, and it sure is fun to point out their mistakes! Are there any science oopsies that really get under your skin? Are there certain shows that are notorious for science oopsies? I want to hear about them!

Helmet Urchin via Ken-ichi

I can’t believe I have never heard of these guys! They are less pokey versions of the “traditional” sea urchin. Known as the helmet urchin, or the shingle urchin, these urchins have plate like “spines”. Cute!

Check out Chris Mah’s blog post at EchinoBlog for more information and some video.

Parry Gripp has done it again. Nothing like a great beat and cute octo to finish the week.

Via @MiriamGoldst at #DeepSN

Piglet Squid: Helicocranchia pfefferi

This strange little guy is a banded piglet squid. The “smile” is made up of chromatophores and the “hair” are tentacles. Any guesses about the thing that looks like a nose?

I thought this was fake when I first saw it, but upon further investigation I found that piglet squid are small (100mm) mesopelagic squid. The shiny part under it’s eyes are photophores, which make the squid look extra cute and dopey.

Side view

See this video for some footage of the piglet squid, and some other cool invertebrates! Some terrible effects, but still good footage from National Geographic.

A little Friday afternoon science inspiration!

Image via the Onion

In honor of Thanksgiving (and overeating) here is an article from the Onion about an obese salmon who is so fat that he is unable to swim upstream and spawn. Poor guy. I am sure we can all empathize as we lounge on the couch and wait for our turkey dinner to digest from yesterday. Thanks to my lab mate Lauren Kuehne (@lkwander) for pointing me towards this article!

Article

An all white humpback whale was sighted off the coast of Norway earlier this week. It is believed that only 2 other “all white” humpbacks have been observed. British maritime engineer Dan Fisher named this particular whale Willow the Whale.

Twins! (kinda)

Why is this humpback all white? Willow has a condition called leucism, which causes a reduction in all skin pigments. How is leucism different from albinism you may ask? Albinism only effects the production of melanin, while leucism prevents formation of all pigments. Many are calling Willow Moby Dick’s doppelganger, although Moby Dick was supposed to be a sperm whale.

So why are we so fascinated with albinism and leucism?

Leucistic Penguin

Many leucistic animals have been found, including penguins, orcas, alligators, snakes, birds, axolotls and lions. I find these animals interesting because they seem to be evolutionarily less fit for their environment due to their stark white color. How does an all white snake camouflage itself from a predator? I imagine this is less of an issue for whales and lions. Some folk tales attribute magical powers to albino animals, and there is even an urban myth about albino alligators in New York sewers.

Why do you find albino & leucistic animals interesting?

Video of Willow

Video of all white orca