Tuesday, 6 June 2017

How did he come to write that?

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My eye, in speed reading a review of a biography of Sir Hans Sloane in The Times (Saturday 27 May), came to a sudden halt: Sloane was no...

Komodo Dragon: extending the saliva story

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The previous post generated a number of emails on the use of biologically-active substances in saliva by the Komodo Dragon to help kill its ...
1 comment:
Saturday, 20 May 2017

Komodo Dragons. A peaceful morning in the Komodo National Park and an acrimonious debate on reptilian venoms

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Last September’s Expedition Cruise from Darwin through the Lesser Sunda islands of East Timor and Indonesia included stops at Rinca and Komo...
Monday, 8 May 2017

Burkhardt and Vevers: Family Links in the Early 20th Century

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Late last year James Ritchie contacted me after reading my articles on Colonel Valentine Burkhardt (12 April 2016) and Dr Gwynne Vevers (4...
Friday, 31 March 2017

The butterfly’s tongue and the steel rule

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‘Why is that there?’, said my four-year old grandson in an accusatory tone when he spotted a Stanley coiled flexible steel rule on my desk. ...
Thursday, 30 March 2017

The University of Hong Kong was a site for more than birds in the 1960s

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In the 1960s, the University Compound’s pathways teemed at night with the toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus (formerly Bufo melanostictus ),...
Tuesday, 28 March 2017

Why was the University of Hong Kong a good site for birdwatchers in the 1960s?

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In the early bird reports for Hong Kong, the University Compound (now called ‘campus’) often got a mention. There are two reasons. The first...