What would happen if…

December 6, 2014 • 3:52 pm

[JAC note: Matthew told me he’d written this draft post and that I could put it up or not depending on whether I liked it. I decided to post it without seeing it, just for the surprise. I predict that the balls will all end up at the bottom, but hat do I know?]

by Matthew Cobb

… you tipped a load of plastic balls onto the bottom of an up escalator. Where would they end up? We’re talking lots and lots of balls. Make your prediction and then click on the video. (And yes, I know the people making the video cheat.) This was posted about 30 months ago – the people who made it (Ian McCart) had a website that no longer works. I think it’s some kind of kinetic artwork.

h/t @cotesia1

Bill Donohue: Atheists and agnostics die younger, are unhappier, and are more likely to enter a mental institution

December 6, 2014 • 2:02 pm

Now this isn’t that crazy pastor I mentioned the other day who called for the execution of homosexuals. No, this is Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League for twenty years and a one-man anti-defamation league for the Vatican. Whenever he senses the Holy Church is being dissed, Donohue pops up and cries “bias”! Well, Catholicism is behind only Islam in being the world’s most harmful religion, so Donohue is kept pretty busy. (I remember his whining when the Empire State Building refused to deck itself in blue and white lights in honor of Mother Theresa, and I’ve spelled her name wrong so Donohue can accuse me of bias.)

And no, it’s not enough that we’re accused of having a “strawman” view of religion, or of being militant and shrill. Now, says Donohue, we nonbelievers are actually shortening our lives and curtailing our happiness by not accepting Jesus. This is a strange accusation from a religionist, for many believers say they really prefer the “old-time atheists” like Nietzsche and Camus, who, fully grasping the implications of their nonbelief, were thrown into the pit of nihilism. Modern atheists aren’t suppose to be like that. But, according to Donohue, we really are.

Right Wing Watch presented this snippet of Donohue’s rantings, which are directed toward “extremist” atheists:

As for how we deal with this problem of atheistic misery and insanity, Donohue says, “They got to work it out, fine, I’ll help pay for their therapy, just take your hands, your mitts off the Catholics during Christmas.”

But you know, even if Donohue were right—and I don’t know the statistics, but I suspect he’s right about longevity and self-reported happiness—I’d rather be a more dolorous knower of the truth than a credulous person who spends his life fingering rosaries and confessing sexual peccadillos in hope of finding eternal life. As George Bernard Shaw said:

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.”

Readers’ beefs of the week

December 6, 2014 • 12:00 pm

Interesting nuttery and outrage have been thin on the ground this week, and I have but ~~three~~ four attempted comments to present.

First, reader SIDNEY COAD WILLIAMS (yes, in caps) is REALLY EXCITED about evolution, so he writes in CAPSLOCK. This is a comment on the post “Ways of knowing“:

ALL FAUNA AND FLORA EVOLVE THROUGH EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES.
IN FAUNA WE HAVE THE BIRTH PROCESS OF THE NEW BORN
IN FLORA THE PLANTS ARE FERTILIZED BY BIRDS, INSECTS, SOME ANIMALS AND THE WIND THE FERTILIZED PLANT PRODUCES SEEDS WHICH FALL ON THE GROUND. WHEN IT RAINS THE SEEDS GERMINATE AND NEW PLANTS ARE BORN. THESE ARE EVOLUTION PROCESSES. EVOLUTION IS A BIOLOGICAL FACT.

Well, all the sentences are true except for the penultimate one, though the first is a bit tautological. But there’s the little matter of changes in the frequencies of gene forms from one generation to the next. . .

*******

But reader Jeff disagrees with him about evolution; this is a comment targeted to the post “Update on the Georgia Southern creationism case: McMullen denies preaching Christianity or creationism“:

Anyone can use the scientific method.
You are no more a scientist than anyone.
Evolution is a Theory. Not a provable law.
What is the mathematical probability that the universe evolved from nothing from 0 to infinity.
Starting with nothing and evolving into the infinite universe….0/infinity…not a probable number.
God/infinity =1 a very probable number infact the perfect number.

