HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: pad@galaxy.nsc.com (Paul Denny x8349)
Subject: Re: sexual selection
Keywords: peacock tails
Organization: National Semiconductor, Santa Clara
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 22:25:56 GMT

In article <94542@bu.edu>, colby@bu-bio.bu.edu (Chris Colby) writes:
> In article <1992Aug24.125723.139700@rrz.uni-koeln.de> kim@vax.mpiz-koeln.mpg.dbp.de writes:
> 
> >However, it seems to me that the female trait to select for  such
> >males cannot be fixed if you start with a population with females
> >indifferent towards this trait. 
> 
> Right, the female preference must predate the appearance of the
> male trait and the preference *must be fixed (or nearly so)* in the
> population. [stuff deleted / my emphasis...]

This seems to me to say that sexual selection requires that genes
that determine female preferences do not or cannot mutate to a 
preference for "fitter" males - why not?
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3054 sci.skeptic:15578 soc.men:15746 soc.women:15991
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
From: <RIPBC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Monday, 31 Aug 1992 11:12:20 EDT
 <92242.002910RIPBC@CUNYVM.BITNET><Btt9n1.F81@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

-There was a paper, summarized in _Science_, on this specific topic.  It found
-that for bright early teenagers in the Hopkins talent search, for which they
-used the SAT as a diagnostic tool, that there was no major difference by sex
-except that 7/8 of those scoring over 700 on the quantitative part were boys.
-
-This is a legitimate comparison, and according to the usual statistical
-"rules" establishes that there is a relationship between scoring high on
-the quantitative part of the SAT and these other traits among boys, but
-not among girls, and that such relationships were not found among those
-falling into other categories.
-
---
-Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399

It is nice to see something written by an obviously knowledgeable person.
I would like to give one warning.  Suppose a girl discovers that she likes
Math and has talent for it.  Should she be discouraged by the fact that
talent in Math occurs more frequently among boys?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!  By exhibiting talent and interest in Math the girl has
obviously established that her refernce group is NOT the group of all girls,
but (the sexually mixed) group of mathematically talented human beings.
There have been many distinguished women mathematicians including Emmy Noether
after whom Noetherian rings are named and Julia Robinson who played a
major role in the solution of Hilbert's tenth problem and was president
of the American Mathematical Society.

However, the statistical argument would apply if someone were to suggest
that half of all Math faculty should be women and if they are not, then this is
prima facie evidence of discrimination.  To set up a quota system of such
a sort would discriminate against talented boys and further damange US
Science which is already declining and would be worse off still if it were
not for the influx of Asian, European and Israeli talent (of both sexes).

Rohit Parikh
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: MIKEF@brownvm.brown.edu (Mike Fessler)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Need ideas for Biology demo...
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 19:20:25 EDT
Organization: Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island  USA
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: brownvm.brown.edu
News-Software: BNN via BNN_POST v1.0 beta

If you can get ahold of some sea urchins (a fair number, like 4-6 or so--
you need one male and one female, and there's no good way to sex them by eye)
you might try fertilizing sea urchin eggs under a microscope.
It's really something to see -- you can see the fertilization envelope rise
up from the surface of the eggs, if you're quick.

Basically, to obtain gametes, you inject about 3 mL of .5M KCl into the
urchin's body cavity. This stimulates smooth muscle contraction, causing the
sea urchins to spawn. Sperm is a white milky substance -- it should be
collected dry  by inverting the animal on a beaker.  Eggs are orange
and jelly-like, and should be collected by inverting the animal on a beaker
full to the brim with seawater (I can post the recipe for artificial seawater
if you're interested).

The rest of the procedure simply involves diluting out the eggs and sperm
(the sperm much more than the eggs), adding sperm, and stirring gently, taking
samples before and after -- if conditions are right, the majority (90%) of the
eggs should be fertilized inside of one minute.

