science
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There are a number of words that bother me in common parlance. Let’s begin with Superpredator: The word “superpredator”, now almost exclusively used to report on wolf reintroduction in the American west, originated with a racially charged criminal theory in the 1990s designed to demonize juvenile offenders and imprison children for their entire lives. This…
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Every weird kid I’ve ever known selects one worldwide disaster and gets way too into it. I am, unfortunately, the weird kid who never grew out of the practice. I started with the Black Plague, then moved on to the geography of syphilis, then meandered around in the world of parasites and prions and smallpox…
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It is 0730 and I have prions on my mind again. Have I posted about this particular interest before? Probably, somewhere, I’m not going to dig it up. On this morning, I’ve got prions on my mind as a curse. Consider this: You and your flock of sheep take up residence in a lovely little…
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I finished Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus a couple days ago. It’s a book I was looking forward to, given how prominent rabies is in our culture and how intensely its intertwined in horror fiction and folklore — ranging from parallels with vampire and werewolf lore to influencing the behavior…
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I had plans yesterday. I had plans to finish the next chapter of Dogstar, to figure out the process of formatting and printing the beta version of my first novel, to get an oil change. Guess how many of those things I did. I woke up around 10, ready to take on the day. I…
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A friend of mine once told me that, statistically, you’re more likely to grow up to do your childhood dream job than anything else. I don’t doubt her. I know artists and blacksmiths, jewelry makers and authors, people making a living on crafts you would expect from a bustling European village circa 1765. For my…
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Which is to say, that there is no single magic bullet that will end all cancer. This is because of what cancer is — a nature often obscured by the language of treatments and punchy catchphrases and political platforms of “advancing a cure” — but the nature of cancer is that of an animal outside…
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My suburban upbringing holds a special place for hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on the barbecue, my place of birth hails the many joys of carnitas and costillas, but I don’t eat as much meat as I used to. I could lie and say it’s because I have some ethical complaint against the meat industry (I…
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Have you ever heard of James Barry? If not, you’re among the majority, despite his towering impact on the medical establishment as we know it and there is a likely reason for it: James Barry was born Margaret Anne Bulkley in 1789. At 14, he changed his entire identity, began crossdressing, and started medical school. …
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When it comes to pets, I am of two minds: chronic dog brain and exotic pet enthusiast. Both have innumerable benefits, but the way you interact with a gecko is different from the way you interact with a dog. An animal that only arose on the pet trade in the last 30 years does not…
from the pen of icarus blake 