God divided by infinity is one? I didn’t know God was a number; we’d probably better check that out with Karen Armstrong and David Bentley Hart, who really know what God is.

*******

Finally, we have a nasty person, one Eric Hines, giving his two cents on the post “Reza Aslan and Karen Armstrong are everywhere, and it’s not pretty“:

To anyone who has read much about terrorism and extremism, the association between nihilism and extremism is a commonplace. Read Conrad. Read Dostoevsky. The association is old: dating back to the bomb-throwing anarchist scare at the turn of the last century. Real true believers become traditionalist establishment figures, even if in very modest ways; desperate people drowning in a sea of meaninglessness become thugs and suicide bombers. How else do you explain secular Westerners becoming ISIS executioners? It’s not the traditional hold of religion–it is the preferability of fake meaning to real meaninglessness, at least for some people. And when it comes to fake meaning, extremist Islam is the method actor of fake meaning. Generally, Jerry Coyne’s speculations on sociology and psychology are about as valuable as mine on population genetics, and until he starts sparing time to give me a call to hear my speculations, he really ought to have a bit more modesty about his own.

You know, although I think he’s wrong, I would have put this one up if the person had a civil neuron on his head. It was the last sentence that consigned him to the hell of being Forever Separated from Professor Ceiling Cat, as well as his arrogant claim that I should “spare time to call” him to “hear his speculations.” Yeah,like that’s gonna happen!

Sometimes I think that when people address a writer on the internet, they completely lack the ability to put themselves in the post-creator’s shoes, and to imagine how one’s words might make the other person feel. Would Eric Hines talk to me like this in my living room? I doubt it.

As for nihilism, perhaps some of those who despair become extremists, but I doubt that much of the nefarious behavior of ISIS itself, which marches under the banner of Islam, stems from nihilism, which, as defined by the Oxford English dictionary, is the following:

Note the first definition. One would be hard pressed to claim that ISIS rejects religious beliefs, morals, and laws, which of course they try to impose on the people they conquer. Nor do I think that most extremist Muslims see life as devoid of meaning. Just ask them.

And really, this?: “[E]xtremist Islam is the method actor of fake meaning.” Why is it fake: because Allah doesn’t exist? If so, then all religions are fake, and all believers are nihilists. Yes, certainly some people may join extremist jihadists because they find it gives meaning to their lives, but once they do so they are no longer nihilists. They have a belief, probably in the Caliphate. The other definitions of “nihilism” don’t apply here at all.

Well, we can argue about this, which is really a semantic issue, but Mr. Hines won’t be able to engage on this site, for he’s violated the basic canons of civility.

*******

Whoops, one more came in just this minute, from reader D M. Wolfe, commenting on Matthew’s post “Lamprey schreckstoff“. This is a good one:

Stop using “nom”, “nomming”, “nommed”, and other variants involving the prefix “nom-” in your writings please, or I will be forced to find another blog that offers an equally interesting evolutionary-biological perspective on things, without cringe-inducing contemporary neologisms.

It’s an order! An order from an arrogant jerk! Are people like this completely oblivious how they come across to others? I guess so. . . .

My response is this:

Dear Mr. Wolfe,

Do you think I give a rat’s patootie about whether you frequent this website or not? In fact, I’m delighted to ensure that you’ll never post here, because I like to maintain an atmosphere of civility, and entitled twits like you don’t get to come into the living room.

Don’t let the door hit your sorry tuchus on the way out.

Cordially,
Professor Ceiling Cat

p.s. Om nom nom nom nom nom nom nom!

