December 2009

  • The Strange Evolution of Poison and Venom

    By erika on 12/23/09 5:21pm
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    I recently read an interesting New York Times article about how evolutionary biologists have finally cracked the "tetrodotoxin mystery."  Tetrodotoxin is a wildly effective neurotoxin which is found in puffer fish (although hopefully not in the famous fugu dish made from their flesh), as well as in some newts, a few species of frog, a poisonous octopus, and a species of crab.  But how does the same, relatively exotic, neurotoxin evolve in the bloodstream of so many divergent animals?


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  • Dungeness Crab for New Year's

    By lisala on 12/22/09 11:50pm
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    The Dungeness Crab, Cancer magister is named for the town of Dungeness, Washington, because it's the site of the first commercial commercial crabbing venture for the species. Today, Dungeness is the home of a major annual Dungeness Crab Festival. You can usually find fresh local dungeness crab in coastal Oregon and Washington from December to February, and then again, briefly, in June. If you don't want to try catching and cooking your own dungeness crab, you can buy it fresh crab at most local grocery stores, directly from crabbers, or seafood specialty shops like VIS Seafoods or the fish markets at Pike Place Market in Seattle, and settlements around Washington's Hood Canal.

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