If there's further interest, I can dig up our lab's protocol and post
recipes for seawater, the proper dilution for gametes, etc...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Fessler                                   mikef@brownvm.brown.edu
    Lo alecha hamlecha ligmor, v'lo atah ben chorin lehibatel mimena
            "It is not your obligation to complete the task;
              but neither are you free to desist from trying."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: robison1@husc10.harvard.edu (Keith Robison)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Exotic pets (was Re: bacteria as pets)
Date: 26 Aug 92 04:44:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc10.robison1.714804281

bl275@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dan Diaz) writes:


>I had the thrill of spending a few days on Vieques Island a couple of years
>ago.  The island has one of the few phosphorescent bodies of water in the
>world.  Of course it's not the bay, but the dinoflagellates in the water
>which cause it to glow.  I have also visited La Parguera, which is on the
>mainland of Puerto Rico.  It too has glowing cooties, but is nowhere near
>as spectacular as Mosquito Bay on Vieques, which is off the coast of Puerto
>Rico.  It was neat to see several people dive off the boat, their bodies
>forming a trail of light.  Its best to visit on a moonless night, but the
>critters are bright enuf to be seen even in a full moon.
>-- 
>Dizzy Dan   Department of Biochemistry and Mixed Drinks
>Get off my Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
>ddiaz@cwru.bitnet   bl275@cleveland.freenet.edu
>"If God had meant for us to get up early, sunrise would be noisy"

You don't have to go to such exotic locales -- watching the
"dinos" is a favorite evening activity during Harvard retreats
held at Woods Hole (MA, the southwest extremum of Cape Cod).

One of the profs here (Woody Hastings) works on dinos.  For a neat
demo, he takes you into the dark culture room where large flasks
of Gonyaulax are growing.  Rapping the first flask into the next
sends a visible wave down the series of flasks. (They also glow
just from swishing the flask).


Keith Robison
Harvard University
Department of Cellular & Developmental Biology
Department of Genetics / HHMI

robison@ribo.harvard.edu 
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: dmiller@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Daniel Miller)
Subject: Re: Migratory habits of Mediterranean eels
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 92 08:49:03 EDT

In article <1992Aug31.123639.12993@cco.caltech.edu> kate@cithe501.cithep.caltech.edu (Kate Scholberg) writes:
>Maybe I should be posting to alt.folklore.marine or something,
>but anyway, here goes...
>
>Recently an Italian collaborator of mine claimed that the eels caught 
>in the Mediterranean near Italy have actually migrated from the
>Gulf of Mexico.  Does anyone know if this is true?  Can anyone
>provide me with, or direct me to, any further information on
>eels, especially those of the Mediterranean?
>Thanks,
>Kate Scholberg.

Yes, this is true.  Both the European eel (Anguilla anquilla) and the 
American eel (Anguilla rostrata) spawn in the Sargasso Sea.  The larvae
(called leptocephali) drift with the current up the North American
coast over to Europe and down the coast of spain.  Once the young eels
reach the coast, the metamorphose into an elver (miniature adult).  The
adults live in freshwater, then migrate back to the Sargasso Sea.

There is question on whether these are actually two species, or one.

They are distinguised only by the number of vertebrae.  However, 
the number of vertebrae can be manipulated by controlling the 
temperature during development.  Thus, the European eel may be the 
same species as the American eel, the only differences brought about
by the cooler temperatures while crosssing the North Atlantic.

In fact, Tucker's hypothesis states that No Eurpean eels survive the
return journey to the Sargasso Sea, and that all eels are derived 
from North American stocks.  He suggests that European eels are 
simply American eels that drift to Europe 'by accident'.

All in all, an interesting story.

Cheers,
Dan.
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel J. Miller  SUNY College of Environmetal Science and Forestry
dmiller@rodan.acs.syr.edu
"A peaceful place, or so it looks from space
From: yuchou@seahawk.lanl.gov (Hu Yuchou)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Toads...going going gone?
Date: 2 Sep 92 17:02:14 GMT
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory

On a related topic, does anyone know the temperature range under which
frogs survive in USA?  The reason I'm asking is that here in Los Alamos,
elevation 7300 feet, there is no trace of frogs.  Could it be that it is
too cold in winter time for them (-20 C).

