Marc Abrahams's Blog, page 363

That, and maybe why, some seals have sex with some penguins

Neighbors sometimes come together in unexpected ways. This study shows it happening with seals and penguins:

“Multiple occurrences of king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) sexual harassment by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella),” William A. Haddad, Ryan R. Reisinger, Tristan Scott, Marthán N. Bester, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, Polar Biology, November 2014. (Thanks to David Delaney for bringing this to our attention.) The authors, at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, report:

“We describe three new occurrences of the sexual coercion of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. These recurrent observations follow a common pattern where the seal chases, captures and mounts the penguin, followed by copulation attempts. These observations are similar to a previously published observation from the same island, and we suggest that this may be an emergent behaviour.”

Here’s further detail from the study (the online version of which contains three action videos):

The authors hazard guesses as to why this happens.

Matt Walker provides still additional details, in a report for the BBC: “Fur seals have been caught engaging in an extreme form of sexual behaviour. Specifically, trying to have sex with penguins“. The report includes one of those action videos, which is of a kind some Americans call “must-see TV”.

Effects of Plant Size, and Effects of Plant Size

Confused about the difference between the effects of plant size on (1) industrial relations and on (2) the expression of cleistogamy in Mimulus nasutus? These two studies might help you sort it all out:

The influence of Plant Size on Industrial Relations, Sherrill Cleland [pictured here], Princeton University, 1955.

and

“The Effect of Plant Size on the Expression of Cleistogamy in Mimulus nasutus,” A. Diaz and M. R. Macnair, Functional Ecology, vol. 12, no. 1, 1998, pp. 92-98.

Wavelengths you don’t see, wavelengths you don’t hear…

Abstruse Goose peruses the limits of direct perception:

(HT Vince Abbott)

Phoning during a thunderstorm – Unrecommended

“Is it dangerous to make a landline phone call during a thunderstorm?” It can be. Background is provided by Emeritus Professor Mat Darveniza, AO, FTSE, BE, PhD, DEng, Hon DSc (Eng), FIEAust (Hon), FIEEE (life), FTSE, LIVA, from the University of Queensland Australia – who is a leading authority on lightning strikes.

In Australia alone roughly 30 people per year suffer lightning shocks delivered by telephone. The electric current is several orders of magnitude less powerful than a direct strike, but can still run to hundreds of amperes – and transferred, via the telephone cables, directly to “… a rather sensitive part of the body” – explains the professor in this piece for Channel 7, Perth.

Advice on how to avoid being struck by lightning (via your phone) is provided by Australian telecomms firm Telstra, in their lightning protection brochure : along with info on the related phenomenon of Acoustic Shrieks.

 

Logic lesson: A banana and two contenders

This short, beloved video features three characters —  a man in a purple shirt, a man in a green shirt, and a banana — having a discussion.

QUIZ: Which of the three displays the best grasp of basic logic?

(Thanks to investigator Vaughn Tan for bringing this to our attention.)

Varnish | Glue | Food – you choose

• Casein is a traditional fine-art varnish with a durable velvety matte finish.

• It’s also a very strong water-resistant wood glue (and it’s heat-resistant  too.)

• Or, if you prefer, you can eat it (available in various flavours, chocolate, vanilla, banana & etc)

 

Acute effects of a deep-fried Mars bar on brain vasculature

Scotland’s purported tolerance for fried candy bars inspired this new medical study:

“A randomised crossover trial of the acute effects of a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge on the cerebral vasculature,” William G. Dunn, and Matthew R. Walters, Scottish Medical Journal, epub 2014.

The authors, at the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre and the University of Glasow, report:

Introduction The deep-fried Mars bar has been cited as ‘all that is wrong with the high-fat, high-sugar Scottish diet’. We investigated the effect of ingestion of a deep-fried Mars bar or porridge on cerebrovascular reactivity. We hypothesised that deep-fried Mars bar ingestion would impair cerebrovascular reactivity, which is associated with increased risk of ischaemic stroke.

Methods Twenty-four fasted volunteers were randomised to receive a deep-fried Mars bar and then porridge (control), or vice-versa. We used transcranial Doppler ultrasound to calculate Breath Holding Index as a surrogate measure of cerebrovascular reactivity. Change in Breath Holding Index post-ingestion was the primary outcome measure.

Here’s detail from the study:

The results led them to devise this conclusion:

Conclusion Ingestion of a bolus of sugar and fat caused no overall difference in cerebrovascular reactivity, but there was a modest decrease in males. Impaired cerebrovascular reactivity is associated with increased stroke risk, and therefore deep-fried Mars bar ingestion may acutely contribute to cerebral hypoperfusion in men.

(Thanks to investigator Erwin Kompanje for bringing this to our attention.)

To license Australia’s National Public Toilet Map dataset…

To license Australia’s National Public Toilet Map dataset, you must agree to a set of terms and conditions.

To use the National Public Toilet Map, you go to the National Public Toilet Map web site. There you can:

Enter a location, address or postcode to find nearby toilets.
Plan a journey, to get a list of toilets along the way.
Login or register to personalise your Toilet Map experience including saving maps, trips plans and toilet information.

The Toilet Map is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services as part of the National Continence Program.

(Thanks to investigator Feng Qin for bringing this to our attention.)

BONUS (possibly unrelated): Urination, free will, and the John Templeton Foundation

PR headline: “Can HIV Be Transmitted Via Manicure Instruments?”

This week’s PRESS RELEASE HEADLINE OF THE WEEK is:

Can HIV Be Transmitted Via Manicure Instruments?

The headline gleams atop a press release from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers, dated November 10, 2014.

The meat of the press release, the lead sentence of its culminating paragraph, is:

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research

Mary Ann Liebert herself is pictured here, in a color-filled photo that graces the web site of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers.

(Thanks to investigator Ivan Oransky for bringing the headline to our attention.)

Diamonds from tequila and peanut butter…

First cam diamonds from peanut butter, in Scotland, in 2007. Then came diamonds from tequila, in Mexico, in 2008. Now, in 2014, come diamonds from peanut butter, in Germany.

(Thanks to Roger Highfield for alerting us to the German peanut butter.)

BONUS (not necessarily related): The effect of peanut butter on the rotation of the earth