Science online, return of the blogger edition

Okay, I think I have things back under control. Or as back under control as they ever get. Or back under control enough to manage a link roundup, anyway.

Believe it or not, the first edition of The Origin of Species discussed giraffe tails, not necks. Photo by ucumari.
  • This is a pithy lead-in. This is a brief description of the scientific news to which I will link. (This link also names the source)
  • Necks for sex? Sounds like a stretch. Did you think biologists know why giraffes have long necks? Think again. (Laelaps)
  • GM pesticides: still pesticides. Bt toxin produced as a built-in insecticide by genetically modified plants has been detected in agricultural runoff. (Observations)
  • Time to revise the kosher laws? A fish called the European eelpout suckles its young, after a fashion. (BBC)
  • Self-fulfilling expectations. When reminded about gender stereotypes, men make riskier financial decisions, and women make safer ones. (Not Exactly Rocket Science)
  • A convenient genetic bundle of “magic” traits. A single region of inverted DNA is behind substantial adaptive change—and reproductive isolation—between two forms of the wildflower Mimulus guttatus. (The Intersection)
  • Berry-Go-Round! The 31st edition of the botany-themed blog carnival is online this week at A Blog Around the Clock.
  • Masturbating squirrels. From the journal that brought you fruitbat fellatio. (PLoS ONE)
  • If you buy real estate, pick your hemisphere carefully. The first documented planet in the “habitable zone” of another star (just close enough for water to stay liquid) is about three times the mass of Earth, and tidally locked to its sun. (Science 2.0, Discovery News)

And the video for the week: tickling a slow loris. Not sure the critter is laughing, exactly, but it seems to be having fun.