Yuchou
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: srutt@boulder.Colorado.EDU (DNA Kaifeng)
Subject: Suspended Drosophimation
Summary: freezing Drosophila?
Keywords: drosophila
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date:  4 Sep 92 04:27:22 GMT

Is there a method known for storing Drosophila stocks? If not,
then would such a method be of use to Drosophila biologists?
The reason I ask is that I've been culturing a strain of Dros-
ophila as food for the inhabitants of my vivarium and I thought
it might be nice to "freeze" some just in case my supply ran
out accidentally, then I could simply "thaw" the live emergency
batch. I've been playing around with some possibilities for a
while now and I think I've arrived at a method that seems to work.
I haven't yet determined the percent survival versus time curve
or anything even marginally quantitative. Thanks,

                              -steve

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@******************************************
@ email: srutt@beagle.colorado.edu @* "Nothing in biology makes sense except *
@   Dept. of Molecular, Cellular   @*  in the light of evolution."           *
@    and Developmental Biology     @*  - T. Dobzhansky                       *
@ University of Colorado, Boulder  @*                   Opinions are my own. *
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@******************************************
From: moore@aiag.enet.dec.com
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Toads...going going gone?
Date: 31 Aug 92 21:39:05 GMT
Reply-To: moore@aiag.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Marlboro, MA



       I would appreciate any information (references, studies, general
knowledge) regarding the habitat of the common toad. I live in Massachusetts
and over the last eight years toads in may neighborhood have become very scare.

        My goal is to establish better environment for what ever toads are
left. In particular a pool for egg laying/tadpole rearing in the spring and
more hiding places for the toads to stay in during the day.

        One on my theories (besides acid rain) is that people with swimming
pools destroy large numbers of tadpoles when they "clean" out ther pools in
late May to early June. The pool covers form a pool of water accessible to
the toads and I assume attractive. I think most people just pump the pool
cover out on the lawn killing large numbers of tadpole. Other "natural pool"
sites have been filled in as due to development and may not seen as attractive
to the mating toads.

        Next spring I hope to persuade the pool owners in my neighborhood
to catch or allow me to catch the tadpoles before they are destoryed and
I want to now what would make a satisfactory enviroment with minimal impact
to my yard. What should the ph be? How deep/shallow and big/samll should the
pool be. What predators should be deterred, etc? What do the need for food.

        Lastly my town sprays for mosquitos. Is this spay hazardous to toads
either chemically or because the food supply is reduced? Have there been any
studies concerning the contributing factors toward the dissappering toad
population.

        I have fond memories of going on toad hunts in my youth and always
finding some under logs or rocks or at night by street lights. My youngest
daughter who is seven has never help or seen a good sized toad.
I hope to change that!

        Thanks in advance.
                
	Jim Moore
From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Migratory habits of Mediterranean eels
Date: 4 Sep 92 03:18:43 GMT
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
Cc: minsky

In article <1992Sep2.084903.6152@newstand.syr.edu> dmiller@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Daniel Miller) writes:
>In article <1992Aug31.123639.12993@cco.caltech.edu> kate@cithe501.cithep.caltech.edu (Kate Scholberg) writes:
>>
>>Recently an Italian collaborator of mine claimed that the eels caught 
>>in the Mediterranean near Italy have actually migrated from the
>>Gulf of Mexico.  Does anyone know if this is true?  Can anyone
>>provide me with, or direct me to, any further information on
>>eels, especially those of the Mediterranean?
>>Thanks,
>>Kate Scholberg.
>
>Yes, this is true.  Both the European eel (Anguilla anquilla) and the 
>American eel (Anguilla rostrata) spawn in the Sargasso Sea.  The larvae
>(called leptocephali) drift with the current up the North American
>coast over to Europe and down the coast of spain.  Once the young eels
>reach the coast, the metamorphose into an elver (miniature adult).  The
>adults live in freshwater, then migrate back to the Sargasso Sea.
>
>There is question on whether these are actually two species, or one.
>
>They are distinguised only by the number of vertebrae.  However, 
>the number of vertebrae can be manipulated by controlling the 
>temperature during development.  Thus, the European eel may be the 
>same species as the American eel, the only differences brought about
>by the cooler temperatures while crosssing the North Atlantic.
>
>In fact, Tucker's hypothesis states that No Eurpean eels survive the
>return journey to the Sargasso Sea, and that all eels are derived 
>from North American stocks.  He suggests that European eels are 
>simply American eels that drift to Europe 'by accident'.

