Eclectic Living
It's well known that humans have had a huge impact on the world's biodiversity, with some suggesting that we have precipitated the sixth major extinction event in the Earth's history. This may also be the worst sin perpetrated in Earth's history. And it will only be accelerated and perpetuated via climate change. Shitty job, us. A lesser known... Continue Reading →
A few years ago I embarked on a three-day fast after reading a Harper's article by Steve Hendricks, Starving your way to vigor (sorry, you have to subscribe to Harper's to read it), about the many potential health benefits of fasting. I wrote about my experience on the Mr. Money Mustache blog. It was a fun challenge; enough... Continue Reading →
As visitors to the Cottage are aware, we like to get dirty. Another thing we like is the potential that crowdsourced science has to rapidly improve our knowledge. Here's an opportunity to combine the two. The Natural Products Discovery Group is offering free soil collection kits, which they will then analyze for fungal compounds that... Continue Reading →
As mentioned in a recent post, we mostly-hairless apes are genetically sucky actors when it comes to economics. In many ways, we display similar irrational behavior to our relatives the capuchin monkeys. Capuchins, like us, don't want to give up something we already have, even for more than we would be willing to pay for... Continue Reading →
“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and more steadily we reflect on them - the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” -Immanuel Kant Have you ever been awestruck? It's a truly palpable feeling, hence the bolt-of-lightning idiom often associated with it. Awe is often accompanied... Continue Reading →
In this Mini Post, two of our favorite subjects, microbes and dirt, come together. In a new report, researchers were able to extract a powerful new antibiotic from a bacteria found in the soil. Teixobactin is made by the soil bacteria Eleftheria terrae. The researchers are excited because they feel the way this antibiotic works... Continue Reading →
Robert Lustig has been espousing the view for years that sugar is the new cocaine. I've only done cocaine once, and I can safely say that it had a little bit more of an effect on me than sugar does. But the cumulative effects of all the sugar inundating our society are no doubt more... Continue Reading →
Some scientists get to have a lot of fun. "Hey, let's do an experiment where we get to shock people - there are endless possibilities here. Oh, and maybe we'll learn some stuff." These scientists determined that people would sacrifice a certain amount of pay not to be shocked (no surprise there), but they would sacrifice... Continue Reading →
A note from Poppa: I currently have 31 tabs open in my Google Chrome browser, and another few in Safari. A plurality of these are articles from Science Magazine - when I come across something interesting, or when I'm doing research, I'll keep the tab open until I can incorporate it into a post or otherwise... Continue Reading →
I had a dream last night that I was keeping dodo birds the way one might keep chickens. They had been resurrected, phoenix-style, through DNA lab work. I was excited to tell my stepmom - this would be a great bird to add to her life list. In the category of birds that have run afoul of man's... Continue Reading →
Poppa's Cottage 