Grape-sized Single-celled Organism Provides Clues to Mystery

A grape-sized single-celled organism may explain how fossilized tracks were made on the ocean floor. Many palaeontologists believe that only bilaterally symmetrical multi-celled organisms could leave the tracks they have found and cast, but this newly discovered protist shows that a single-celled organisms could have left the marks.

Update on the Cats

Rainsong is doing really, really great.  She absolutely adores petting an demands it constantly.  I think sometimes she even contemplates  becoming a lapcat.  Pretty soon it will be time to have her spayed.  She still nurses Willow a little bit...more of gesture than anything.  It only lasts about 20 seconds at most, but it seems to be involved in their bonding so I will allow it to continue for a little while.  Willow is so energentic.  I still haven't gotten a decent recording of him purring, but rest assured, I will not give up until I succeed.  Martha has asked me to babysit Tinker while she is on vacation during December and I've agreed to do so if Rainsong recognizes/doesn't try to hurt the kitten. My roommates cats had a bad case of worms, but she got that cleared up about a month ago and the now Athena and Midnight look absolutely beautiful.  Their coats went from dull and greasy to shiny and slick and their bodies filled out nicely.  Sasha is as gorgeous and sleepy as ever.  She likes to sleep in the computer chair... so much so, Adam and I have discussed getting a different one for our use (the back on the old one is broken anyway).  My other roommate's cat, Spaz, is also doing well.  He is now spending his nights inside, in the laundry room, where the kittens were when I first brought them here.  He likes all the attention.  I keep hoping Dave has him checked to find out if he's snipped or not, so we can let him have run of the house.  I suspect he is already neutered.  He never sprays or yowls or anything like that, and to put it delicately, if he isn't snipped, he got cheated in the manhood department.  I will get more cute animal pictures up soon.  I will also be starting my weekly feature this weekend.

Plug for Websites

If you haven't already, you really, really, really need to check out CuteOverlaod.com.  I also recommend CatsInSinks.com and MyCatHatesYou.com.  If I ever figure out how to use all the space on the left, I'll put a permanent linky section in.

Quotes

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. --Mahatma Gandhi

"We should understand well that all things arethe work of the Great Spirit.  We should know the Great Spirit is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and the four-legged and winged peoples; and even more important, we should undertand that the Great Spirit is also above all these things and peoples.  When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, thenwe will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as the Spirit intends.  -- Black Elk

In Defence of Wikipedia

Stepping away from biology, life, animals, and nature for a moment, I'd like to talk about research.  I haven't really been called into question yet (on here) for my use of Wikipedia, but outside of here, I have been.  Many, many, many times.  So before I do get called on it, I'd like to take a moment to sing the praises of Wikipedia, and explain why, right beside Google, it is the best thing to ever happen to intellectuals.  Wikipedia is a wiki, obviously, which means that anyone who wants to can create an account, log in, and write or edit an article about whatever topic, can do so.  There is some concern that those writing on Wikipedia might be inaccurate or have an agenda.  That's absolutely correct, and as a student researcher, professional researcher, or professor decrying the use of Wikipedia, you need to be aware of that.  You also need to be aware that the exact same concerns exist with any and every non-fictional book you pick up.  I have spent the last decade of my life reading, amongst other things, history books...those complicated professional ones that drone on forever about a sub, sub, sub topic of an already esoteric topic.  Every author has a point of view, a take on things, an agenda.  That doesn't make him/her or the book evil.  It makes you as the reader responsible for figuring out what that angle is and deciding if it renders the author's thesis untrue or inaccurate.  Unlike a lot of books, Wikipedia actually is less likely to run afoul of this problem.  Because so many people can edit the articles, they usually turn out to present whatever the middle of the road consensus is on a topic with links to articles on the debates.  All that aside though, to experience the true value of Wikipedia, one need only scroll down to the bottom of the article and look at the "References" section.  Choose a topic that interests you, read the Wikipedia article and the linked articles, print out the references for each, and spend a few days in the stacks of your local university library browsing through those references.  Within a week I gauarantee you, you will have close to a graduate level eduation on that topic.  You'll have read every major book and paper on the topic, explored all the main debates, and probably found holes in the research on the topic that you could take up yourself if you so desired.  THAT is why Wikipedia is the best thing ever and why I use it as my starting point for everything I want to know...which is...well, everything.

Biology 101 - Part 1 - What is LIfe?

