Quiz answer plus power petal & bug hits for your soul...

Photo by Kropsoq

This is an ootheca.

Per Merriam-Webster, "a firm-walled and distinctive egg case (as of a cockroach)."

In this instance (above & my instance which inspired said quiz),

it's a mantid or mantis egg case.

Every time I'd see one in our yard,

"ootheca" would pop to mind,

tho' I really wasn't sure that's what it was.

Apparently, my brain is smarter than I am. =)

Speaking of smart:

Sara NAILED it, exactly--woo-hoo!! We bow to your brain.

Imperfect and Tense and Jen were totally on the right eggy track,

Sue's guess was delightful (& seasonally appropriate),

and Cindy's guess (a rock with round things popping out of it)

was EERILY close (rock-hard egg case). =)

Thank you to ALL quiz participants: YOU ROCK!!

Flowers 'n' bugs: obsessed

Delightful hits of color, pattern, and bugs

I've been indulging in via our irises & their fans.

 (how cute is that little buggy shadow?)

teeny weeny invertebrates

 crab spider (I'm pretty sure) eating said teeny weeny invertebrates

 *munch munch*

Can you see how, if one is hyper visual,

a color & pattern freak, and a giant fan of bugs,

these irises and their complement are a special kind of heaven?

Oh, and they smell amazing.

Can't stop; won't stop.

Sunday I ordered seven more irises.

I can pick them up in 5 months.

Then plant & wait another 6 months to see them bloom.

This is my new obsession.

I already know 7 more I want to order next year.

*sigh*

I think I'm going to have to start earning more money to support my habit.

Is it just me? Anyone else similarly obsessed by something?

xoxoxobb

Birthday hike in Yosemite, & random vocab quiz! =)

Happy Birthday to me!

Therefore, Bear & I hiked in Yosemite Valley today.

Other years we bike.

I ADORE biking in Yosemite Valley--it's the perfect scale for it.

However, bikes are still dusty from last year, so we hoofed it.

Here's a hint of how glorious the dogwood is right now:

It's a VERY good year for this tree-o-white-blossoms,

so if it's an option, I strongly recommend you get here ASAP.

We hiked up the west side of Mirror Lake Loop,

where we saw forest delights:

There are deciduous forests, and there are delicious forests.

This is a delicious forest. 

 Wild ginger. Check out that GORGEOUS glossy sheen. Phew!

More stunning dogwood flowers.

It's like passing by a supermodel on the trail;

can you REALLY ignore it?!? 

No.

Cool forest fungi

 Hubba, hubba.

Having crossed the river to the east side of Tenaya Creek,

we alit upon the source of the pungent trail decor...

 Might I say, though, nice buns!

On our way out,

we stopped to look at a fungus-laden tree Bear likes.

We were forced to park in this dreary spot

(panning from right to left).

*sigh*

Thank you, Yosemite & National Park Service.

You ROCKED it, hard.

Okay: QUIZ TIME!!

This week my eyes have landed on an outdoor object,

and every time, a word pops into my head:

ootheca

Discuss.

Please tell me what you think this means,

without looking it up,

and if you have ZERO clue,

please fling the wildest guess you can fabricate.

I heart correct guesses* (& bow to your brain),

but those who bravely chuck forth

creative BS guesses

have a special place in my heart.

=)

You know who you are.

xoxoxobb

*spot on "guesses" WILL be posted, but not right away,
so other folks can take a stab at it, unencumbered by the facts. =)

You say tomato... (QUIZ answer)

...I say mitochondria!

photo by Louisa Howard, via Wikipedia's extensive mitochondrion entry

Am I right?

Dead ringer.

=)

And that makes Olivia, of Beasts in a Populous City fame,

the WINNER!!! Woo-hoo!!! Nice work, chica!

ALL of your guesses were most delightful

and imaginative and made my day. THANKS!!

So, if you don't know, mitochondria are cellular organelles in eukaryotes,

and are frequently called the power house of the cell.

It's where most ATP molecules in your body are made,

and ATP is your body's ultimate energy currency.

And the reason dark meat is dark,

is because they are muscles the animal uses a lot,

so they need more energy (mitochondria) there.

Example:

Turkeys walk and scratch the ground a lot,

but fly seldom and briefly,

so their legs are dark meat,

& the flight muscles (breast meat) are white.

The wiki entry on re: mitochondrion is extensive, if you want more.

