HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: z_mcwestkj@ccsvax.sfasu.edu
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: scorpion info needed & available
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:58:56 CST
Organization: Stephen F. Austin State University

 hello, scorp-fans!


i study scorpions. ok, call me wierd, but i'm sure most of you out
there study something that *most* people call *BIZARRE*...but

anyway (sorry for bad syntax/grammar...iin a rush),
i'm doing a little project on the distribution of the common striped

scorpion, _Centruroides vittatus_...and anything else anyone is willing
to throw in on scorpion *stuff*.

ii've been studying scorps since 1974, avidly since 1978, but i'm

now just a sophomore at Stephen F. Austin State Univ., Nacogdoches,

(naked roaches) Texas (finally).

email or post, i don't care...but posting would be fun for those who wish
to learn more about the *dastardly* little critters!  i'm full of

(it) information about scorpions and i'd love to share what i know...

i don't know ev'rything 'bout 'em (DUHHH) but i'll find out.



c'ya
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                    80         so, what's my address?
Kari James McWest               8   8   8      i'm clueless,
SFA Box 15543                       8          i guess look at the top
Nacogdoches, TX                  8  8  8       of the post! 
75962 (409) 598 6284                8
                                    !              defecation occcurs
*******************************************************************************
From: j-dunphy@UXA.CSO.UIUC.EDU (ju)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: GRE subject exam
Date: 7 Sep 92 01:38:16 GMT

I would really like to know if anyone has taken the new subject GRE:
Biochem, Cell and Molec Bio.  I'm planning to take it in october but as it
is new, there are no study guides available, thus I don't know what to 
expect.
If you have taken it, could you give me an idea of what to expect when I take 
it?  Please email me directly as I don't read newsgroups very often.
Thank you very much

Julianne Dunphy
j-dunphy@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu

-- 


--------------------------------
From: mrh@centerline.com (Mike Huben)
Subject: Re: Parasites of Houseflies
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 14:56:29 GMT

In article <Bu5ztz.I8L@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca> jdnicoll@watyew.uwaterloo.ca (James Davis Nicoll) writes:
>	Is there a recommended book for beginners on the subject of
>flies and their parasites? I smashed a fly recently that was packed
>with thread-like  worms, and I  am  asuming they were parasites of
>some kind.

I usually recommend "A Natural History Of Flies" by Harold Oldroyd.
Quite readable, with alot of the interesting and unusual biology mentioned.
Probably nothing much about their parasites though.

Mike Huben
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: help! gypsy moths invade italy!
Date: 11 Sep 92 21:45:48 GMT
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Diagnostics Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Originator: young@sasquatch

In article <1992Sep10.223440.1493@rdg.dec.com> winalski@adserv.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski) writes:

[...]

>Gypsy moths, incidentally, are not originally native to North America.  They
>were introduced to New England from somewhere in Europe in the late 1800s.
>They since have spread across all of northeastern North America.  This is part
>of the reason that they are such devastating pests here--they have few natural
>enemies in North America and thus there's little to keep the gypsy moth
>population stable.  It oscillates in boom/starvation cycles of about 10
>years.  During the overpopulation part of the cycle, there can be devastating
>defoliation, especially of oaks, birches, and pines.  New England looks to be
>set up for another big defoliation next summer.

	There's some sort of fungal or yeast infection that does a job on the
	caterpillars, too.  I seem to recall that an outbreak of it shortened
	an expected "boom" cycle in the Northeast recently.


-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,alt.discrimination
From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 18:10:48 GMT

In article <crtn0rm.sheaffer@netcom.com> sheaffer@netcom.com (Robert Sheaffer) writes:
>In article <1992Sep9.215226.5884@access.usask.ca> bickis@skmath3 (M. Bickis) writes:
>>A more important issue than gender- or culture-biased questions is that
>>the attitude towards writing multiple-choice tests is a contributing
>>factor in the score obtained, and this is one place that sex differences
>>appear.  Although males outperform females on the math SAT, this sex
>>difference does not carry through in university performance. 

>From which one can conclude either:

>A.     The SAT tests are biased in favor of men,

>                       or

>B.    Grades given in college math courses are biased in favor
>      of women.