Recently the Pacific eel analogue was discovered (K. Tsukamoto, Nature
30 April 1992) in which the Japanese eels spawn at around 15N, 140E,
west of the Mariana islands.  The phenomena is accompanied by a
somewhat similar configuration of ocean currents.  Tsukamoto thinks
that in the Pacific the migration boundaries seem more related to
salinity, in contrast the the temperature constraint in the Atlantic.

In any case this rasies a nice question.  The Atlantic is barely 100
Megayears old, if I remember right -- and the eeels are verl much
older than that.  This makes it plasuible that they started out merely
crossing some pond in the interior of the supercontinent Pangea (sp?).
But the Pacific might be too old for this.  Anyone out there know how
old is that region between Asia and the Marianas -- or whether the
continental drift could have been a plausibly cause for separation of
these different eel families?  

Dan: do you happen to know how distinct are the Japanese and
American/European species?  (If we come up with any good theories, the
Emperor of Japan would be interested.  In fact, with suitable bait of
this sort, maybe I could get tempt him onto the net.)

Hmm.  I said 'eeels' above.  To nice to correct.  Words can have
different numbers of vertebrae too. :-)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.bio.technology
From: swf@teradata.com (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Migratory habits of Mediterranean eels
Date: 2 Sep 92 17:16:01 GMT
Reply-To: swf@tdat.teradata.com (Stanley Friesen)
Organization: NCR Teradata Database Business Unit

In article <1992Aug31.123639.12993@cco.caltech.edu> kate@cithe501.cithep.caltech.edu (Kate Scholberg) writes:
|Recently an Italian collaborator of mine claimed that the eels caught 
|in the Mediterranean near Italy have actually migrated from the
|Gulf of Mexico.  Does anyone know if this is true?  Can anyone
|provide me with, or direct me to, any further information on
|eels, especially those of the Mediterranean?

I am not sure about the Mediterranean eels, but I do know that eels are
amoung the champion migrators in the sea, and that some do migrate from
the U.S. coastal area to somewhere in Europe.

-- 
sarima@teradata.com			(formerly tdatirv!sarima)
  or
Stanley.Friesen@ElSegundoCA.ncr.com
From: bp938@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey G. Thomas)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: definitions of Wright and Gram tests
Date: 4 Sep 1992 14:40:32 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: bp938@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey G. Thomas)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


I'm reading the rules for the Clinical Laboratory Improvements
Act which refer to standard Wright and Gram tests.  Since I don't
have a biology reference text, what are the definitions of these
tests?  I read a text on Clinical Laboratory Medicine which refers
to Wright blood smears.

J.T.
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: hemant chikarmane (hemant@mbl.edu)
Subject: winogradski column
Organization: marine biological lab
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 92 15:34:44 GMT

I received a large number of requests on how to make a Winogradski column.
Boy, people must be interested in bacteria.  Rather than send the info to
each requester, I will post the details.  Give me a few days.


Hemant Chikarmane
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole MA 02543

hemant@mbl.edu     (508) 548-3705
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: torban@csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au (Torban Bennett)
Subject: Re: How many people?
Organization: Murdoch University
Date: 28 Aug 92 09:51:54 GMT

hughes@dogwood.botany.uga.edu (Wayne Hughes) writes:

>In article <14369@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu> pburch@bcm.tmc.edu (Paula Burch) writes:
>>
>>Can anyone give me a quick idea of how many people have ever lived?
>>Are half the people who have ever been born alive now, for example?

>   Arthur C. Clarke cites the figure 100 billion, but of course it 
>   depends on when you start counting.  (I believe that he used it as
>   a poetic device, comparing the number of humans who have lived to
>   the number of stars in the galaxy, or some such silliness.)

   "Behind every man now alive stand thirty ghosts, for 
    that is the ratio by which the dead outnumber the 
    living.  Since the dawn of time, roughly a hundred
    billion human beings have walked the planet Earth."

  So begins the foreword to "2001" by Arthur C.Clarke  (Published in 1968)
The next paragraph goes on to say that this is around the same as the number
of stars in the Milky Way.
(By some bizzare coincidence, I have just finished reading it today, so had
 it with me at uni!)

Ok, I know this isn't alt.talk.books.sci-fi, but having re-read it, I was
very impressed.  Go out and read it ! 

Torban Bennett       torban@murdoch.edu.au
Murdoch University,
Western Australia.  "You know that I have the greatest possible enthusiasm 
                     for this mission" - Hal
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: definitions of Wright and Gram tests
Date: 4 Sep 92 16:07:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: pixel.1992Sep4.160713.20846
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Diagnostics Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Originator: young@sasquatch

In article <187sh0INN6ps@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> bp938@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey G. Thomas) writes:
>
>I'm reading the rules for the Clinical Laboratory Improvements
>Act which refer to standard Wright and Gram tests.  Since I don't
>have a biology reference text, what are the definitions of these
>tests?  I read a text on Clinical Laboratory Medicine which refers
>to Wright blood smears.

	Wright's stain is a staining mixture of eosinates of polychromed
		methylene blue used in staining of blood smears.

	Gram's stain is a method for differential staining of bacteria;
		smears are fixed by flaming, stained in a solution of
		crystal violet, treated with iodine solution, rinsed,
		decolorized, and then counterstained with safranin O; Gram-
		positive organisms stain purple black and Gram-negative
		organisms stain pink; useful in bacterial taxonomy and
		identification, and also in indicating fundamental
		differences in cell wall structure.

	[Note: the above was taken from Stedman's Medical Dictionary.]


-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: happy@garfield.catt.ncsu.edu (Rusty Soots)
Subject: Need ideas for Biology demo...
Organization: Computer and Technologies Theme Program, NCSU, Raleigh
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 18:12:10 GMT

  I have to do a demonstration , for biology, in my teaching materials
class and I was wondering if anyone out there had any good ideas.  The
demo can't last more than `OC15
sorry backspace doesnt work.......more than 15 minutes.  Also, primitive
equipment is the only stuff available for lworking in the lab.  I'd appreciate
any ideas!  Thanks again!

Rusty Soots -- North Carolina State University -- Science Education and
Microbiology -- Grad. Date 5/93...yeah!!!!!!!!!
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3017 rec.gardens:6230
Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Tuesday, 25 Aug 1992 16:55:41 EDT
From: <RPT378@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: sci.bio,rec.gardens
Subject: Re: bacteria as pets

Jack asks about growing weird bacteria at home....While I've never heard of
anyone with this kind of interest (except for us professional microbe freaks),
I think the biggest problem in working with them at home would be in establishi
ng and maintaining a sterile environment in which to grow the beasts.  We
normally go through an enrichment process using material we suspect contains
the beasts of interest in which it and most of the other microbes are grown
together.  Then we select for the ones we want by placing the whole batch into
a selective medium, containing only oil, for instance, as food.  Then, what gro
ws is assumed to be oil eaters.  Since all transfers and the materials in which
the beasts are grown need to be sterile, a lot of work has to be done to ensure
this condition.  This might be difficult to do at home.  Look at a text on
microbial ecology such as the one by Richard Atlas or the one by T. Hattori.
These give one some idea of the diversity of the bacteria that are present in
everyday materials in our environment; close to where anyone lives.  You might
enjoy putting together a Winogradsky column.  These are fun and are probably
covered in these books.  You will get nice colors that represent the growth of
some of the kinds of bacteria you mentioned in your post.  At any rate, I
applaud your interest in the wee beasties.  I know that there are microbial
ecologists/physiologists at the University of Glasgow.  Check them out.  They
are probably as crazy about the microbes as you appear to be.  Best of luck,
Larry Zibilske, Prof. of Soil Microbiology, U. Maine