NCBI ROFL: The physics of tossing pizza dough.

ncbi rofl — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:00:17 +0000

Rotating bouncing disks, tossing pizza dough, and the behavior of ultrasonic motors.

“Pizza tossing and certain forms of standing-wave ultrasonic motors (SWUMs) share a similar process for converting reciprocating input into continuous rotary motion. We show that the key features of this motion conversion process such as collision, separation and friction coupling are captured by the dynamics of a disk bouncing on a vibrating platform. The model shows that the linear or helical hand motions commonly used by pizza chefs and dough-toss performers for single tosses maximize energy efficiency and the dough’s airborne rotational speed; on the other hand, the semielliptical hand motions used for multiple tosses make it easier to maintain dough rotation at the maximum speed. The system’s bifurcation diagram and basins of attraction also provide a physical basis for understanding the peculiar behavior of SWUMs and provide a means to design them. The model is able to explain the apparently chaotic oscillations that occur in SWUMs and predict the observed trends in steady-state speed and stall torque as preload is increased.”

Photo: flickr/Jeff Kubina

Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Does pizza cause cancer?

Kiddie Pool-Sized Shell of Extinct Turtle Found in Colombian Mine

Sarah Zhang — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:05:48 +0000

Don’t mess with this.

Folks, those turtle-shaped sandboxes are not just a consumerist fantasy: Carbonemys cofrinii is an extinct turtle with a 10-inch skull and, more impressively, a shell that rounds out to five feet, seven inches in length. That really is big enough to dig around in. That’s also the same height as the grad student who found the 60-million-year-old fossil in a Colombian mine.

The turtle was so big that it probably drove off other turtle competitors and dominated the lake by itself, scientists say. They think that C. cofrinni preyed on mollusks and small reptiles, like the one depicted in this artist’s interpretation. If we’re going to be spending time in the belly of a turtle, though, we’d personally prefer it to be full of sand and toys rather than chewed up food.

[via Wired]

Image via North Carolina State University, credit: Liz Bradford

NCBI ROFL: Getting bad customer service? Maybe you should change your clothes.

ncbi rofl — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:53 +0000

Customer service as a function of shopper’s attire.

“A field experiment explored whether a female shopper’s appearance would influence the customer service she received. Specifically, a female confederate dressed in formal work clothes (skirt and blouse) or informal gym clothes (tights and t-shirt) entered a series of randomly selected women’s clothing stores in a large mall and proceeded to “shop.” The amount of time that passed before an employee approached and acknowledged the confederate served as the dependent variable. As hypothesized, she was acknowledged significantly sooner when formally attired than when informally dressed. Thus, clothing, like other aspects of appearance, influences how people are evaluated and treated by others.”

Photo: flickr/Tsar Kasim

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NCBI ROFL: Copulatory vocalizations of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), gibbons (Hylobates hoolock), and humans.

ncbi rofl — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:00:04 +0000

“The copulatory vocalizations of female baboons (Papio ursinus) are more complex than those of female gibbons (Hylobates hoolock) or human females. Adult males of all these species begin calling later than the female, but subordinate baboon males do not call. Copulatory vocalizations may serve to mutually stimulate the mating partners or to incite male competition.

Bonus excerpt and figure from the full text:
“Sexual arousal and orgasm in humans may be communicated by verbal or non-verbal sounds (or both), including changes in respiratory rate (7), moans, and gasps (4-9). Some individuals sob or laugh uncontrollably during orgasm (6, 9). Individually or culturally improvised verbalizations may also accompany coitus and orgasm (5, 6, 9). Individuals may suppress all copulatory vocalization, usually from fear of being overheard (9). Humans may also vocalize to mimic orgasm (8).

Sonagrams of human copulatory vocalizations (Fig. 1) obtained from films and a tape (10) show that female sounds gradually intensified as orgasm approached and at orgasm assumed a rapid, regular (equal note lengths and inter-note intervals) rhythm absent in the males’ calls at orgasm. At climax, the sounds of both females and males are explosive bursts that are ...