So, do you ever see things in certain ways

because of what you do for a living or as a hobby?

If you recall, do tell.

xobb

you know you're a biologist when... (QUIZ!)

this tomato (etc.) sandwich makes you IMMEDIATELY think of what?

Specifically, the tomato slices....

So much so that you have to take a photo,
despite tremendous hunger and bad lighting. =)

And, of course, the indefensible power nerdery of it.

Feel free to guess wildly if you have no idea.

'Cause you know I love that.

xobb

New quiz, plus last hints 4 old aerial photo quiz...

 

This is the old quiz, and we have a few guesses:

Where is this? Name nearby town and state.

Hint # 1:

This is a photo I took moments before I took the above picture:

Hint #2:

It's not in Utah, Colorado, or the Dakotas...
And remember, I took it flying from Sacramento, CA
to Minneapolis, MN.

=) New quiz:

What is the cause of this pattern:

the land areas are different shades of brown,

connected by perfectly straight boundaries?

Mind you, the answer is something I've inferred,

but I bet it's right.

=)

xobb

Seeing stars that are seldom seen

 
via Philip Plait at Google+, and can also be watched here.

The wagging pole - Night watch from Graham Gaunt on Vimeo.

Great stuff, and I was particularly struck by the image starting at 1:49. WOW!

I'm kind of a freak for shots looking UP at land that is quite near, & just the sky behind it is visible, so you have no idea what's beyond that hill.

Sort of like driving across a flat intersection in some of the steepest hills in San Francisco, but in reverse. As you edge toward the crazy DROP of the block ahead of you, you see your car's hood ahead of you, and SF dropping precipitously all around, but you cannot actually see the road that your car is, in theory, going to land on/drive upon. Yow!!

Anyhow, apparently what's most exciting about the above video is that this part of England is seldom cloud free, so it was a special treat to see the stars traveling by in that part of the world.

Nice.

QUIZ QUIZ QUIZ

Hey, btw, down a few posts is a geology quiz (shot taken from 30k feet in the American west) that you can answer by zooming around in Google Earth. If I get no more guesses by Monday, I'll post another hint.

And remember, your reward is the GLORY of being GENIUS in a public forum. =)

Hooray, you!! =)

Short attention span rewrite: sunflower eye candy, quiz, & OUT

 

I decided that the rousing lack of response to
yesterday's post is 'cause it's too long.

I hear ya. I'm queen of "ech, I can't read all that!"

So, TAKE II

supermane sunflowers in full glory

Photos are big, so click and zoom is good...


new quiz

What is "malacothamnus"? (w/o looking it up)

It repeated incessantly in my brain yesterday morning,
and now that I looked it up, I get why.

I-have-no-idea guesses are appreciated,
as well as studly-spot-on-I-totally-know-this answers.

I'm out!


P.S. FYI I have posted accurate, as well as the creative, answers, so you might want to have your answer ready, before you type it into comments. =)

New quiz, old quiz, poisons, sunflower explosion, & chemical mystery

 

1. NEW QUIZ

This morning's relentless mantra:
Malacothamnus, malacothamnus, malacothamnus, malacothamnus...

Apparently, drinking coffee in a relaxed fashion, listening to birdies cheerfully greet the sun, is not enough. I must have a look-this-up-or-I-will-annoy-you-to-death vocabulary alarm in my brain.

So, that's the new quiz: what is malacothamnus (without looking it up)?

Per usual, creative I-have-no-idea guesses are appreciated, as well as studly-spot-on-I-totally-know-this answers. =)

I looked it up, and now I understand why my brain sent me this, given what I saw yesterday...

2. OLD QUIZ

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster

toxophilite: a person fond of or expert at archery

— toxophilite adjective
— tox·oph·i·ly noun

Origin of TOXOPHILITE
Greek toxon bow, arrow + philos dear, loving
First Known Use: 1794

Hence:

The file name for this shot is in German, but includes "Tibetexpedition_Volksfest_Bogunschu" So, I'm thinking it's a folk festival including (or all about??) Tibetan folks, and it's an archery (Bogunschu) competition or demonstration.

In other words, that place was likely rich in toxophilites, in both senses of the word. =)

There are lots of things I love about this photograph, but one is comparing where he is looking vs. where his arrow is pointed; he is accounting for gravity. So cool.

Maybe during my new archery adventures, I'll start to get a feel for that sort of adjustment.