>(Hint: you are "supposed" to conclude "A". Concluding "B" is Politically
> Incorrect.)

There are many other possibilities.  One which I have pointed out is that
the grades mean little.  Another is that they take different courses.
This latter is well exemplified in the proportion going on to graduate
work; those taking a math education program, for example, are totally
unprepared for graduate work.
-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)  
{purdue,pur-ee}!pop.stat!hrubin(UUCP)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: bickis@skmath3 (M. Bickis)
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Organization: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 18:07:57 GMT

Herman Rubin writes in response to me:
>>The issue is more complicated than that.  Granted that mathematics is 
>>context-free, it still takes less time to understand a word-problem if
>>you are familiar with the subject matter. The standardized tests are
>>written under time stress.  
>>
>In that case, the mathematics has not been properly taught.  

And who is to blame for that?

>While I am a strong critic of multiple choice tests, what is usually 
>called evidence in university performance is even worse.  Having taught
>for more than 40 years, I would totally condemn grades and the extreme
>damage they do to the learning process.  

So what do you suggest as an alternative?

>The only non-PC behavioral conclusion drawn in any of the articles in this
>string is that gender quotas are wrong.  This applies to any other type of
>quotas based on wishful thinking.

I can't say whether they are *morally* wrong, but they certainly do not
address the problem (if there is a problem).

From Roger Nelson: <<rdnelson@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>>

>If it is
>really unresolved, in general, whether ability or response to the tests is
>responsible for apparent differences, but the question persists, there
>is likely to be ongoing research.  What do you know about efforts to
>resolve these questions?  

Marcia Linn (mclinn@violet.berkeley.edu) is doing research on this issue. 
Perhaps she can send you some bibliography.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>bickis@math.usask.ca<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Mik Bickis       \,,,       .*#*.  \    University of Saskatchewan
Department of        \,,,  ^\\|//^  ```\   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Mathematics & Statistics \   )|(        ```\   Canada      S7N 0W0
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<S|A|S|K|A|T|C|H|E|W|A|N|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: winalski@adserv.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski)
Subject: Re: cells inside of cells?
Reply-To: winalski@adserv.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Nashua NH
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 21:51:41 GMT


In article <1992Sep15.181239.5679@das.harvard.edu>,
love@geophysics.harvard.edu (Jeff Love) writes:
|>
|>Are there any cells that live inside of other cells? 
|>(Not counting viruses!)
|>
I think the plasmodium that causes malaria does this--the protozoan lives inside
the red blood cells it attacks.

--PSW
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,alt.discrimination
From: bickis@skmath3 (M. Bickis)
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Organization: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 21:52:26 GMT

In article <BuBC3A.2FI@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> hrubin@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
 (Rubin Herman) writes in reply to wentzell@ace.acadiau.ca (LEEANN WENTZELL):
>>I recently read an article which pointed out the bias in the college 
>>entrance tests (GMAT?? Sorry, I'm not American) towards males. For example, 
>>there were many analogies which dealt in sports terms. [ ... ] Perhaps a 
>>little more fairness in these questions would lead to more women in 
>>traditionally male faculties, and, of course, vice versa.
>
>This is the sort of garbage which keeps popping up.  One of the questions
>cited was how many consecutive games would a basketball team need to win,
>with the won-lost record given, to achieve a 55% proportion of wins.  Now
>I would not object to denying credit in high school algebra to students
>who have difficulty with questions like that; it does not matter if it
>is basketball teams or sewing clubs.  Mathematics is applicable in any
>context, and the objects discussed do not matter.

The issue is more complicated than that.  Granted that mathematics is 
context-free, it still takes less time to understand a word-problem if
you are familiar with the subject matter. The standardized tests are
written under time stress.  

A more important issue than gender- or culture-biased questions is that
the attitude towards writing multiple-choice tests is a contributing
factor in the score obtained, and this is one place that sex differences
appear.  Although males outperform females on the math SAT, this sex
difference does not carry through in university performance.  So
although one can say that men are better (on average) than women on
writing SAT math tests, that does not imply that they are better at
doing mathematics.  Mathematicians rarely take multiple choice tests as
part of their work.