NCBI ROFL: Walking with coffee: Why does it spill?

ncbi rofl — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:06 +0000

“In our busy lives, almost all of us have to walk with a cup of coffee. While often we spill the drink, this familiar phenomenon has never been explored systematically. Here we report on the results of an experimental study of the conditions under which coffee spills for various walking speeds and initial liquid levels in the cup.These observations are analyzed from the dynamical systems and fluid mechanics viewpoints as well as with the help of a model developed here. Particularities of the common cup sizes, the coffee properties, and the biomechanics of walking proved to be responsible for the spilling phenomenon. The studied problem represents an example of the interplay between the complex motion of a cup, due to the biomechanics of a walking individual, and the low-viscosity-liquid dynamics in it.”

Bonus figure from the main text:

Thanks to @seblumer for today’s ROFL!

NCBI ROFL: The strange case of the “vampire” burial in Venice.

ncbi rofl — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:00:58 +0000

Forensic approach to an archaeological casework of “vampire” skeletal remains in Venice: odontological and anthropological prospectus.

“During the years 2006–2007, the Archeological Superintendent of Veneto (Italy) promoted a research project on mass graves located on Nuovo Lazzaretto in Venice, where the corpses of plague deaths were buried during the 16th and 17th centuries. The burials were of different stages and are believed to be the remains of plague victims from the numerous outbreaks of pestilence, which occurred between the 15th and 17th centuries. Among the fragmented and commingled human bones, an unusual burial was found. The body was laid supine, with the top half of the thorax intact, arms parallel to the rachis axis, the articulations were anatomically unaltered. Both the skull morphology and the dimensions of the caput omeris suggest the body was a woman. A brick of moderate size was found inside the oral cavity, keeping the mandible wide open. The data collected by the anthropologist were used to generate a taphonomic profile, which precluded the positioning of the brick being accidental. Likewise, the probability of the brick having come from the surrounding burial sediment was rejected, as the ...

NCBI ROFL: The flaming gypsy skirt injury.

ncbi rofl — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:00:28 +0000

“On review of admissions over a 12-month period, we noted a significant number of women presenting with gypsy skirt burns. We describe all six cases to highlight the unique distribution of the wounds and the circumstances in which the accidents occurred. Four skirts were ignited by open fire heaters: two skirts ignited whilst the women were standing nearby, distracted with a telephone conversation; one brushed over the flame as she was walking past the heater; other whilst dancing in the lounge. One skirt was ignited by decorative candles placed on the floor during a social gathering. Another skirt was set alight by cigarette ember, whilst smoking in the toilet. Percentage surface area burned, estimated according to the rule of nines, showed that gypsy skirt burns were significant ranging from 7 to 14% total body surface area (TBSA) and averaging 9% TBSA. Two patients required allogenic split-skin grafts. Common sense care with proximity to naked flame is all that is needed to prevent this injury.”

Photo: flickr/Mara ~earth light~

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Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Seriously guys, you really shouldn’t mock burns and burn prevention.
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NCBI ROFL: The chemistry of pig sh*t.

ncbi rofl — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:36 +0000

Isolation and analysis of odorous components in swine manure.

“Systematic procedures are described for the isolation and extraction of odorous components in swine faeces, urine and rotten mixtures of swine faeces and urine. Samples were frozen and subjected to vacuum distillation in the frozen state. The distillate was continuously extracted with diethyl ether. The residue was extracted with diethyl ether and the extract was subjected to vacuum distillation. The former extract and the latter distillate were combined and concentrated. Recovery by these procedures was considered. Odorous compounds isolated were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.”

Photo: flickr/DrStarbuck

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Smart Seaweed Uses Laws of Fluid Dynamics to Survive Big Waves

Sarah Zhang — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:23:48 +0000

Seaweeds showing off their drag reducing skills.

Littered with the dehydrating corpses of seaweeds, beaches after a big storm are a reminder that life can be tough out there in the crashing waves. But seaweeds aren’t totally defenseless. A recent study in the American Journal of Botany studied two different strategies that seaweeds use to reduce drag so that fast-moving waves don’t uproot them.