Today I want to start a little series about basic biology.  I'm sure you remember being taught about taxonomy in sixth grade biology class.  You leant by rote that everything is divided classified by kindom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.  Well, that old system proved to be useful but a little over-simplified, so it was expanded into the new three-domain system, which I'll discuss in a future post.  Today I want to discuss the question, "what is life?"  

 There are different criteria to define life, some more broad than others.  This is pretty hotly debated amongst biologists in the geeky way biologists argue about such things, but a simple description of something living includes the following characteristics:

1) Homeostasis - the ability to maintain a constant internal state (biochemistry, temperature, tec.)

2) Organization - being composed of either a single sell or organized systems of multiple cells

3) Metabolism - biochemical process wherein certain compounds are used to produce energy.  The consumpsion of this engery to maintain homeostasis.  

4)  Growth - the production of more than is used up, meaning the entity does not catabalize itself.

5) Adaptation - ability to change over time due to changes in environment.  Also a fundamental property of an organism's evolution.

6)  Response to Stimuli - for example , the chromatophors on an octopus change colour when an octopus moves to a new area of a reef so that it can blend in.  Plants turn towards light, a horses flank twitches when bitten by a fly.

7) Reproduction either sexual or asexual.

Viruses somewhat confuse this system by being dormant except when they replicate themselves inside a host.  Philosophically, the Gaia hypothesis, holds that Earth herself is alive.  As you might guess, I hold this belief, and except for the criteria of reproduction, it does fit.  If you would like to read more about life, please have a look at the references for this Wikipedia article.

Lion Loves Rescuer Zookeeper

Extraordinary Mothers

Leapord Nurtures Orphaned Baby Babboon

Reading Material

This is a short list of some great reading material...I'll probably add to this list in the future. In no particular order:

The Souls of Animals by Gary Kowalski, Tom Regan, and John Robbins - The title makes this one pretty much self-explanatory. The author looks at how animals concieve of death, loss, love, and other life-events and argues that animals also have souls.

Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training by Karen Pryor. Perhaps THE best explanation of operant conditioning as a training methodology out there. This book teaches you how to train not only dogs but unruly friends, roommates, and spouses. I suspect it might also work for personal behavior modification/self-improvement as well.

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist. This is not a book about animals or nature, well, not directly anyway. It is a book about appreciating life right now in this moment, every moment, in every aspect, being totally aware, and being grateful for what we do have, not angry or upset about what we don't have. I think if this book were required reading, there would be a lot fewer people on Prozac.

Kittens - Day 22

Today is the last "kittens" post. Bubby, like Tinker before him, has gone with Tanya to his new home. He was a little hard to catch... hiding and trying to be difficult, but he said goodbye to his mom and went off to his new family. It's strange how a few weeks ago he was really the intrepid one, but after Tinker's departure he became kind of fearful like she had been. Willow as always is completely rambunctious. Sometimes I wish I'd named him "Chaos," as it befits his leaping, random, fearless playfulness. As you may have noticed, !Kittencam! is no longer running. I might set up !MouseCam! if I ever find any infrared LED lights for a decent price (for filming in the dark), but we'll see how that goes. I will try to bring you other fun multimedia like videos and recordings in the meantime. I hope this week to get a recording of Willow purring. He is a TINY cat with a LOUD purr...very loud. He is as loud if not louder than my near 20lb cat!

I hope those of you who have followed the tale of the kittens continue to follow this blog even though the kittens are gone on to their new homes. I have some pretty big plans for this web space. I will, of course, post updates on all the kittens as I receive them, and since Willow and Rainsong are part of my family, you will definitely be able to read their stories. I also have some posts planned about animal intelligence, fish who live in the very deepest depths of the ocean, the oldest trees in the world, and other fun nature-related stuff. I hope to start this month a new feature, something like "Plant/Animal of the Week" and post some interesting information and photos about the spotlight creature. This will likely spawn a second feature that specifically looks at "Flora and Fauna in Florida." Not really totally sure all the directions I could take, but feel free to weigh in with questions, comments, criticisms, and suggestions.

Kittens - Day 21

Rainsong purrs now when I pet her! Not much else to report really, but I think that is just the most awesome thing ever. What a sweet little cat she is. I'm very concerned about how thin she is, but I suspect that's from malnutrition when she was younger. I am feeding her lots of Iams kitten chow in the hopes that she can put on some weight, but she may just be a very thin little girl. Willow is doing great and Bubby is set to go home tomorrow evening. He'll make a great new friend for Tanya and her family. I'm so happy all of these cats have good homes.

Ocean Census New Findings

Here is a great article about the most recent ocean census and all the amazing things they have found: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27629200/?GT1=43001 As the subtitle of the article puts it "Findings include city of brittle stars, octopus expressway, white shark cafe." Awesome!

