Finding platypus venom. Platypuses[1] are one of Australia’s oddest creatures. They’re furry, mainly nocturnal aquatic creatures that swim with their eyes shut paddling with their webbed front feet and steering (or braking) with their rear feet. Their homes are burrows in the river banks. While not endangered, water pollution is an issue for their survival.[2] (Source: Australian Wildlife.) Platypuses are monotremes, best known as mammals that lay eggs.[3] Their duck bill-like snout is famous world-wide. Important for our story, males squirt venom from a venom gland through a spur on their hind legs. Toxins and venoms have useful medical applications. As an hypothetical example,[4] consider one way evolution might result in a (snake) venom molecule that induces heart attacks in victims.
Venom spur on hind leg Thus, we can imagine (some) venoms as modified regulatory molecules that have become particularly potent in their effect. Making a cDNA library (Source: Sid Thomas’ website.) Platypus skeleton. Footnotes 1. 2. Scienceblogging: SciBlogs NZ – a Q&A with Peter Griffin. This is the series of interviews with people doing interesting things in the current science blogging ecosystem. Today I got to ask Peter Griffin of SciBlogs NZ a few questions. Hi, thank you for taking your time for answering a few questions about the past, present and future developments of the science blogging ecosystem. Let me begin with you – can you tell our readers, please, who are you, where you come from and how you got into science blogging? I’m Peter Griffin, former technology journalist for the New Zealand Herald, currently the manager of the Science Media Centre of New Zealand and and founder and editor of Sciblogs.co.nz I used to blog on technology for the New Zealand Herald and saw a need to coordinate some of the science blogging activity underway in New Zealand and help new scientists get into blogging – hence the formation of Sciblogs, which was modeled on Scienceblogs.com How do you personally read science blogs?
Tell us a little bit more about Sciblogs NZ. Like this: Canterbury Earthquake - first flyover of fault trace. A brief history of science, part 3. For those following SisyphusRedeemed’s on-going series of videos on the history of science, part three is now available. (Parts one and two can be found in the links below.) Part three covers the Copernican revolution through to ’The Neo-Darwinian Synthesis’: He is, of course, only picking up on the very best-known highlights of historical science, but it’s a start if you’re new to it!
There are excellent books covering a much wider cast of individuals, events and findings. When I have time I’ll put up a few I know of. (Recommendations welcome.) For those new to the term, the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis – also known as ‘the modern synthesis’ – is the new (it’s now old!) There are posts in the works – I promise – but I’m staggering under an indecent workload, and my blogging may be a little erratic until this subsides. Other articles on Code for life: An history of ancient science in less than ten minutes A brief history of science, part 2 Preserving endangered species – of gut microbes. SciBlogs - New Zealand's largest science blog network. Code for Life. Knowing the history of your thing – whatever it is – helps you understand why things are the way they are, by showing you how things once were and what made them change.
Frequent readers will know I am a fan of science history – at least the fun bits! Not too long ago I wrote that I wanted to explain one reason why I thought more people learn the history of science. In the first of a series of posts* bringing you a video series showing a (very) brief history of science I wrote: I’d also like to offer some thoughts on why scientists and science writers should bother learn the history of science, but they’re for another day. Alison suggested (in the comments): Top of the list of why learning the history of science is a Good Thing: it gives you an (enhanced) understanding of how science actually works I replied: Absolutely, that’s one reason.
Alison is right that this is a key reason to learn the history of science. This is that later post, so let me share with you my other reason. Footnotes Related.