The Ed's Up #59

What Disco Fog Taught Us About Iguana Lungs

Froggys Fog Swamp Juice is billed as “the world’s greatest fog”. According to the manufacturers, it produces a long-lasting artificial mist that has been used in haunted houses, nightclubs, skating rinks, theme parks, and even police and fire departments. Colleen Farmer used it to study how an iguana breathes.  (Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)

The Fault in Our Stars Might be a Virus

In June 2013, starfish on the western coast of North America started wasting away. At first, their arms curled from the tips, and they tied themselves into pretzel-like knots. Their bodies deflated. White festering sores appeared on their flesh. As the lesions spread, their flesh rotted away and their arms fell off. Within days, healthy animals had disintegrated into mush. Now, a team of scientists have identified the most likely culprit behind the grisly outbreak—a new virus that they call sea star-associated densovirus, or SSaDV. (Image:Katie Campbell via Earthpix)

Alternatively, and probably preferably, read this long feature on the melting starfish by Elizabeth Lopatto. It's much better than my post.

Talks

• On 26th November, I'll be at Story Collider, talking about my love of David Attenborough, but also about my distate for having science heroes.
• On 12th December, I'll be at Bath Spa University doing the Discovering Science Christmas Lecture about science writing.
• On 16th December, I'll be doing Science Showoff, talking about oxytocin, the hype hormone.

More good reads

• The speculum’s history is steeped in racism and misogyny, but its design is unbeatable. Amazing piece by Rose Eveleth.
• "My sense of who my grandfather is can be transformed by a stranger writing on the Internet." How Wikipedia taught Ben Lillie that his Grandpa Freddy was a leading physicist. A beautiful story.
• What does personhood mean? All week, Virginia Hughes has been considering that question from different angles, with her usual flair. Here she is on conception, kids, dead bodies, and pets. Part five should be up later today.
• "Viewed from the side... their stories [are] exposed as pure human fantasy.” A wonderful piece from Summer Ash on constellations.
• “Nothing in our evolutionary history can have programmed Pinkney’s brain for a task so peculiar and demanding.” Geoff Watts on the remarkable brains of simultaneous interpretors
• “Mammoths are a huge part of my life, but cloning them is wrong,” says Tori Herridge
• “200,000 brave and/or insane people have supposedly signed up for a one-way mission to Mars.” Here’s the truth about Mars One and the people who signed up to it. By Elmo Keep
• "The problem is that the majority of life out there is pretty hideous." Simon Watts makes the case for saving ugly animals.
• Emily Graslie documents her trip to Peru, in this, the 100^th episode of the mighty Brain Scoop.
• Can viruses be good for you? Carl Zimmer takes a look at a provocative new study
• Gecko-inspired adhesives allow this guy to climb walls

More good links will be released in tomorrow's linkfest on Not Exactly Rocket Science.

You can also follow me on Twitter, find regular writing on my blog. If someone has forwarded this email to you, you can sign up yourself.

And that's it! Thanks for reading.

-Ed