And I want one of those things for my thumb--I'm guessing it helps hold the string until you are ready to let loose.

I discovered this word because I actually wondered if there were some cool archery-specific terms. It just seemed like there had to be. And, apparently, there are. =)

VOCABULARY QUIZ WINNERS -- WOO HOO!

Correct Answers

 
The answer that made me, biology-chick, swoon (and laugh), was from Snail:
"Something to do with archery? Amirite? I'm trotting this out because the archerfish here are in the genus Toxotes and that's close enough for me. (The common mangrove species is Toxotes jaculatrix. I have no opinion about that name.)"

And from CP: delightfully, pointedly vague =) :
"Does it have something to do with a person who launches pointy things with a bent stick and some string (more or less)?"

Delightful Guesses

Mainly mongoose: "This one's new to me. My guess: a toxophilite is a person who's irresistably drawn to things that are harmful (e.g. snake enthusiasts)."

Jodi: "Someone who willingly imbibes poisons, but really, only a little at a time. 'I'll have an Amanita Lite, please-- I'm on a diet.' "

=) See why I LOVE my blog readers? =)

And I agree, toxophilite sounds like someone who dearly loves poisons.

Speaking of...

3. POISONS

The new book I'm currently reading
made our friends nervous when they saw I was reading it,
'cause they love my husband.

The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum.

It's not what you think. =)

The subtitle explains it: Murder and the
Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York.

Photo from Amazon.com.

btw, I bought it, so this is not a paid-by-freebie-book review.

In fact, it's not a review at all.

It's a super interesting mix of evil doers, chemical and biological/medical invention to try and foil them, and the interplay of historical happenstance.

And there are practical, take-home lessons, like "Never, ever drink wood alcohol."

4. SUNFLOWER EXPLOSION

5. CHEMICAL MYSTERY

I steamed a batch of just-picked green beans last night.
Left the lid on the pot overnight.
And this is what I found this morning.

Why is it this amazing shade of orange??

If you know, feel free to share.
I bet my mom (chemist) knows...

xoxobb

P.S. Posted the genius "guesses" to toxophilite... AWESOME people!

 

Check 'em out in the comments of that post.
Answer post soon...
but the participants are ALL over it. =)

Oh, and here's the HEAVENLY photo I found
on Wiki to accompany the impending answer.

*sigh*

bb

Vocab quiz: toxophilite

Without looking it up, what does this mean?

If you know, please share your lovely neuronal paths with us.

If you don't know, you have the enviable opportunity to totally guess what it is, based on whatever-you-like.

=)

Like before Christmas day, all these exciting packages with hidden, unknown goodies.

What could it be?!?


And please guess soon. =)

I am SO in love with the photo that I'll post with the answer, I will not be able to wait long.


HINT: I am a toxophilite in one sense of the word, but would love to work toward becoming a toxophilite in the other sense. Kinda doubt I'll get there, but it'd be fun to try.


xobb

P.S. Learned this word today, hoping that there'd be some new word for me to learn re: this subject. And, oh-so-happily, there is. I LOVE the English language.

medulla oblongata -- animated!!!

  

Okay, how much do I love the internet?? This is FREE.

The red area is the medulla oblongata.

Images are generated by Life Science Databases(LSDB).

[CC-BY-SA-2.1-jp (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.1/jp/deed.en)],

via Wikimedia Commons

Per the Wiki:
"The medulla oblongata is the lower half of the brainstem.

The medulla contains the cardiac, respiratory, vomiting and vasomotor centers and deals with autonomic, involuntary functions, such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure."

"The medulla transmits signals between the spinal cord and the higher parts of the brain" (Encyclopedia Brittanica)

So, the next time you are, shall we say,
"rejecting" your last meal,
you feel like a helpless, base,
sweaty mammal-creature,

it's because you are.

The medulla oblongata made you do it.

You are one in a long line of helpless vertebrates
trying not to die
from some horrible thing you ate
in the simplest, most direct of ways.

get
it
out

The m.o. is involved in basic physical sensations,
movement, complex issues like
"am I still standing upright?"
"...breathing?"
"...heart beating?"

Doesn't get a lot more basic than that.


In other words,
as my husband says upon occasion,
imitating a cave man,

urh!

This is actually above the level of discourse possible
with an m.o. Well above.

So, perhaps you could think of your time
in the involuntary throws of chemical rejection
as bonding with your ancestors
from tens of thousands of years ago.

