The small, the big, and the giant In a previous post, I've talked about the hyper-economical viruses, whose whole genome consists of as many nucleotide bases, as a single moderately big gene in higher organisms.…
Protein structure for foodies
I haven't planned my blog to be educational per say, but the other day I stumbled on a thought that was equally ridiculous and fascinating. As I was aimlessly browsing Quora the other day I…
"Going off the grid" without grid cells in…
Here's a title which might be up the alley of some conspiracy theorists. Instead of some high-level conspiracies though, I will talk about the brain and a fascinating type of neurons, which are the very…
DNA – much more than a simple "double…
More than 60 years after the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule of life, it continues to surprise us and reveals its secrets one at a time. The double helix - elegantly simple…
SPORES or how I busted Dr. Geller from…
For a gazillionth time I've been chilling by re-watch Friends and this time around I busted Ross - the brainy PhD and professor in Paleontology, for not knowing what "gleba" is. When his toddler daughter…
What makes a giraffe?
Giraffes are tall. Only their neck is longer than every person walking on Earth... By a quarter of a human... Ok, if you want the actual number, a giraffe's neck usually stretches to 2,5m! And…
Vitamin D for happy thoughts
It was a beautiful day today in Brussels! So I was stubbornly sitting on my sunlit balcony (despite the not-all-that-comfortable 6°C) hoping to get those sun rays to do its magic and for the VitaminD…
There are no green animals!
I am sure you would immediately attack me with a ton of examples of animals which are green - from the majority of amphibians and reptiles, to the brightly colored in green tropical birds, insects,…
Extreme babies of animals
Nature is well known for its extremes in pretty much every regard - variety, colours, sizes, dangerousness, smelliness, cuteness and what not. And while sometimes some natural features of organisms make sense (the warning bright…