Drag is proportional to the total area of the seaweed multiplied by drag coefficient, which depends on the seaweed’s shape. (For example, a boxy school bus has a higher drag coefficient than a race car.) That means seaweeds can either get smaller or more streamlined to ride out the waves.

Sea plants have adopted two main shapes—bladed and branched—to pursue these two strategies: Smoothly shaped bladed seaweeds crumple into smaller shapes when a wave hits them, while branched seaweeds fold their many (drag-generating) fronds into a more streamlined shape. The two approaches aren’t mutually exclusive, but they do manipulate different physical characteristics. Seaweed’s long, trial-and-error evolution has devised the same drag-reducing strategies that engineers have come up with.

Image courtesy of P. Martone et al. / American Journal of Botany

NCBI ROFL: Do men prefer redder va-jay-jays?

ncbi rofl — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:00:55 +0000

Red is not a proxy signal for female genitalia in humans.

“Red is a colour that induces physiological and psychological effects in humans, affecting competitive and sporting success, signalling and enhancing male social dominance. The colour is also associated with increased sexual attractiveness, such that women associated with red objects or contexts are regarded as more desirable. It has been proposed that human males have a biological predisposition towards the colour red such that it is ‘sexually salient’. This hypothesis argues that women use the colour red to announce impending ovulation and sexual proceptivity, with this functioning as a proxy signal for genital colour, and that men show increased attraction in consequence. In the first test of this hypothesis, we show that contrary to the hypothesis, heterosexual men did not prefer redder female genitalia and, by extension, that red is not a proxy signal for genital colour. We found a relative preference for pinker genital images with redder genitalia rated significantly less sexually attractive. This effect was independent of raters’ prior sexual experience and variation in female genital morphology. Our results refute the hypothesis that men’s attraction to red is linked to an implied relationship ...

NCBI ROFL: Female chimps choose their sex noises depending on the audience.

ncbi rofl — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:33 +0000

Female chimpanzees use copulation calls flexibly to prevent social competition.

“The adaptive function of copulation calls in female primates has been debated for years. One influential idea is that copulation calls are a sexually selected trait, which enables females to advertise their receptive state to males. Male-male competition ensues and females benefit by getting better mating partners and higher quality offspring. We analysed the copulation calling behaviour of wild female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Budongo Forest, Uganda, but found no support for the male-male competition hypothesis. Hormone analysis showed that the calling behaviour of copulating females was unrelated to their fertile period and likelihood of conception. Instead, females called significantly more while with high-ranking males, but suppressed their calls if high-ranking females were nearby. Copulation calling may therefore be one potential strategy employed by female chimpanzees to advertise receptivity to high-ranked males, confuse paternity and secure future support from these socially important individuals. Competition between females can be dangerously high in wild chimpanzees, and our results indicate that females use their copulation calls strategically to minimise the risks associated with such competition.”

Photo: flickr/downing.amanda

Guinea Pigs Getting Paid: The Economics of Selling Your Body to Science

Veronique Greenwood — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:18:27 +0000

Click here to view gallery

NCBI ROFL: The effects of caffeine, dextroamphetamine, and modafinil on humor appreciation during sleep deprivation.

ncbi rofl — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:00:48 +0000

“STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep loss consistently impairs performance on measures of alertness, vigilance, and response speed, but its effects on higher-order executive functions are not well delineated. Similarly, whereas deficits in arousal and vigilance can be temporarily countered by the use of several different stimulant medications, it is not clear how these compounds affect complex cognitive processes in sleep-deprived individuals. DESIGN: We evaluated the effects of double-blind administration of 3 stimulant medications or placebo on the ability to appreciate humor in visual (cartoons) or verbal (headlines) stimuli presented on a computer screen following 49.5 hours of sleep deprivation. SETTING: In-residence sleep-laboratory facility at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-four healthy adults (29 men, 24 women), ranging in age from 18 to 36 years. INTERVENTIONS: Each participant was randomly assigned to 1 of 3 stimulant medication groups, including caffeine, 600 mg, n = 12; modafinil, 400 mg, n = 11; dextroamphetamine, 20 mg, n = 16; or placebo, n = 14. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Humor appreciation for cartoon stimuli was enhanced by modafinil relative to both placebo and caffeine, but there was no effect of any stimulant medication on the appreciation of verbal ...

