Sad news. ‘Ornithology Exchange’ reported the death of Dr. Robert W. Dickerman (1926). Dickerman was the biologist who gave necrophilia a good name. Chiefly known as a specimen-based ornithologist and tireless collector of scientific specimens, Bob Dickerman has enriched the collections of natural history museums, from Alaska to New Mexico, and described dozens of new […]
About: Kees Moeliker
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- Improbable Research European Bureau Chief
Posts by Kees Moeliker:
A rectal foreign body in a 65 million year-old Danish sea urchin
Since David B. Busch and James R. Starling, won the 1995 Ig Nobel Literature prize for their deeply penetrating 1986 research report, “Rectal foreign bodies: Case Reports and a Comprehensive Review of the World’s Literature” the body of literature on the subject and the number of cases has increased considerably. By 2012, no less than […]
The Marshmallow, in herpetology and medicine
The 390 species of Anolis-lizards are generally considered insectivorous. Some also eat fruit and nectar. Recently, a new source of food for these New World reptiles was discovered: On the Consumption of Marshmallow Residues, an Atypical Food Item, by Anolis cristatellus Duméril and Bibron, 1837 in Puerto Rico [LEB (Life: The Excitement of Biology) 2: […]
Twin peeks into Rudolph’s red nose (and hindquarters)
Two studies, both published in December 2012, dig into the nature of Rudolph’s red nose. Each study found a scientific surprise in the microcirculation of the reindeer’s nasal mucosa. One paper is: “Microcirculatory investigations of nasal mucosa in reindeer Rangifer tarandus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervidae): Rudolph’s nose was overheated,” Ben van der Hoven, Eva Klijn, Michel van Genderen, […]