It can be much the same way in many measures of alleged sex differences
in cognitive abilities. Although such differences can be found, it is an 
unresolved question whether the sex difference is in the ability itself,
or in the response to the instrument doing the measuring.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>bickis@math.usask.ca<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Mik Bickis       \,,,       .*#*.  \    University of Saskatchewan
Department of        \,,,  ^\\|//^  ```\   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Mathematics & Statistics \   )|(        ```\   Canada      S7N 0W0
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<S|A|S|K|A|T|C|H|E|W|A|N|>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From: josh@cqs.washington.edu (Josh Hayes)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Sexual Selection
Date: 9 Sep 92 19:41:37 GMT
Organization: University of Washington

I would be cautious about confusing preference for novelty
with preference for a particular kind of trait.

Nancy Burley has done some intriguing experiments with zebra
finches, where she attempted to improve males' attractiveness
to females by using leg bands. They're more colorful, you see.
It turns out that certain colors helped, certain colors hurt,
and a few did nothing.

What was really interesting was that she did some sort of
control experiments where she put silly little things on the
birds, like little bird turbans, bells, and the like. The
females went wild. They loved it.

Now, these are traits that NO female in this lineage has ever
encountered. There's no way they could have some "residual"
preference for the trait - unlike the Xiphophorus study - and
hence females are simply interested in novel traits.

It would be interesting to know if this interest is heritable,
i.e. if Nancy put the same little hat on the male offspring of
the union of females with hatted males, would she be able to
drive the hat-preference to fixation? I don't think she's done
that experiment.....anyway, FYI....

Cheers,

Josh

--
Josh Hayes, Quantitative Sciences HR-20 U of Washington
josh@mowgli.cqs.washington.edu             206 685-2793
Exclaimer: Hey!           Plan: Birth School Work Death
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3178 sci.skeptic:16245 soc.men:16263 soc.women:16432 comp.ai.philosophy:6044
From: bill@nsma.arizona.edu (Bill Skaggs)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: missing verbs
Date: 10 Sep 92 22:48:13 GMT
	<1992Sep9.230021.5182@news.media.mit.edu>
	<BILL.92Sep9232609@ca3.nsma.arizona.edu>
	<1992Sep10.124516.3594@uwm.edu>
	<1992Sep10.180152.12137@newshost.lanl.gov>
Followup-To: comp.ai.philosophy
Organization: ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of
	Arizona

jlg@cochiti.lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes:

   > In any case, you began with a discussion about active vs. passive 
   > voice in the concept of "defeated" (a transitive verb), and now
   > you're arguing over a simple locative.  The concepts involved are
   > quite different.

I think there is a connection.  The point is that the structure of a
sentence often contains subtle information about the roles of its
elements.  In a locative sentence of the form "A is acorp B", B plays
the role of a landmark -- a large immovable object -- while A is a
movable thing located relative to B.  Thus English speakers will
usually, if pressed, admit that if "The bicycle is next to the house"
is true, then "The house is next to the bicycle" is also true, but the
latter form is *bad* because of its connotations.

Similarly in a sentence of the form "A glorped B", A plays the role of
agent and B plays the role of patient.  Even if there were a verb
"contraglorp" such that "B contraglorped A" was equivalent to "A
glorped B", the two could still not be used the same way because "B
contraglorped A" suggests that B is the agent.

	-- Bill

(Note that I've set the followup line to comp.ai.philosophy; this
discussion surely isn't relevant to the full range of newsgroups
currently involved.)
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3185 sci.skeptic:16263 soc.men:16286 soc.women:16451 alt.discrimination:4296
From: pepke@ds1.scri.fsu.edu (Eric Pepke)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,alt.discrimination
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Date: 11 Sep 92 03:02:18 GMT
Reply-To: pepke@ds1.scri.fsu.edu (Eric Pepke)
Followup-To: soc.men,soc.women,alt.discrimination
Organization: Florida State University, but I don't speak for them

Note the followup line.

