Long Live the Mycophycophyta!

I bet you have no idea what that word means, but don’t worry, I’m getting there. Mycophycophyta is the phylum name for Lichens. Since I took a Fungi course last fall, I thought I would elaborate on some interesting points I learned about lichens, since they really are pretty cool. Lichens, in case you were not aware, are a mutualistic symbioses between a fungus and either an algae species or a species of cyanobacteria. The fungus brings in the water and minerals, while the algae/cyanobacteria brings home the carbon compounds. Most lichens are 95% fungus, so the fungus gets to be boss and determine the shape of the organism. There are classifications based on shape, but we won’t get into that here, since that is not interesting to most people. However, lichens do not have any roots or absorptive organs, and live without soil, so they are dependent on rain for nutrients. This makes them very sensitive to pollution; so if you see them in an area, it is a good indicator of clean air.

Now for some interesting facts:


- Usnea fillipendula (“fishbone beard lichen”) contains usnic acid, which is a natural antibiotic. It has been used since ancient times throughout the world as a remedy.
- Cladinas are the lichens you see used for shrubbery on your grandfather’s train set.
- Parmelia omphalodes and P. saxatilis have been used by the Scots, Irish, and Laplanders to make dye. However, lichens only grow 1-10 mm a year, so these species tend to quickly become rare, and synthetic dyes are more commonly used now.
- Litmus paper is made from lichen.
- Due to the slow growth rate of lichens, they have been used to date rock surfaces (such as cracks caused by faults and shifting bedrock). Lichens have also been used to date surfaces when carbon dating fails. A minimum date is determined using the diameter of the largest lichen at a site. For more, see: Armstrong, R.A. (2004). Lichens, Lichenometry and Global Warming. Microbiologist, 9: 32-35.
- Lichens are also being explored as a natural alternative for herbicides and pesticides. Usnic acid, a product of some lichens, inhibits cartenoid synthesis, which bleaches the leaves of some plants (this results in a decline in chlorophylls and carotenoids). Synthetically created versions have already been used in creating herbicides. Other lichen products, such as depsides, barbatic acid, and lecanorin, act as PSII inhibiting herbicides, through the interruption of photosynthetic electron transport in chloroplasts. For more information, see: Becker 2001 and Dayan and Romagni 2001.
- Lichens are not poisonous, and can be considered ‘edible’, if, say, you are hopelessly lost in the woods and out of food; or dropped out of a helicopter by aliens with no supplies and have no idea what any of the plants around you are (and don’t go by what the animals are eating; their digestive systems are different than ours).

In Which I Become A Music Critic

I wouldn’t presume to review an album I hadn’t even heard yet . I’m not that ‘educated’ (or that stupid). However, I do consider myself to have a relatively wide taste in music, and having played flute, trumpet, and percussion from elementary school through college, I consider that I have had enough experience to not only know what I like, but to also have enough experience to know what sounds good and what doesn’t. Thusly, (thank you Bucky Katt ). I am going to expound upon a few things that bother me, which I think the music world should not only read, but immediately implement upon finishing the last sentence. Because I am a consumer, and what I say matters, so there.

1) Although, as a general populous Americans may seem stupid, and television shows and personal interactions may tend to confirm this, this does not mean that we also want our music to be stupid. If I can predict the end point of every single line of your song, then I don’t want to listen to it. I do not want to listen to something that I could have written, because then I would be the singer/songwriter/rockstar and you would be the environmental scientist (or working at your local fast food joint. Your pick). Most Christian worship songs are good (or bad) examples of this. Although there are some better ones out there (‘Grace like Rain’) comes to mind. But mainstream music has plenty as well, mostly in the pop genre, which I try to avoid.

2) This may be picky, but don’t make the lyrics particularly annoying. For instance, I am a fan of Feist in general. But the lyrics to “1234” bother me. Every single time. I mean, “One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, and ten/Money can't buy you back the love that you had then” What happened to seven and eight? Does she have a personal vendetta against those numbers? Or was it just that they didn’t fit in with the melody? Either way, I want to somehow squeeze them in whenever I hear that song.

3) Don’t just sing the same lyrics over and over because you ran out of things to say. Unless you are Radiohead , and it’s somehow being used to make a point. Or, in the case of Sons and Daughters (Decemberists) and it’s part of a very successful, very melodic round.

4) This may be forgiven in some instances, if you can get me to forget the lyrics in view of the music. For instance, and I have a hunch it’s the overwhelming baseline, but Finger Eleven’s Paralyzer does this. Even though they repeat the chorus over and over….

5) Call me picky, but not only do I want interesting lyrics, I also want interesting music. If the music is only playing the same melody line as that sung by the lyricist, then I am b-o-r-e-d. Put in a syncopation, a rhythm section, something. For instance, in 15-Step (Radiohead, In Rainbows), the song key signature is 5 (1-2-3-4-5), not the typical 4-time (1-2-3-4) of almost every other rock/pop song played today. Count it, conduct it (if you truly are a nerd, like me), it is. Amaze your friends (or not, if you don’t want them to call you a nerd. Unless they, too, were in marching band. In which case, they may be impressed).