Probably a lot longer than that.

And be grateful that today we better understand what can make us sick (say, for example, a mass produced fast food burger made from 1400 different cows?) than our caveman ancestors could (tho' they had precious little access to mass-produced food), so are better equipped to avoid such things.

Whether we do it, or not. =)

In celebration, I think I'm gonna to eat some yogurt
with fresh fruit and toasted walnuts.
And another 10,000 cherries.

Photo by Peggy Greb for the United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service

mmm...

Summer fruit good.

urh!


xoxo

biobabbler

P.S. DING DING DING DING!!! Congratulations to Laura K and Emma for smarty pants answers to this vocabulary quiz, and to Cindy for cracking me up (I bet she knew, too, just was overcome by her desire to amuse, thank heaven =) ). I highly recommend visiting the vocab quiz comments to see their answers. =)

random bio vocab quiz

  

The above photo is apropos of nothing (it's big, so feel free to click). I just like it. =)
Well, and it's kindof how I feel right now, having woken up at 3 a.m.
WIDE awake and a little off.... =)

This phrase has been in my head (though thankfully, lightly) for several days.
Time to make it a quiz, then define and explore it.

medulla oblongata

Please submit your without-looking-it-up guesses, including fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants wild proposals, via comments, and they will be posted. The most accurate submittals will a) be lauded, b) be posted LATER, so folks can have a chance to be as slick as thou.

'der ya go. datsit.

bb

Wednesday quiz, Britain's royal wedding, & royal jelly secret revealed!

  

They have now discovered what is the key component

of royal jelly, which turns bee larvae into queens.

photo by Wausberg

Aside from countless hours at a finishing school, that is.

Its discoverer, Masaki Kamakura, dubbed the protein royalactin.

photo by the folks at blueberry forest toys

Royalactin sounds like what I did as a child when I'd dress up like a princess and parade around the house with my super cool princess hat. Which, unlike the lovely ones above, was made out of 8 1/2 x 11 inch lined paper, staples, and determination.

Apparently, I was to going to look like a princess and wear that amazing hat, no matter what.

=)

ANYhow, it's 1) exciting that they figured this out (the ingredient that makes baby bees queens), 2) kinda surprising to me they'd not figured this out yet. Is it just me? Did folks just not look into it, or was it a really tough problem?

Anyone know?

photo info here (it's kinda complicated)

Anyhow, I thought what with all the Royal Wedding fervor, this was the week to post this. And, well, I just learned it this a.m. =)

So, now for the RANDOM QUIZ!

We all know that royal jelly makes the queen, a different caste than the worker bees, in this eusocial species.

FYI, eusocial, per E.O. Wilson in Sociobiology (1975) via this site, has three defining characteristics: 

"(1) individuals of the same species cooperate in caring for the young; (2) there is a reproductive division of labor, with more or less sterile individuals working on behalf of fecund nestmates; (3) and there is an overlap of at least two generations in life stages capable of contributing to colony labor, such that offspring assist parents during some period of their life."

Ants bb bonded with in Guatemala

Ants are a classic example of a eusocial species, as are bees.

WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP (including eusocial), can you name a mammalian species that is eusocial?

=)

Good luck!

bb

P.S. As usual, wild guesses are MOST welcome, and the prize is PRIDE in your smartiness, inventiveness, humor, bravery for posting a comment, and the knowledge that you've greatly amused the bb.

P.P.S. the answer will include a picture of this charming creature and a story about how a t-shirt choice confirmed my suspicions about a person...

vocab quiz!

  
Yup, woke up with a 2 word phrase in my head, and I'd like YOU, without looking it up, to guess what it is. If you know, I will post your answer, but I may delay it to allow other folks time to take a stab at it (now, that's a rather brutal cliche, eh?).

Foeniculum vulgare.

That cracks me up. I looked it up and I spelled it right, despite the fact that I had no idea what it was.

Well, a SUPER VAGUE idea, but knowing it's an extremely broad category is not the same as knowing what it is.

Good luck and please don't be shy. Frequently the wild-hare-I-have-no-clue inventive guesses are my favorites.

=)

bb

P.S. As usual, this vocab moment is brought to me, randomly, by my brain, and I'm still so sleepy (JUST got up) I've typed this entire post through sleep-blurred eyes. Coffee's not even done, yet! But, now that I've looked it up, perhaps my brain will keep that mote of information. xo