This summer I had the chance to make two trips that inspired me to write this new post, a post that mixes history, evolution and biogeography. These trips unite both culture and evolutionary concepts, and exemplify how small, even minute outliers in our surroundings can carry the weight of thousands of years, to a time…
Category: Others
Our croaky Gods: frogs across creational myths
Frogs and toads, the Anurans. When Homo sapiens took their first steps across Eastern Africa, and later spread across the globe, anurans were already present in almost every corner of the world. Currently, the relation between humans and anurans is complicated. While we know more about them than we have ever known, our presence and…
Art and science: navigating the maze in the 19th century
Let’s begin with a little quiz… Which historical character said… Classification is Ariadna’s thread in the Dedalus of nature. So concise and poetic. Any guesses? The answer is Aurore Dupin, better known by her pen name: George Sand¹. Aurore Dupin (1804 – 1876) was a French writer, socialist and feminist. Her…
Prof. Hawking, I respectfully disagree………….about aliens
Prof. Stephen Hawking, who sadly passed away last month, was an example both as a person and a researcher. His work on black holes was praised and respected in the scientific community, and through his constant appearances in shows and documentaries he also became a prominent figure in pop culture of the last 50 years….
The scientific imaginary creatures (III): Snouters and the lost world of Hyi-yi-yi
An undiscovered island… After several days aimlessly wandering in a boat through the Pacific Ocean, Einar Pettersson-Skamtvist, a Swede soldier, finally set foot on an island. His escape from the Japanese prisoner’s camp had been a success. But luck is ephemeral and found himself drifting on a malfunctioning boat. On the verge of starvation and…
The scientific imaginary creatures (II): Floaters and other life in Jupiter
It’s 1980. The decade of the 70’s has come to an end, and with it, a time when space travel seemed to be achievable just in a few decades. Fueled by Apolo’s XI landing in 1969, science fiction had just experimented a sudden rise that had even been promoted to the mainstream media…
The scientific imaginary creatures (I): The history of Caminalcules
In On elephants and bacteria we always try to present unconventional theories, unique animals or just basically whatever has caught up our attention. In this new series of articles (we have not forgotten about Strangers in the animal tree….) we are going to look at the “pinnacle of imagination” in biology: the creation of scientific…
Greek mythology invades biodiversity!
Giving a name to an organism is one of the most thrilling moments for any biologist. Not only it’s a perfect opportunity to show off their inventive and imaginative skills, but it’s also a way to reach immortality (to put it in a poetic way). The organism will carry this name at least until someone…
On elephants and bacteria 