In article <crtn0rm.sheaffer@netcom.com> sheaffer@netcom.com (Robert Sheaffer) writes:
>From which one can conclude either:
>A.     The SAT tests are biased in favor of men,
>                       or
>B.    Grades given in college math courses are biased in favor
>      of women.

Of course, there are more possibilities than this.  However, this fact does
not affect the main point.  When a measurement is found to act to the detriment
of a target group, it is not only assumed to be prima facie evidence of
discrimination, but the discrimination is assumed to occur precisely at the
point of measurement.  When it is found to act to the betterment of a target
group, it is assumed to be prima facie evidence of the group's innate 
superiority.

-EMP
Newsgroups: sci.bio
From: eln688w@fawlty8.eng.monash.edu.au (BWC Uy)
Subject: Wanted : Ultrasound image 
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 02:39:50 GMT





Do anoyone have some ultrasound image in any graphics format ?

Thanks in advance !

You can mail to me , my address is eln688w@fawlty1.eng.monash.oz.au

 
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3192 sci.skeptic:16273 soc.men:16297 soc.women:16463 alt.discrimination:4306
From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,alt.discrimination
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Date: 11 Sep 92 13:07:36 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department

In article <1992Sep10.180757.17433@access.usask.ca> bickis@skmath3 (M. Bickis) writes:
>Herman Rubin writes in response to me:
>>>The issue is more complicated than that.  Granted that mathematics is 
>>>context-free, it still takes less time to understand a word-problem if
>>>you are familiar with the subject matter. The standardized tests are
>>>written under time stress.  

>>In that case, the mathematics has not been properly taught.  

>And who is to blame for that?

This has been discussed in the education groups.  Mathematics, or anything
else, has not be taught that well at any time.  But about 60 years ago, a
school of educational philosophy got in which insisted on adjusting courses
to the level of the students, keeping children with their age group, bemoaning
subjective grading of exams, and arguing that if something cannot be taught
so that the great bulk of the students really get it, it should not be taught.

Before then, the teaching was not that great, but at least the testing was
reasonable.  Application of one course to another was done, although not
deliberately stressed.  Of course the results were not as good as rote, but
this only indicated to the educationists that they should be dropped.  The
same thing happened with word problems in algebra and with the axiom, theorem,
proof approach to geometry, and to English grammar.

At this point, there are relatively few teachers who are able to teach these
things.  The problem is not quickly curable, and nothing will be done except
locally until the body politic recognizes that the problem is there, and that
the schools of education and far too many of the current teachers and
administrators are the problem.

>>While I am a strong critic of multiple choice tests, what is usually 
>>called evidence in university performance is even worse.  Having taught
>>for more than 40 years, I would totally condemn grades and the extreme
>>damage they do to the learning process.  

>So what do you suggest as an alternative?

I would rely on massive comprehensives, but given under more relevant 
considerations than is now done in some parts of the world.  As for 
the type of performance to expect in such tests, I believe the best
use, and none too good, is in the Indian system, where 60% overall
is first class, 50% overall is second class, and 33% is pass.  Each
part, I believe, must be passed.
-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)  
{purdue,pur-ee}!pop.stat!hrubin(UUCP)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,comp.ai.philosophy
From: hillyard@msc.cornell.edu
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Originator: hillyard@tiger.msc.cornell.edu
Reply-To: hillyard@msc.cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell-Materials-Science-Center
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 03:52:29 GMT

From article <1992Sep6.154026.14965@techbook.com>, by szabo@techbook.com (Nick Szabo):
[...]
> to CS?  Two things that I know are important to CS, are verbal ability
> and arithmetic.  In fact, in daily software engineering work these are
      ^^^^^^^^^^
Picture hard working programmer typing away at his $10,000 terminal.
"Damn, if only I could add and subtract better, my programming would
go so much better."

From across the room.  "Hey, I had the same problem, until I got one of
these."

Flash to $5 calculator.