Great horned owl goes swimming in Lake Michigan

December 6, 2014 • 10:40 am

After the fourth reader sent this to me (thanks, all!), I decided I’d better put it up. But I probably would have anyway: though the videos are short, they show some amazing bird behavior, namely a swimming owl (forced into Lake Michigan by peregrines), making its way through the water using its wings as paddles. And only a few miles away from me! Finally, the story has a happy ending.

The videos have gone viral, with the first one getting over a million views since it was posted December 2.

Yahoo News gives the details:

A great horned owl [Bubo virginianus] went for an unexpected swim in Lake Michigan this week, after two peregrine falcons forced it into the water, according to Chicago birders who saw the territorial skirmish firsthand.

Steve Spitzer, a birder and photographer who lives near Chicago, filmed the owl’s athletic water strokes shortly after the bird entered the lake, he told Chicago stationWGN-TV.

Owls are known for their nearly silent flight, but it’s not unheard of to see one go for a dip, said Julia Ponder, the executive director of The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. [Daring Duos: Unlikely Animal Friends]

For an owl, “if you go after something in the water, and you accidentally get too wet, then sometimes it’s easier to swim to shore than it is to fly with wet feathers,” Ponder told Live Science.

This was photographed with “a Panasonic GX7 and 100-300mm lens, handheld.”

More info:

Birds are known to use their feathery wings as paddles, but it’s more common to see an eagle than an owl swimming in a river or lake. “They are often in areas near water,” Ponder said. “You have to have those skills.”

But swimming is thought to help great horned owls grab midnight snacks. The owls are known to prey on water birds that roost on the open water at night. “Swimming to shore is a natural and necessary follow-up activity when an owl finds itself having splashed down in the middle of a body of water going after prey,” said Marc Devokaitis, a spokesperson at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in New York.

Once an owl swims to shore, it will typically fluff out its feathers to dry.

“They’ll shake it off,” Ponder said. “They’ll preen a bit. They’ll rouse. They’ll go up into a tree and let their feathers dry.”

The owl on the beach, drying off and resting:

The upshot:

The incident that sparked the Chicago owl’s aqueous escape is also common, Ponder said. Peregrine falcons often prevent other top predators from trespassing into their territory. The clash was likely a way for the peregrine falcons to indicate that “this is my space, and you need to move on,” Ponder said.

The onlookers called a bird rescue team, but the owl flew away before the team arrived, WGN reported.

Caturday felid trifecta: Simon’s cat gets baked, Bulgaria’s mysterious green cat, and catmallows

December 6, 2014 • 9:22 am

I’ll put the lagniappe first today, which somehow makes me chuckle:

Simon Tofield has created yet another in his great series of Simon’s Cat videos. In this one, Simon’s cat gets a catnip toy for Xmas. The results are predictable. In fact, my cat Teddy, who was catnip-sensitive (it’s a genetically conditioned traits, and many cats aren’t interested), used to get his catnip rolled up in an old sock. But because he bit through it and scattered the stuff all over the house, I finally had to put it into two socks. The odor still drove him mad, and he’d gnaw on the socks, lying on his back, for about 20 minutes, drooling all over them. Then, as do all cats, he’d lose interest after getting stoned.

Cats have two benefits that humans don’t (except in a few places): they can get stoned legally, and we’re allowed to give them assisted death when they’re in a terminal condition.

*******

There’s a mysterious green tabby cat who roams the streets of Varna in Bulgaria. A video and pictures are below. As The Independent reports, the mystery has finally been solved, but you’ll have to go there to see the answer

The explanation mandates that someone must rescue this cat before he gets poisoned from licking himself. Hmm. . . .do I have any Bulgarian friends who are cat-lovers? (I’m thinking of you, Lubo and Vassy.)