NCBI ROFL: Scientific proof that milk is better on cereal than water.

ncbi rofl — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:14 +0000

Physical properties and microstructural changes during soaking of individual corn and quinoa breakfast flakes.

“The importance of breakfast cereal flakes (BCF) in Western diets deserves an understanding of changes in their mechanical properties and microstructure that occur during soaking in a liquid (that is, milk or water) prior to consumption. The maximum rupture force (RF) of 2 types of breakfast flaked products (BFP)–corn flakes (CF) and quinoa flakes (QF)–were measured directly while immersed in milk with 2% of fat content (milk 2%) or distilled water for different periods of time between 5 and 300 s. Under similar soaking conditions, QF presented higher RF values than CF. Soaked flakes were freeze-dried and their cross section and surface examined by scanning electron microscopy. Three consecutive periods (fast, gradual, and slow reduction of RF) were associated with changes in the microstructure of flakes. These changes were more pronounced in distilled water than in milk 2%, probably because the fat and other solids in milk become deposited on the flakes’ surface hindering liquid infiltration. Structural and textural modifications were primarily ascribable to the plasticizing effect of water that softened the carbohydrate/protein matrix, inducing partial collapse of the porous structure ...

Thick, 1,000-Year-Old Dental Plaque Is Gross, Useful to Archaeologists

Sarah Zhang — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:46:23 +0000

What big plaque deposits you have!

A dentist will tell you to floss everyday, but an archeologist might, well, have different priorities. Turns out the nitrogen and carbon isotopes in dental plaque can give archeologists a look at 1,000-year-old diets.

The buildup of plaque on this set of teeth is, um, impressive. (Cut the skull some slack though, this was before we had dentists to chide us about daily flossing.) Without the benefit of modern dental hygiene, the plaque built up over a lifetime, layer upon layer like a stalagmite. In a paper recently published in the Journal of Archeological Science researchers exhumed 58 medieval Spanish skeletons and scraped off their dental plaque to test carbon and nitrogen isotopes. When they compared the isotope profiles of the Spaniards to that of plaque from an Alaskan Inuit, the scientists found the ratio of nitrogen-15 to be quite different. That makes sense, as the Intuit ate a predominantly marine diet, and there is more nitrogen-15 in the protein molecules of organisms living in sea than on land.

Another benefit of plaque is that it’s easier to test than bone, which has to be dissolved in acid to extract from ...

NCBI ROFL: Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation?

ncbi rofl — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:00:07 +0000

“The evolutionary origins of music are much debated. One theory holds that the ability to produce complex musical sounds might reflect qualities that are relevant in mate choice contexts and hence, that music is functionally analogous to the sexually-selected acoustic displays of some animals. If so, women may be expected to show heightened preferences for more complex music when they are most fertile. Here, we used computer-generated musical pieces and ovulation predictor kits to test this hypothesis. Our results indicate that women prefer more complex music in general; however, we found no evidence that their preference for more complex music increased around ovulation. Consequently, our findings are not consistent with the hypothesis that a heightened preference/bias in women for more complex music around ovulation could have played a role in the evolution of music. We go on to suggest future studies that could further investigate whether sexual selection played a role in the evolution of this universal aspect of human culture.”

Photo: flickr/Epiclectic
Thanks to BBoyButzemann for today’s ROFL!

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Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Kin affiliation ...