Photos

I have uploaded a bunch of photos from my phone to Flickr. Please check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaoschild.

Kittens - Day 20

I can pet Rainsong. I had to use my trick I explained yesterday a few more times today, but earlier this evening, maybe around 6pm, she allowed me to pet her without any pretense. I had to be slow, but once I started petting she got right into. I also got her to play a little bit with a string. I think in another two weeks it will be time to get a couple of baby gates (you know those accordion-style ones) to block entry and exit to the new cats' room while still allowing some commerce with the existing cats. I have read that after a few weeks of hissing and trying to fight through the gates, all the cats will become familiar with one another and stop really trying to beat each other up...all without trips to the vet for bite wound infections. As for the kittens, they are Spartans! They roll around in a ball of play fighting that looks like something out of Looney Tunes. I will try to get a video tomorrow sometime. They really train like fearless little warriors. It's great exercise and I think they are going to be really healthy cats because of it. I promise I will try to get photos up tonight...we have to go buy Adam a new laptop for work, but when we return I will get to uploading all the great kitten-age.

Kittens - Day 19

Good news! I finally saw Bubby eat a little bit today. It wasn't much, but he ate. Great news! I got to pet Rainsong. I kind of had to play a trick on her, but it's not a very dirty trick. I held one of her kittens up to her and she nuzzled him. I gently let the kitten slide out of my hand and walk away as I started scratching her neck and ears. She leaned into my hand really hard and definitely seemed to like it. Once she realized it's my hand she backed off, but it's a good sign she'll let me do it at all. It's taken a few weeks, but she has definitely warmed up to being a house cat. Sadly, I must announce the coming end to !Kittencam! I will keep it up for a little longer, but it is pretty seldom the kittens are in frame, and pretty soon Bubby will be going off to his new home and all the exciting new adventures there. Do check back for a few more days though, and if you are interested in cats, nature, animals, trees, and all those sorts of things, please keep reading. I have quite a few posts planned on other interesting creatures and topics, and I will try to do a lot more nature photography.

Kittens - Day 18

Rainsong has definitely come a long way. I noticed earlier today that her pupils no longer stay completely dilated as they used to when I came into the room. She is very calm around me and when she hisses it seems random and habitual. She may be hissing at the residual smell of another cat that lived in that room for about a week or two some months ago. She walks right up to me now and sniffs my fingers and will sometimes take food from my hand if she's at all interested in eating. I still have to move very slowly and deliberately around her... probably a product of some of our first efforts to catch her. I'm also worried about a patch of missing hair on her left hip. It may just be a fight scar that doesn't grow hair, but it could also be a skin condition like mange. The kittens show no sign and I am watching carefully to see if the patch fills in or grows larger. The latter will assuredly prompt a visit to the vet.

Kittens - Day 17

The kittens are playing and running. They spent most of the evening climbing on me. At one point I felt Willow attach himself to my back, drop off, then run all the way up my shoulders. Not three seconds later, Bubby did the same thing. I wish someone had been there to snap a picture, but I was alone with the kittens and Rainsong. Speaking of Rainsong, I've had another major breakthrough with her. There's a bed in the room the cats are in now. Sometimes after a long day's work I go back there to spend some time with them and end up napping. Earlier this evening, I fell asleep for a while and awoke to Rainsong sleeping draped across my legs. She ran away as soon as she saw I had woken up, but I can't believe that she didn't know along that the legs under the covers were attached to the big, clumsy pink monkey that brings food all the time and plays with her kittens.

Kittens - Day 16

Tinker has gone home and is no more a direct part of this tale, but wish her and her new family well. Send them good energy and good thoughts. Bubby is still here for a few more days, and he, Willow, and Rainsong are well. Bubby and Willow's eyes have changed color. I think they will both have coppery-green eyes lke their mother, but it is hard to guess what exactly the color will become when it settles. Bubby has sneezed a few times. He doesn't show any other signs of a cold as far as I can tell, so perhaps he has allergies. Yes, cats can have allergies. About 6 months ago, I took Sasha to the vet because her eyes were watering and I was afraid she'd gotten an eye or upper respiratory infection. She, in fact, has allergies...to what exactly we don't know but most likely dust, pollen, the usual stuff. I have had major successes with both Willow and Rainsong today. I can get Willow to purr most of the time when I pet him. It started a few days ago when I scratched his sides. I chalked it up to nervousness since some cats purr when afraid. I now think, however, that he actually likes being petted because he consistently purrs from side scratchies and shows no signs of distress. Far from it...most of the time he runs to the door to greet me. And Rainsong...lovely, pretty Rainsong let me feed her from my hand again. And with one or two fingers very gently I was allowed to pet the end of her tail. When she decided it was time to stop she walked a little bit away and laid down, very relaxed and probably not more than 6 inches from me. Adam was in the room at the time, which makes this an even greater step forward. She isn't nearly so used to him as she is to me. Two days ago, she would hide the second he so much as cracked the door to look through. Patience and kindness will win her over in time. :) ...Also, took LOTS of pictures tonight. I'll be adding them (hopefully) sometime tomorrow. I'm having a situation where the computer that acts as the server for the webcam stream is also the computer I usually use to upload media.... looking into a work around though and I PROMISE photos soon.