*******

On a happier note, you can now buy cat-shaped marsmallows to decorate your hot cocoa—just in time for winter. Imagine the delight of your friends when they get a cup with a floating paw or cat head:

Unfortunately, they’re available only from the Japanese confectioner Yawahada, whose site has lots of interesting sweetmeats. it also advertises the catmallows like this (the Japanese seem to favor these in coffee, for crying out loud):

h/t: Robin, Matthew Cobb, jsp

Readers’ wildlife photos

December 6, 2014 • 5:22 am

Reader Ichneumonid sends two photos of mammals from a recent trip:

A couple of shots of (large) rodents from a recent trip to Brazil for your consideration

First an Agouti from Brazil. This maybe Dasyprocta leporina (various common names), but a reader might want to correct me on that. These were running wild, but within the park area of a Zoo in Campinas, Saõ Paulo State.

I’m sure reader Diana will have something to say about its thoughts.

Everybody’s favorite South American rodent, the Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), looking rather content. Capybaras are the largest of all rodents. We discovered on this trip that their associated ticks carry Brazilian spotted fever (a bacteria, Rickettsia rickettsi), which can be fatal to humans. We looked at them with somewhat less affection after we found this out!

From reader Tim Anderson, who I think is pulling our leg about this bird’s behavior:

This waterbird is a White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae), at Dangar Island, New South Wales. It is common over most of Australia and Southeast Asia. Its hobbies are knitting, flower arranging and gokart racing.

We rarely have plants here, but that’s only because most people send photos of animals. Reader Tess, though, had some nice photos of something we often overlook: grass.

Flowers of sweet grass. Some may remember it as Hierochloe odorata but the accepted botanical name is now Anthoxanthum nitens. It keeps its fragrance for years, and is used in basketmaking. I learned in a sedge and grass class that the chemistry causing the fragrance discourages herbivores, and I have seen this grass completely undisturbed on a Maine island grazed by sheep.

And moar birds from reader Mal Morrison (sent a while back!):

After seeing John Pears’ contribution today I thought I’d send these. John hasn’t had the luck to catch a Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) in his garden so here’s a couple I saw in Devon last year. The bright one is the male, the pink one the female.

Note: This sexual dimorphism may be cultural rather than genetic, and the male-vs.-female distinction a social construct. (NOT!)

I’ve also included a Greenfinch [Chloris chloris], which is looking a little forlorn just after a thunderstorm.

Saturday: Hili dialogue

December 6, 2014 • 3:34 am

The good news is that I am not hung over this morning. The bad news is that there was apparently an animal altercation in Dobrzyn. Look at Hili’s bushed-out tail!

Hili: Cyrus is not a good Christian.

A: Why do you think so?

Hili: I gave him a smack across the face and he didn’t turn the other cheek.

In Polish:

Hili: Cyrus nie jest dobrym chrześcijaninem.
Ja: Dlaczego tak sądzisz?
Hili: Dałam mu w pysk, a on nie nadstawił drugiego policzka.

Lamprey schreckstoff

December 5, 2014 • 5:14 pm

by Matthew Cobb

Take a look at this video, made by researchers at Michigan State University:

These are sea lampreys, an invasive species that has become a real pest in the Great Lakes over recent decades. The substance that is poured into the tank is mushed-up essence of dead lamprey, and it is clearly alarming the fish, to the extent that several of them actually leap out of the tank.

Here’s another view of the same experiment, from under the water:

What’s going on here is both quite amazing, and nothing unusual. The vigour of the lamprey’s response is certainly surprising (the lampreys in particular seem quite astonished!), but this is typical of the response of many fishes to what is termed Schreckstoff.

