Science Talks

Lately we've found quite a few interesting talks to attend.  Here are some of the highlights.

An x-ray of a bird that had been shot.

The Audubon Society of Portland hosted their annual Wildlife Care Center open house.  We were disappointed to find that when we arrived, there were no more available spaces on their care center tours.  But the lovely trails never disappoint, their education birds were all available to be admired, and best of all, one of their veterinarians was telling kids all about recent cases and showing x-rays of patients.  The good people of the Audubon Society do, in fact, take care of all sorts of different kinds of animals, not just birds.  They recently tried caring for a beaver, but most likely won't repeat the experiment because it got loose and caused mayhem.  They recently had a bobcat, one of our shyest Portland residents. All the x-rays were fascinating. 

On the right, the x-ray of a turtle that has swallowed a fishing hook.  They were not able to remove it surgically, and simply cared for the turtle as it healed.  On the left, an x-ray showing no hook! The turtle's body had been dissolving it naturally over time.  

Dr. Sarah Schaak, a biologist with Reed College, came to an OMSI Science Pub to talk about mobile DNA and the discovery that this DNA can actually jump from species to species.  She explained that as the genomes of different species are decoded, she's been able to find genetic material shared by nine different vertebrates, and finally discovered that it was also shared by an assassin bug!  Assassin bugs are blood suckers, and would be the obvious means of transfer.  This was a really thought provoking talk for all of us. I sometimes take Jasper to adult level talks, and now I understand how he feels when some of it goes right over his head, but he still gets something out of it.  She was asked if her research related directly to the understanding of GMOs or gene therapy.  She explained that, in her view, scientists have three kinds of motivations- profit, altruistic benefits, or simply expanding human knowledge, and her motivation is the latter.  She said she really has no plan for how the research she's doing may be used, she's just very curious about how things work.  It's interesting to see educators suggest those different motivations to children.  How often do we tell children that they should learn something because it will profit them, because it will help them be a better person, or because it's just fascinating to learn about? Is any one motivation "better" than any other?


We went to hear James LaBonte, an Oregon Department of Agriculture Entomologist give a talk about insects both beloved and pesky.  Mr. LaBonte had a lot of fascinating things to say.  I was totally unaware that ODA has an Insect Museum in Salem (which he curates), a small but important collection of specimens that can be seen by appointment.  I also had never heard of the Oregon State Arthropod Collection in Corvallis.  Mr. LaBonte's work concerns the combat of invasive species.  He says that they are very proud of the fact they have eradicated every single infestation so far of gypsy moths in Oregon.  (Gypsy moths cause massive defoliation.)  He said that they get the most complaints about brown marmorated stink bugs, which feed right through the bark of trees and the shells of nuts, and can enter homes by the thousands in search of a shelter to hibernate as autumn nights grow cooler.  When disturbed they emit a nasty smell.  He told of the European gazelle beetle, a ground beetle which, unlike natives, will happily munch on butterfly eggs, caterpillars, pupae, and even adults, and seems to be ominously sharing territory with the endangered Fender's blue and threatened Oregon silverspot butterflies.

He also told of some wonders among Oregon natives, such as the mountain beaver flea, the world's biggest flea, which lives only on the blood of  mountain beavers (big, nocturnal rodents unrelated to beavers).  He also mentioned the "railroad worm", some crazy beetles. They are also known as the western banded glowworm.  The females look like huge larvae, even when mature, and bioluminesce in a way reminiscent of a night train with lighted windows.  The males look more like normal beetles, but with amazing feathery antennae. Speaking of feathers, he also told us about the feather-winged beetle, the smallest beetles in the world, which have wings like dandelion fluff.  When asked, he shared his favorite entomology movie, "Them!", about combating invasive species!



It was a treat just to visit the Portland Building, where we found a model of the city of Portland lurking on the second floor. They also have an exhibit which explains how their famous sculpture, Portlandia, was made, and display the mold used for her face.