NCBI ROFL: Women’s sexual and emotional responses to male- and female-produced erotica.

ncbi rofl — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:00:42 +0000

“Whether erotic films made by women are more arousing for women than erotic films made by men was studied. Forty-seven subjects were exposed to both a woman-made, female-initiated, and female centered, erotic film excerpt. Photoplethysmographic vaginal pulse amplitude was recorded continuously. Self-report ratings of sexual arousal and affective reactions were collected after each stimulus presentation. Contrary to expectation, genital arousal did not differ between films, although genital response to both films was substantial. Subjective experience of sexual arousal was significantly higher during the woman-made film. The man-made film evoked more feelings of shame, guilt, and aversion. Correlations between subjective experience of sexual arousal and photoplethysmographic measures of sexual arousal were nonsignificant. The largest contribution to female sexual excitement might result from the processing of stimulus-content and stimulus-meaning and not from peripheral vasocongestive feedback.”

Photo: flickr/rachelkramerbussel.com

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NCBI ROFL: PhDs agree: bees see like me!

ncbi rofl — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:00:12 +0000

Bees perceive illusory colours induced by movement.

“Certain black-and-white patterns, when rotated at appropriate speeds, can create the artificial perception of hues. We report that this illusion is not confined to human vision, but is also perceived by an insect, the honeybee. The findings suggest that certain features underlying the processing of colour information are shared by man and bee.”

Bonus quotes from the main text:

Freely-flying bees (Apis melrifera) were trained to discriminate between two visual stimuli presented in a horizontal plane immediately beneath the surface of a glass-topped table. One of the stimuli bore a reward of sugar water. The locations of the stimuli were interchanged frequently to prevent the bees from using position cues to identify the rewarded stimulus.

NCBI ROFL. Real articles. Funny subjects.
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NCBI ROFL: The identification of attractive volatiles in aged male mouse urine.

ncbi rofl — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:00:58 +0000

“In many species, older males are often preferred mates because they carry “good” genes that account for their viability. In some animals, including mice, which rely heavily on chemical communication, there is some indication that an animal’s age can be determined by its scent. In order to identify the attractants in aged male mouse urine, chemical and behavioral studies were performed. We herein show that aged mice have higher levels of 3,4-dehydro-exo- brevicomin (DB), 2-sec-butyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (BT), and 2-isopropyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (IT) and a lower level of 6-hydroxy-6-methyl-3-heptanone relative to adult male mice. We also demonstrate that the attraction of females to the odor of male mouse urine is greater when the urine is from aged males. However, the attraction of aged urine odor was offset by the ultrafiltration of adult and aged mouse urine. When DB, BT, and IT were added to adult urine, the attraction of the urine was enhanced. Our results suggest that inbred aged male mice develop an aging odor that is attractive to female mice in an experimental setting and that this attraction is due to increased mouse pheromone signaling.”

How Our Circadian Cycle Helps Us Not Need to Pee Overnight

Sarah Zhang — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:48:31 +0000

How to keep track of mouse urine

Eight hours is a long time without a trip to the bathroom when awake, yet most of us can sleep through the night without peeing. And no, it’s not just because you (presumably) stop drinking coffee in your sleep: even when food and drink are factored out, you both make less urine and have better bladder capacity during the night. As with most behaviors that change from day to night, it does indeed have everything to do with the circadian rhythm.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers compared normal mice with mice whose circadian rhythms were disrupted by genetic mutations. To keep track of mice urination over time, they used a rather charming contraption that slowly unspooled urine paper under the cages (see image). Urine spots on the paper were counted up and, sure enough, urination in the normal mice showed 24-hour patterns while the mutant mice did not.

The study also identified a molecular mechanism that lets bladders hold more urine during sleep. Concentrations of the bladder protein Cx43 goes up and down over the course of 24 hours. It makes bladder muscles more sensitize to ...

NCBI ROFL: Imitating mickey mouse can be dangerous.

ncbi rofl — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

“Inhaling helium to produce that amusing squeaky voice may not be the innocuous party trick it seems, according to emergency medicine physicians at the Wesley Center for Hyperbaric Medicine in Brisbane, Australia.

Simon Mitchell and colleagues report the case of a previously healthy 27-year-old man who inhaled helium and subsequently developed a stroke with transient blindness and radiographic evidence of cortical infarction. The man had inhaled the gas directly from a pressurized canister; most children who perform the trick—to imitate the voice of Mickey Mouse—inhale the gas from helium-filled balloons.

