A prototype cable car from Japan (of course).
Posts Tagged ‘animals’
What am I sappy cat blogging?
August 16, 2013
For Sappy Car blogging this week, I offer this story run on NPR in April about cats and the poets who love them.
Reference: Word Tapestry, with thanks.
Sappy cat bonus, Commander Samuel Vimes in repose.
When I sit in the chair of the person he obviously loves best, Sam boxes me about the ears with both front paws and tries to eat my hair. Just last night, in fact.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
August 9, 2013I thought this was cute – and below, my handsome Murphy.
What am I remembering?
July 26, 2013
What do I remember – or do I?
Does anybody besides me remember the Red Dwarf episode where Lister gave Rimmer some of his memories?
Scientists at MIT have recently created a similar effect in mice:
When the brain forms a memory, a population of brain cells is thought to undergo lasting physical or chemical changes, creating what’s called a “memory engram.” Memory has two phases: First, the memory is acquired by activating these brain cells, and later it is recalled by reactivating these cells. Scientists had hypothesized, but never proved, these memory cells existed.
Researcher Susumu Tonegawa, who worked with mice to create a false fear memory, explains that a similar process may exist in humans. This phenomenon may help to explain why eyewitness testimony, particularly that experienced in an emotionally charged setting, may often be inaccurate.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
July 26, 2013This week is a combination of sappy cat and geeky science blogging with this little video about Schrodinger’s Cat:
As a Sappy Cat Bonus, here is Cmdr. Sam Vimes modeling his new doggie hat:
What am I sappy cat blogging?
July 19, 2013
What am I Sappy Cat Blogging?
July 12, 2013
This photo is courtesy of a post on Simon’s Cat about unlikely animal friendships. Simon’s Cat is the creation of British animator, Simon Tofield.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
June 7, 2013What if your friends acted like your pets . . .?
Bonus cat – Murphy in repose.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
May 31, 2013
These beautiful creatures are white tigers. As you can see from the black stripes, these tigers are not albinos. Researchers in in China’s Chimelong Safari Park sequenced the genome of white tigers and their normal colored relatives. They found a variation in just one gene, SLC45A2, that makes the difference, and makes white tigers white:
The SLC45A2 gene makes a protein of the same name, which consists of 560 amino acids. A single mutation in the gene—a change in just one DNA letter—switches one of those 560 amino acids from an alanine to a valine. This distorts the protein’s shape, and potentially prevents it from taking part in the creation of red-yellow melanin. Every white tiger has two copies of this mutated gene, and can only make the distorted protein. That’s all it takes to change their coats from orange to white.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 