Kittens - Day 15

I took Tink away. She is to be delivered tomorrow. She is too wiley and good at hiding to do it in the morning. I held her out to Rainsong and said, "Say good-bye to your mother." Rainsong dipped her head and nuzzled the kitten. She sniffed her and licked her ear gently. I think she knew it was a farewell. Tink screamed as I carried her away and sat shivering in my lap for half an hour. I gave her the second dose of de-wormer and put her in a cat crate with food, water, a small towel, two toys she seemed fond of, and half the baby blanket they have all shared these two weeks. She is quiet now, but terrified. Mother, please forgive for the pain I have caused two of your daughters and two of your sons. Let nothing but good come of it or all the ill fall on me. So mote it be.

Kittens - Day 14

The move from the utility room was largely successful. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in here for the cats to hide in, so you may see less of them on the webcam, unfortunately. Currently Rainsong and the babies are under the sewing table. She's making these contented-sounding trill vocalizations. The first hitch in the move was Tinker's utter refusal to cooperate. It took more than an hour of trying to get her moved. The others were easy. I got Rainy into her carrier with a Sheba chicken dinner and easily scooped up Bubby and Willow. The second hitch in the move was Sasha darting in as I was leaving to go get more of the kittens' things from the other room. Sasha hissed upon seeing Rainsong and made a sound that should have emerged from a large ugly demon instead of a pretty pastel cat. After removing Sasha before an epic battle could ensue, I continued setting up the new room and spending some quality time with my feline friends. And that is where this story finds me now...lying on the bed watching them play. They seem to enjoy exploring all the new places. Bubby is playing with a rope, Willow has wandered off to who-knows-where in his adventures, and Tinker just crashed into the mirror trying to pounce the mirror cat. She is most perplexed by this cat who copies her every movement.

To Commenters Re: Comments

Please know, I reply to comments and welcome them. If you comment on a post, please check the comments of that post later to see my reply. Just in case you don't know (I didn't), Blogger (the host for this blog) gives me no notification that I have gotten any comments, so it sometimes takes me 24 hours to even see a dialog has started. It also does not give the commenter (you) any indication that I have replied. Furthermore, it in no way distinguishes my replies from any other commenter's posts and does not organize them such that my reply is tied to the original comment. Sorry for the confusion of this half-assed system. To deal with it, I generally begin each reply post with the signed name of the commenter I'm replying to. Hopefully Blogger will fix the oversight...or this thing will become so wildly popular that I move it to a better hosting service. Heh.

Kittens - Day 13

I still haven't seen Bubby eat. He was sleeping during the the time I spent in the room with them. Willow has become very friendly. He and Tink climbed all over me today. Tink was a little more timid than Willow but was the least scared of me I've seen so far. I once again introduced Willow to Sasha. As usual, that ended in hissing and Sasha retreating in anger. I also introduced him to Midnight who is usually mellow, but she also hissed and back away. I think integration will have to be a slow cautious process. Rainsong remained cautious around me today, but seems to be hissing less and not backing off as far. I spent some hours cleaning out my library/storage/guest room for the cats to move into. The library has natural light, is larger, and will be altogether easier on everyone than having the cats in the laundry room. I hope the move will happen Monday evening. In other news, I was in Incredible Pets today and saw a hedgehog. I've wanted to add a a sugar glider to my family for a while, but now I am debating whether a sugar glider or a hedgehog would be a better fit.

Kittens - Day 12

Bubby tried to eat today. He couldn't quite get it yet. He gumed the food but it fell out of his mouth...at least when I was watching. Perhaps his teeth aren't strong enough. Rainsong is doing well, but I touched lightly on the back at one point and she seems upset with me now. I think it's time to back off and take a less direct approach.