One hundred years ago this study, had it existed, might have been regarded as science fiction: “Machine Learning Approach for Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) Semen Quality Assessment,” Desislava Abadjieva, Boyko Georgiev, Vasko Gerzilov, Ilka Tsvetkova, Paulina Taushanova, Krassimira Todorova, and Soren Hayrabedyan, Animals, vol. 13, no. 10, 2023, article 1596.
This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has five segments. Here are bits of each of them: Biting biting remarks — …Bite-mark analysis hoo-ha, so far, mostly applies to identifying human biters. Mostly, but not entirely. Enter a new paper called “Forensic determination of shark species as predators and scavengers of sea turtles in […]
The review article “Duck Body Parts” (which you can download) is part of the special Ducks issue (volume 27, number 4) of the magazine, Annals of Improbable Research. This special issue, like many other special issues of the magazine, is also available for purchase. All the issues are in the form of downloadable PDFs.
The effort to train ferrets to recognize virus odor in mallard duck droppings may be paying off, suggests a new study. The study is: “Biodetection of a specific odor signature in mallard feces associated with infection by low pathogenic avian influenza A virus,” Glen J. Golden, Meredith J. Grady, Hailey E. McLean, Susan A. Shriner, […]
The 25th Dead Duck Day, on June 5th, which was postponed from 2020 until 2021, will be more or less postponed till 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So be on the lookout for the special (postponed) 25th anniversary edition in 2022. This year, like last year, Dead Duck Day will have only two participants […]
The first (documented) version of the famous ‘Duck-Rabbit’ illusion is an unattributed drawing from the 23 October 1892 issue of the German Humour Magazine Fliegende Blätter, Since 1892, many thousands of people have struggled to decide whether the image is a duck or a rabbit. Results are about 50/50, with viewers seeing either a duck […]
Michael Jacksonization, bomb bay door, and bird all appear in Improbable Research Collection #102: Our series of tiny bits-and-pieces videos peeks at improbable research — research that makes people laugh, then think. Here, below, is a skimpy guide to these little videos. We might make some more.
The net, the flea, the duck and its lover all appear in Improbable Research Collection #101: Our series of tiny bits-and-pieces videos peeks at improbable research — research that makes people laugh, then think. Here, below, is a skimpy guide to these little videos. We might make some more.
The 24th annual Dead Duck Day celebration happens on Wednesday, June 5, 2019. Dead Duck Day honors the mallard duck that became known to science as the first (documented) ‘victim’ of homosexual necrophilia in that species, and earned its discoverer, Kees Moeliker, the 2003 Ig Nobel Biology Prize. Kees Moeliker, who is now director of the […]
“The advancement in computer and drone applications is beyond human imagination, affecting and transforming the society, both structurally and socially. Exploitation of computer and drone technology is crucial to humankind in the futuristic world.” – explains the website for the 2017 International Conference on Computer and Drone Applications (IConDA) which was held at the Damai Beach […]