The patient developed rigidity and lost consciousness within moments of inhaling the helium. On arrival at the emergency room 15 minutes later, he regained consciousness but was found to have complete visual loss and evidence of cortical infarction.

The patient was diagnosed with a cerebral arterial gas embolism occurring after inhaling helium; he was treated with hyperbaric oxygen. His blindness resolved, and there was radiographic evidence of regression of his stroke after four cycles of treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.

The patient in this report had inhaled helium from a high pressure cylinder, causing blood vessels in his lungs to rupture and allowing the gas to gain access to ...

NCBI ROFL: The dangers of intense hand drumming.

ncbi rofl — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:00:48 +0000

Rust urine after intense hand drumming is caused by extracorpuscular hemolysis.

“BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
During Carnival, groups of > or =60 drummers go drumming with their hands and marching for periods of 2 to 4 h. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and type of urinary abnormalities after candombe drumming and to evaluate possible pathogenic mechanisms.
DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS:
For analysis of pathogenic mechanisms, a group of individuals were prospectively evaluated before and after candombe drumming. Methods: Candombe drummers were recruited in January 2006, 1 wk before prolonged drumming. After clinical evaluation, urine and blood samples were obtained before and immediately after drumming.
RESULTS:
Forty-five healthy individuals (four women and 41 men), median age 31 yr (14 to 56), were evaluated. Predrumming urine and plasma samples were obtained for 30 individuals. Nineteen (42%) of 45 had a previous history of rust urine emission temporally related with candombe drumming. After drumming, 18 of 26 showed urine abnormalities; six of 26 showed rust urine, eight of 26 had microhematuria, and seven of 26 had proteinuria >1 g/L. The candombe drummers who showed rust urine after heavy drumming ...

Dogs Are Manipulable, Cats Are Manipulative, and Both Act Like Babies

Sarah Zhang — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:54:57 +0000

How you doin’?

After thousands of years living in our homes, cats and dogs have gotten pretty good at tuning into human social cues—as good as human babies anyways.

Dogs, with their adorable puppy faces, are easily swayed by the actions of humans. A new study in PLoS ONE shows that dogs will prefer a plate of food preferred by a person, even if that plate has less food on it. Cats, on the other hand, have an especially annoying “solicitation” purr that they deploy when they want something from their owners, much like (though quieter than) a hungry baby that will not stop screaming. Pet owners who fancy themselves parents may actually be onto something.

Although babies can’t understand words, they are good at following body language and the gazes of their parents—what are called “ostensive cues.” Dogs do the same thing; when they see you looking in a particular direction, for example, they look there too. Researchers in this new study show that dogs made their decisions based on these ostensive cues as well. They began by presenting the dogs with two plates with unequal amounts of food. Then an experimenter would look at and ...

NCBI ROFL: Why Miss Poland is more beautiful than generic med students.

ncbi rofl — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:00:33 +0000

Body mass index and waist: hip ratio are not enough to characterise female attractiveness.

“The assessment of characteristic body features of Miss Poland beauty contest finalists compared with the control group, can contribute to recognising the contemporary ideal of beauty promoted by the mass media. The studies of Playboy models and fashion models conducted so far have been limited to the following determinants of attractiveness: body mass index, waist:hip ratio, and waist:chest ratio, which only partially describe the body shape. We compared 20 body features of the finalists of Miss Poland 2004 beauty contest with those of the students of Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz. Discriminant analysis showed that the thigh girth-height index, waist: chest ratio, height, and body mass index had the greatest discrimination power distinguishing the two groups. A model of Miss Poland finalists figure assessment is presented which allows one to distinguish super-attractive women from the control group.”

Photo: flickr/georgereyes

Take a Trip Inside the Minds of Eccentric Inventors With Context-Free Patent Art

Sarah Zhang — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:58:46 +0000

The new Tumblelog Context Free Patent Art confirms what we always thought: there is a lot of weird stuff lurking in archives of the patent office. And sometimes, you just don’t need/want an explanation.

