Tangled Bank #2

Behold! The second issue of The Tangled Bank, a "Carnival of the Vanities" for us geeky science types.

• Borneo Chela features this entry about the mass emergence of 17-year cicadas that will occur in the U.S. this spring and summer (Insert "Ick!" or "Cool!" here, depending on your level of geekiness).
• From the Fried Man comes this post about how diatoms, plus a little help from man, may save your SUVs. A new study in Antarctica shows that seeding the southern ocean with iron ("iron fertilization") produces huge algal blooms that suck carbon dioxide in from the atmosphere. Much of the resulting carbon ends up hundreds of meters below the surface, meaning that this may be a practical way to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide and fight the greenhouse effect.
• 10,000 Birds submits Bird Squawk, Baby Talk, a n intriguing review of studies that show similarities between the way that human babies and some songbird chicks learn to vocalize.
• A little neurobiology lesson from Pharyngula: This post describes growth cones and some of the machinery involved in growth and steering of neurons. Be sure to check out the cool animated .gif!
• The Sixth International indulges in some Saturday lizard blogging, featuring the beautiful lizards of Formentera.
• From Feathers of Hope comes this post about an encounter with a barred owl in a surprising location.
• syaffolee has an interesting blog post about how fabricated data was exposed following its discovery in an article published in the journal Cell.
• And now for something completely different: submitted for your approval from Ratty's Ghost, "The Giant Rat," a fictional tale (tail?) written from a rat's point of view.

If you missed out on getting your blog post into this issue, #3 will be hosted by 10,000 Birds on May 19th. Submit your posts and descriptions to host@tangledbank.net.