It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of “things in jars”. Not only does the science dork in me find preserved organisms wildly interesting (have you ever seen a up close?) but there’s something about the aesthetic of preservation that really appeals to the design in me. The variety of glass containers, handwritten labels, and just the sheer number of the collection. Apparently, I’m not alone. Check out the work of Andy Paiko:
While I’m not neat enough to have anything of this caliber in my house, I am fortunate enough to live in an area with many free museums. My favorite is The Naturalist Center in Leesburg, Virginia. While the various Smithsonian buildings in Washington, DC are frequented and crowded, this little gem is very low-key and volunteer run. Not to mention, chock full of things in jars, taxidermy and other examples of the diverse biology of the world.

its hard to think of writes “There’s an interesting story up at Nature News about scientific ethics. It seems that while one group of scientists is figuring out details about aetosaurs (ancient crocodiles), another group in New Mexico is repeatedly taking credit for their work and naming the new animals they ‘discover’. It also looks like the say government, which has been asked to intervene, is trying to sidestep the issue. ‘The New Mexico cultural-affairs department, which oversees the museum, conducted a review of two of the instances last October and concluded that the allegations were groundless. But some experts call that review a whitewash, claiming that it failed to follow accepted practices of US academic institutions faced with claims of misconduct. Now all three cases are before the Ethics Education Committee of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, a professional organization based in Northbrook, Illinois, which is awaiting responses from the New Mexico team before making a ruling.’ How widespread is this kind of thing?”

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, commonly known as the

I have observed many flat-headed cats in my life, yet no one has given me credit for raising public awareness of the phenomenon known as “feline planicephaly”, otherwise known as “cat flatheadedness”.

Here is an kitten suffering from feline planicephaly: