Dirty Pictures for Science

As anyone who has read this blog knows, I'm not the religious person in the world. Religion is a form of anthrocentrism: humans are the center of the world. Copernicus proved that we weren't the center of the astronomical world. Darwin proved we weren't the center of the biological world. Modern cosmology proves we're way, way low on the universal scale. This is sort of a three laws of Human Dynamics:

You're not the center of creation
You're not the pinnacle of creation
You're not even close to the game of creation.

But, that said, there's amazement at the weirdness of the world and how far from the organizing principles we actually are. Take for example, Callosobruchus maculatus, the Cowpea Weevil. a member of the group referred to as seed beetles or been weevils. (See here.) A recent study showed that injuries by the penis of the weevil (a relative, C. analis, shown above) are beneficial to reproductive success. A summary article here. The National Geographic article here. The dirty pictures here.

Insects diverged from the line leading to us hundreds of millions of years ago and have been selected upon by a completely different set of circumstances so it's not surprising they are different. Yet, I can't imagine anybody not feeling a shred of empathy for the female C. maculatus and a slight shiver when contemplating the above picture.

Ah, the shock and awe of biological diversity.

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Links of Interest
Walking Man: Here. Here. Here.
Blown Glass Light Bulb Animals
Pi Day's Coming Up
So Much for Brain Training
Future War Toys
Vintage Children's Books On Line
V: MAKE Presents the Capacitor
Chicago, Israel
Fish Psychedelica
The World Clock
MoFilm and Here.
Tiny Snakes
Brandywine Clocks
Octopus Hijinks: Here. Here.

DIY
Gravity Clock
Cheap Screen Printing
Phonebook Organizer