Evolutionary Programming Is A Blast To Watch

Prepare for field research mayhem

Things I Learned as a Field Biologist #584

Going back to the field after a long hiatus can lead to moments of both visible excitement and stupefaction (with a slight register of anticipated grossness). Like my face, above. In South Africa. Where I will be once again in less than 48 hours! TO SEE ALL OF THE ANIMALS (but mostly the monkeys)!

Yes: after an absence of three long years, I leave for the field tomorrow!

This summer, I’m very excited to be returning to South Africa to work with vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), using a number of methods to get at how they forage, what they eat, and ultimately how their bodies adapt to their nutritional environments in three places I’ve been before and loved working in: Soetdoring Nature Reserve, Gariep Dam, and Shamwari Game Reserve. Some of this work will involve live trapping and release, so to ensure to welfare and health of the monkeys I’ll be doing this work in collaboration with the wonderful Dr. Adrian Tordiffe of the University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Sciences.

I’m also taking two of my BU undergrads with me for their very first field experience! Also making his South African and primatological fieldwork debut: my dad (in a supporting role: aka building monkey traps)! And, of course, my most wonderful postdoc, Maryjka Blaszczyk (this ain’t her first rodeo by a long shot).

AND THAT’S NOT ALL: I’ll also be teaching a group of students all about fieldwork and Primate Conservation Genetics in my field course with the prolific Dr. Trudy Turner of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

As you can see, it will be a packed summer, so I’ll be checking in more regularly to share all the new excitement (and yes, most likely a fair share of humorous mishaps and parasites) that a new field season in South Africa will bring. I’ll also be posting on Twitter and Instagram (@fuzzyatelin, #BUvervets16, #BlueScrotumSummer).

But as I hope you already know: I always save the juicy stories for right here…

The wood siding could age badly unless it's well-treated, but otherwise cool.

Chlorosulfonation of an imidazole derivative with chlorosulfonic acid.

Why is this a special thing? Chlorosulfonic acid reacts with water explosively forming sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride. So when I added 200 g of a compound to 500 cm3 of chlorosulfonic acid, a highly exothermic reaction happened and immediately and a highly acidic fog formed in the flask as the reactants contacted each other.

Important note when working with chlorosulfonic acid: NEVER WASH ANYTHING WITH WATER WHAT CONTAINS A RANDOM LIQUID, since if its chlorosulfonic acid, it could blow a highly acidic solution on your labcoat/hands/face. And always pour chlorosulfonic acid and reaction mixtures that contain this chemical on large excess of cracked ice to avoid serious problems.

P.S.: always wear proper PPE.

Is SQL useful for astrophysics or chemistry in any way?

Well the Q and the L aren’t but as you can see astrophysics and chemistry both use the letter S at least once per word. Hope that helped you

Postcards that were anti-women-voting, circa 1900s through 1920

The amazing unfinished and abandoned 1000 ton Egyptian Obelisk

The largest known Egyptian obelisk is called the “unfinished obelisk”, which today can be found exactly where it was once semi-carved from the solid bedrock. This stone block was intended to be a 120ft tall obelisk. It is estimated that a block of granite this size would easily weigh more than a 1000 tons, some geologists have suggested a figure in the region of 1100 tons – 1150 tons.

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Memories of Gonder prior to Timket 2015. A traditional dancer at one of Gonder’s more famous cultural restaurants. The Tej made it all a blur but I had the presence of mind to pull out the xT1 and go up to some extreme ISO to try to make this pic. I am always inspired by Eskesta especially when done by some of the most beautiful woman on the planet… #Ethiopia #Ethiopian #EthiopianOrthodoxChurch #EthiopianOrthodoxTewahedoChurch #Timket #Timket2015 #culturaldance #Eskesta #Habesha #HabeshaCulture #PhotoToaster #fuji #fujifilm #fujixt1