The word “vampirical” used as an un-admiring description of a scientific claim, has been credited to Jeremy Freese [pictured here], who wrote: “Part of what makes the Trivers-Willard hypothesis perhaps more ‘vampirical’ than ’empirical’—unable to be killed by mere evidence—is that the hypothesis seems so logically compelling that it becomes easy to presume that it must […]
Tag: research
The Semen Quality of Deep-Voiced Men [study]
NOTE: We suggest you invite a deep-voiced man to real this aloud to you, in a public place. “Low Pitched Voices Are Perceived as Masculine and Attractive but Do They Predict Semen Quality in Men?” Leigh W. Simmons [pictured here], Marianne Peters [shown here, below, evaluating a male], Gillian Rhodes, PLoS ONE 6(12): e29271. The […]
More about woodpeckers and headaches
A new study about the dearth of headaches in woodpeckers builds on the research that earned the 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in ornithology. [The photo here shows Ivan Schwab, co-winner of that prize, delivering his acceptance speech.] The International Business Times gives its interpretation: How Woodpeckers Avoid Brain Injuries, Research Shows Football players and boxers […]
A new new undertanding of enzymes
“A New Understanding of the Way Enzymes Work” says the headline on a press release published by Science Daily. Jerry Lettvin [pictured here] heralded this breakthrough long before it happened. Jerry said: “Enzymes are things invented by biologists that explain things which otherwise require harder thinking.”