Scientists Again Debating How Snakes Came to Slither

Posted on April 25, 2006April 6, 2020 by Lori Jia

The New York Times, April 25, 2006

Charles Darwin was fascinated by snakes — in particular, by the tiny hip and leg bones nestled inside boa constrictors and other species. They were some of the most striking cases of evolution’s imprint. Snakes descended from walking ancestors, and as they adapted to slithering, their legs dwindled to a few vestiges.

It took more than a century after Darwin’s death for paleontologists to find fossils of snakes with legs. In the last decade, they have found four species. The fourth, known as Najash rionegrini, was unveiled in the April 20 issue of the journal Nature, and it has reignited a debate about how snakes lost their legs.

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Brains and Bones and Radios

Posted on April 11, 2006May 30, 2020 by Lori Jia

Tomorrow I’ll be on the radio show Science and Society at 4:20 PM EST. It’s my second time on the show. Last time around we talked about the past six million years of hominid evolution (podcast here). This time we’re hoping to cover just a bit more ground: the past 600 million years of vertebrate evolution. We’ll try to hit on the big innovations that our ancestors acquired after we parted ways with the squishy beasts–such as brains, bones, a smart immune system, and hands and feet. You can listen live here, and the podcast should be available here shortly afterwards. is here. (Scroll down a bit to my segment.)

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The Great Escape

Posted on April 10, 2006May 30, 2020 by Lori Jia

At the Loom we believe that the path to wisdom runs through the Land of Gross.

We do not show you pictures of worms crawling out of frog noses merely to ruin your lunch. We do not urge you to check out these freaky videos of worms crawling out of frog mouths and fish gills merely to give you something to talk about at the high school cafeteria table tomorrow (Dude, you totally will not believe what I saw…) These images have something profound to say.

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Leech quest

Posted on April 6, 2006May 30, 2020 by Lori Jia

Mark Siddall , the leech hunter, is on another quest. He’s posting updated from his journeys through Australia in search of new leeches. Read them at Blood Lust II.

Back to Blogging

Posted on April 6, 2006May 30, 2020 by Lori Jia

My blog had some serious troubles while I was away for a few days, but I should have everything up and running smoothly today, including comments (aside from those concerning poker and drugs).