This fantastic German word – fear stuff, or scary stuff in a loser translation – was coined by Karl von Frisch in the late 1930s. von Frisch is now primarily known for his work on the bee waggle dance – in 1973 he jointly won the Nobel Prize for this work, along with Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz – but he also studied fish behaviour. As my good friends Marcus Stensmyr and Florian Maderspacher described in 2012:

In the early 1930s, von Frisch was interested in the question of whether fish can hear. He had conditioned a swarm of minnows,a common small freshwater fish, to sounds and wanted to label the conditioned fish: ‘‘To label another member of the shoal, I one day caught a minnow, severed its sympathicus nerve with a thin knife near the end of the tail, which causes a darkening of the skin caudal of the incision site, and set it free. There something unexpected happened: some of the fish became interested in the slightly bleeding wound of the injured comrade and snapped at it; the fish itself retired to the depths and wasn’t seen again; our swarm, however, until then very tame, was now visibly scared and only reluctantly approached the food. About a month later […] one of the minnows was trapped under the edge of the feeding tube. The others regarded the struggling comrade until I liberated it. Now the bad news started spreading through the whole shoal. An increasing unrest took hold, and after a while, half a minute may have passed, they all fled’’.

Von Frisch was intrigued and, passionate enquirer that he was, spent the summer holidays of 1937 further investigating the curious phenomenon. Four years later, he had assembled a 100-page paper concluding: the skin of minnows and other fish harbours a substance — von Frisch called it Schreckstoff (fear or fright stuff) — that is released upon injury and triggers fearful behaviour and escape in conspecifics; the substance is not present in other organs, and is sensed through the nose; skin extracts from one species can sometimes, but not always, induce the fright response in others; a predator attack releases sufficient amounts of Schreckstoffin an injured individual to scare off the swarm.

The nature of this compound, and its significance, has been a matter of debate amongst fish biologists. A number of compounds have been suggested to be involved, in particular hypoxanthine- 3-N-oxide (H3NO), which is found in the mucus of many fish species. In 2012 a study of Schreckstoff in zebrafish showed that two other compounds, complex sugars called chondroitin-4-sulfate and chondroitin-6-sulfate, are involved in this species. In zebrafish, fear tastes sweet.

However, this doesn’t settle the question – what is the point of schreckstoff? Is it an alarm pheromone, or has the response to it simply evolved as a way of detecting whether a fish – virtually any fish – has been injured? If it’s part of a communication system, the sender – the injured fish – has to gain some kind of benefit for the system to have evolved and to be maintained.

In species where the response to danger is to form a shoal, this might be possible, as what Bill Hamilton called the ‘selfish herd’ means that you’re better off together rather than isolated. In this situation, an injured fish would gain benefit from having its conspecifics reduce the chance of it being predated by forming the shoal, while the intact fish would gain benefit by being alerted to the presence of a predator.

But many species do not shoal, and these lampreys certainly show no sign of responding in a coordinated way. In these species, which are probably the majority, it seems that being able to detect schreckstoff is simply a matter of detecting that another fish has been injured, and then finding a way to escape.

One thing that strikes me is that the response of the lampreys, while very robust, is also incredibly short-lived. After 20 seconds or so, they have calmed down. It’s not clear to me what’s going on here.

This video shows why lampreys are a menace in the Great Lakes water system, and how researchers from Michigan State University are using mating pheromones to trap them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMutVGTgWC0

This video, from the journal Current Biology, shows how researchers from Singapore discovered the nature of Schreckstoff in zebrafish:

Finally, given that Jerry has acquired a sudden interest in the lives and deaths of English medieval monarchs, it’s only right to note the link between lampreys and Henry 1 (1068-1135), who was King of England from 1100 (he was the fourth song of William the Conqueror and took over after the untimely yet convenient death of his brother William Rufus in a hunting accident). Henry was succeeded by his wife, Matilda, but his nephew Stephen tried to take over, and there was a long period known as The Interregnum in which England descended into civil war. This was only resolved in 1154 when Matilda’s son, Henry II (probably my favourite English king) succeeded Stephen.

Nearly two decades of chaos in England were caused by one thing: lampreys. Henry I, according to the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, died from eating ‘a surfeit of lampreys’. Henry rejected medical advice, nommed too many of these bizarre jawless vertebrates, and paid the price.

You have been warned.

Reference: Stenmyr, M and Maderspacher, F (2012) Pheromones: Fish Fear Factor Current Biology 22:R184-186

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