Here are some of our favorites. Take your best guess at the context for these images—or at least some legitimate excuse/explanation—in the comments!

[via Context Free Patent Art]

This Scientist Endures 15,000 Mosquito Bites a Year

Veronique Greenwood — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:35:34 +0000

The things we do for science.

Researchers who study mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects sometimes use themselves as skeeter chow. In some cases, it’s because certain species of mosquitoes seem to prefer human blood to animal blood. In others, though, it’s a cheap, convenient alternative to keeping animals around for the insects to feed on or buying blood. And as it turns out, once you’ve been bitten a certain number of times you develop a tolerance to mosquito saliva.

Entomologist Steve Schutz, seen above paging through a magazine while the bloodsuckers go to work on his arm, feeds his mosquito colony once a week. He has welts for about an hour, but after that the bites fade, occasionally leaving a few red spots. That’s good, because at 300 bites a week, he averages about 15,000 a year. That’s dedication.

NCBI ROFL: How your brain is like Google.

ncbi rofl — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:00:36 +0000

Google and the mind: predicting fluency with PageRank.

“Human memory and Internet search engines face a shared computational problem, needing to retrieve stored pieces of information in response to a query. We explored whether they employ similar solutions, testing whether we could predict human performance on a fluency task using PageRank, a component of the Google search engine. In this task, people were shown a letter of the alphabet and asked to name the first word beginning with that letter that came to mind. We show that PageRank, computed on a semantic network constructed from word-association data, outperformed word frequency and the number of words for which a word is named as an associate as a predictor of the words that people produced in this task. We identify two simple process models that could support this apparent correspondence between human memory and Internet search, and relate our results to previous rational models of memory.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Felipe Micaroni Lalli

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Discoblog

NCBI ROFL: Color and women attractiveness: when red clothed women are perceived to have more intense sexual intent.

NCBI ROFL: Parental behavior at kids’ sports events.

NCBI ROFL: Finally, proof that pants are hotter than skirts.

NCBI ROFL: The physics of tossing pizza dough.

Kiddie Pool-Sized Shell of Extinct Turtle Found in Colombian Mine

NCBI ROFL: Getting bad customer service? Maybe you should change your clothes.

NCBI ROFL: Copulatory vocalizations of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), gibbons (Hylobates hoolock), and humans.

NCBI ROFL: Walking with coffee: Why does it spill?

NCBI ROFL: The strange case of the “vampire” burial in Venice.

NCBI ROFL: The flaming gypsy skirt injury.

NCBI ROFL: The chemistry of pig sh*t.

Smart Seaweed Uses Laws of Fluid Dynamics to Survive Big Waves

NCBI ROFL: Do men prefer redder va-jay-jays?

NCBI ROFL: Female chimps choose their sex noises depending on the audience.

Guinea Pigs Getting Paid: The Economics of Selling Your Body to Science

NCBI ROFL: The effects of caffeine, dextroamphetamine, and modafinil on humor appreciation during sleep deprivation.

NCBI ROFL: Scientific proof that milk is better on cereal than water.

Thick, 1,000-Year-Old Dental Plaque Is Gross, Useful to Archaeologists

NCBI ROFL: Do women prefer more complex music around ovulation?

NCBI ROFL: Women’s sexual and emotional responses to male- and female-produced erotica.

NCBI ROFL: PhDs agree: bees see like me!

NCBI ROFL: The identification of attractive volatiles in aged male mouse urine.

How Our Circadian Cycle Helps Us Not Need to Pee Overnight

NCBI ROFL: Imitating mickey mouse can be dangerous.

NCBI ROFL: The dangers of intense hand drumming.

Dogs Are Manipulable, Cats Are Manipulative, and Both Act Like Babies

NCBI ROFL: Why Miss Poland is more beautiful than generic med students.

Take a Trip Inside the Minds of Eccentric Inventors With Context-Free Patent Art

This Scientist Endures 15,000 Mosquito Bites a Year

NCBI ROFL: How your brain is like Google.