So, I’m done ranting and raving now. Time for all you people in the music industry to go out there and change things. Simon says.

I am Wonderwoman!

Okay, maybe not. But I do have superpowers. I knew from a young age that I had the ability to talk to animals, which was later confirmed in an on-line test. A quick google or yahoo search of on-line test + superpower will lead to lots and lots of free tests that will show you your secret (waiting to be unleashed) superpower right now. Of course, they may also want some personal information, so they can email you forever and ever about any other tests that you didn't know you needed to take right this instant!

Since becoming a mom, I have discovered other superpowers that I didn't know that I had. Like my superfast reflexes for catching things (food, toys, drinks that are ready to spill, open bottles of paint) before they fall off the table, the ability to forsee an accident before it happens, etc. Even more recently, now that my child is into craft-type things, I can no longer fool her with watercolors (who introduced her to 'real' paint?). So it happens that I have discovered I have the amazing power to remove BLACK paint from a LIGHT BROWN carpet. Even after it has dried. I am that good.

However, I do not have the power to transcend the parent-child time continuum of unquantifiable confusion, in that I have yet to be able to explain the term 'mad skillz' to my daughter. She wants to know 1)What they are, exactly; and 2)Where I keep them. If this is your secret superpower, please, come to my rescue!

Happy Birthday Chickie!

Today is Chickie's 4th birthday, so I thought I would put down a few things that she's been doing lately:

1) Two weeks ago I made her a paper crown, which we decorated together. She put the crown on and declared herself "King" and Toby (the male Corgi) her "princess."
2) I bought her some animal crackers last week. She eats them, but only after prancing them down the hallway, making whatever respective animal noise is appropriate.
3) Last week, we had the following conversation (gotta love the logic):
Chickie: Mommy, do cows eat yogurt?
Me: I don't know, I've never tried to feed yogurt to a cow.
Chickie: I think they do. And blueberries. Also, they eat blueberry yogurt.

Neuro musing

So, I just finished a 6-week summer class, Neuroscience. First, let me recommend not taking this as a summer course (imagine having to read six science chapters in one week, write two discussion posts, respond to at least one of someone else's, plus two short essays. Also there's two tests and a 5-10 page paper in those 6 weeks). Let me also not recommend doing it on-line. It was much more fun when I took it as an undergrad. However, I did learn some things, like all the weird diseases that they talk about on House (for example, I now know most of the tell-tale symptom's of Cushings disease). Also, I know why one might need a lumbar puncture, and what levels of molecules and antibodies should be in the serum, as well as what abnormal numbers are indicative of different symptomatic/disease states (Such as meningitis vs. multiple sclerosis). So, overall, I can be a more informed tv-watcher.
Go me!



However, perhaps one of my favorite moments of reading (which I did lots and lots and lots of in the past six weeks) was when I ran across the structure named the "nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis" (see above picture). I mean, who got away with that? And, just so you know, it has subsequently been renamed the "medullary reticular formation." I guess the first name didn't sound scientific enough for somebody.

Some Quotes

Okay, so it's coming to the end of the semester, and apparently the people who write textbooks seem to think no one is going to read the last chapters. So they throw sentences in there that really probably should not have been put in there. Or maybe it was just late when the publisher was reviewing it, and they decided not to review the last chapter, or whatever, what do I know about book publishing? Anyway, here's the quotes:

“We use intelligence to structure our environment so that we can succeed with less intelligence. Our brains make the world smart so we can be dumb in peace!”
- Andy Clark, 1997. Being There, MIT Press

“As a general rule, graphics packages offer sets of colors that are recommended for producing a particular overall look for your presentation. We suggest that you choose a particular set, and use exactly those colors, rather than designing your own combination. The color combination that you select are, with all due respect, likely to be awful, no matter what your drunken friends think.”
- Taken from “Presentation of Results” Quinn, G. and Keough, M. 2003. Experimental design and data analysis for biologists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

“If ‘good design’ were evidence of a kindly, omnipotent designer, would ‘inferior design’ be evidence of an unkind, incompetent, or handicapped designer?”
- Futuyma, D. 2005. Evolution. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, Inc.

Because

- Because I wrote this really huge thing for work today that involved one case, and had papers spread all over my desk that kept getting themselves confused, and I was scared that someone was going to sneeze on them...
- Because I just finished a 13-page draft of my Biometry (statistics for biologists) final paper, in which I had many layers of paper and math and paper and math and thinking, in which I was afraid someone might sneeze on my brain...

- Because it's Friday, and I need some serenity, and I took this picture and I like it, and it's nice to live 10 minutes from a free state park where you can take your dogs hiking when you want to.