:)

SEH
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,comp.ai.philosophy
From: bhv@areaplg2.corp.mot.com (Bronis Vidugiris)
Subject: Re: missing verbs (was: Biological Sex Differences...)
Organization: Motorola, CCR&D, CORP, Schaumburg, IL
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 23:35:46 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.230021.5182@news.media.mit.edu> minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky) writes:
)In article <1992Sep9.162211.11503@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> bhv@areaplg2.corp.mot.com (Bronis Vidugiris) writes:

[Brian Evans really wrote:]

)>)I'd disagree.  It depends upon what is being spoken:
)>)
)>)I lost.
)>)I lost the game.
)>)I biffed it.
)>)I ate it.
)>)I bit it.
)>)I spooged.
)>)I fucked up.
)>)I bought the farm.

)Umm, no.  The problem was to replace phrases like "A defeated B" by a
)homologous phrase with the same meaning, like "B <verbed> A", where A
)and B are of equivalent status.  Really, half of the verbs seem to be
)missing, in this sense.  It is really hard to say that <Jack verbed
)Jim> in a case in which we regard Jack as coming out the worse for the
)event. 

Hmm.  I think there might be a slang expression for 'A deliberately lost'
though I can't quote one, but it probably wouldn't be in the A <verb> B form,
it would, like my (deleted) example "A 'choked'" or one of Brian's examples
above be in the A <past-tense-verb> form.

I did happen to think of an even simpler assymetry in the language, though,
one that doesn't need a 'B', only an 'A'.

A lied.

One could say 'A was truthful', but that's not a direct verb form.  One
doesn't say 'A truthed'.  


I'm not quite sure what the significance of this is, though.
Xref: sparky sci.bio:3138 sci.skeptic:16148 soc.men:16155 soc.women:16338 comp.ai.philosophy:6013
From: dwp@cci632.cci.com (Dana Paxson)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.skeptic,soc.men,soc.women,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Biological Sex Differences? ("Women only" excusable ?)
Summary: gender bias, metaphor
Date: 9 Sep 92 12:47:58 GMT
Followup-To: comp.ai.philosophy,sci.bio,soc.men,soc.women
Organization: [Computer Consoles, Inc., Rochester, NY

In article <1992Sep9.034138.15488@news.media.mit.edu> minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky) writes:
>In article <MELBY.92Sep9005959@dove.yk.Fujitsu.CO.JP> melby@dove.yk.Fujitsu.CO.JP (John B. Melby) writes:
>>>I recently read an article which pointed out the bias in the college
>>>entrance tests (GMAT?? Sorry, I'm not American) towards males. For example,
>>>there were many analogies which dealt in sports terms.
>>
>>Perhaps a wider array of colorful terms (specifically, synonyms of
>>"to bludgeon") are used in sports than in most other American cultural
>>establishments? :-)
>
>That reminds me of once noticing that the English lexicon of verbs is
>asymmetrical with respect to winning contests of bloody force.  You
>can say in only three words that "Boston clobbered Philadelphia" or
>"Martina defeated Chris".  But you cannot say "Chris (lost to)
>Martina" in three words with Chris occupying the subject-case-slot.
>

Actually, a Chicago sportswriter found a way to do just this when the
Chicago Bears football team was having a bad year.  Reflecting on their
record, he wrote something like "The Bears overwhelmed one opponent,
whelmed three, and underwhelmed the rest."  But this was a kind of
inventiveness I haven't seen since.

>More generally, I have found only a very few verbs that reflect any
>appreciable discredit upon the subject-agent.  It is almost impossible
>to admit to a fault without using the passive, or other form of
>periphrase to be evasive.  Could this be a subtle way of imparting a
>society's values to its members?  Weird.
>

In this light, George Luger's (and another author's) book _Metaphors We
Live By_ makes good reading, especially when he analyzes argument as 
war.  The original post concerning test questions suggests that the
metaphors that frame our cognition have significant gender bias at a
practical level.  Are there other good readings on this?

The phrase "waging peace" contains a kind of conflict between conflict 
and resolution; and this dissonance is interesting, inviting further
exploration.  Could it suggest that we are moving toward non-conflict-
based thinking?


Dana Paxson
Network Applications Systems Group
Northern Telecom
97 Humboldt Street
Rochester, New York  14609
1 716 654-2588
dwp@cci.com

Disclaimer:  The opinions expressed above are mine personally,
	     and do not necessarily reflect the views of my 
	     employer.
Newsgroups: sci.bio