Comments on: How Udderly Odd – Cows with Built-in Magnets Confirmed? http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/ Snippets of Summarized Science Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:55:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Dave Oei http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/#comment-129 Dave Oei Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:22:35 +0000 http://www.tinysci.com/?p=430#comment-129 Meyotch - good point! I usually do attribute the source and for some reason forgot. Thanks for including it! John Taylor - no, it probably doesn't have to do with ingesting barbed wire! As far as I know, there's no answer. But we do know that many different animals exhibit the ability sense Earth's magnetic field. How? We don't know yet! Even some bacteria have magnets: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/05/70882 Meyotch – good point! I usually do attribute the source and for some reason forgot. Thanks for including it!

John Taylor – no, it probably doesn’t have to do with ingesting barbed wire! As far as I know, there’s no answer. But we do know that many different animals exhibit the ability sense Earth’s magnetic field. How? We don’t know yet! Even some bacteria have magnets: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/05/70882

]]> By: John Taylor http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/#comment-126 John Taylor Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:56:47 +0000 http://www.tinysci.com/?p=430#comment-126 Cows ingest 'cow magnets' which are given to them to collect metal they may eat. Bits of barbed wire etc. Maybe this has something to do with it ? Cows ingest ‘cow magnets’ which are given to them to collect metal they may eat. Bits of barbed wire etc. Maybe this has something to do with it ?

]]> By: meyotch http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/#comment-125 meyotch Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:16:37 +0000 http://www.tinysci.com/?p=430#comment-125 This was published in a pretty well-respected journal, so you can be sure it was looked a pretty closely by some good scientists. It's available for free at http://tinyurl.com/crerac. I love a good science blog, but can I suggest that you actually link to the real study in these kinds of posts? So many good journals are available for free now. It took me literally 10 seconds to locate this study using . . . Google. I suspect Yahoo Search would have done the same. ;) Good scientific writing is readable by anyone with a college education. This paper is really interesting and well-written. (I'm not involved with these guys, tho I am a professional scientist.) Encourage people to see the real science! Also, one of the hazards of being a scientist is we tend to get on soap-boxes with little provocation. It's why we're no fun at parties. This was published in a pretty well-respected journal, so you can be sure it was looked a pretty closely by some good scientists. It’s available for free at http://tinyurl.com/crerac.

I love a good science blog, but can I suggest that you actually link to the real study in these kinds of posts? So many good journals are available for free now. It took me literally 10 seconds to locate this study using . . . Google. I suspect Yahoo Search would have done the same. ;)

Good scientific writing is readable by anyone with a college education. This paper is really interesting and well-written. (I’m not involved with these guys, tho I am a professional scientist.) Encourage people to see the real science!

Also, one of the hazards of being a scientist is we tend to get on soap-boxes with little provocation. It’s why we’re no fun at parties.

]]> By: Dave Oei http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/#comment-123 Dave Oei Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:41:43 +0000 http://www.tinysci.com/?p=430#comment-123 I think the scientists were skewed to Google Earth and neglected to take a look at Microsoft Live. Still, if only I could find those cow images they were looking at. It's worse than a needle in a haystack! I think the scientists were skewed to Google Earth and neglected to take a look at Microsoft Live.

Still, if only I could find those cow images they were looking at. It’s worse than a needle in a haystack!

]]> By: j http://www.tinysci.com/2009/03/17/how-udderly-odd-cows-with-built-in-magnets-confirmed/#comment-122 j Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:37:20 +0000 http://www.tinysci.com/?p=430#comment-122 It is possible that the scientists, with their imperfect human eyes, only noticed and counted the cows that were arranged in a pattern that attracted the human eye, thus leaving the randomly oriented cows uncounted? Impossible! It's science! It is further possible that the electrical lines merely served as a search image that drew researchers' attention to nearby cows that would have been otherwise overlooked? It is possible that the scientists, with their imperfect human eyes, only noticed and counted the cows that were arranged in a pattern that attracted the human eye, thus leaving the randomly oriented cows uncounted? Impossible! It’s science!

It is further possible that the electrical lines merely served as a search image that drew researchers’ attention to nearby cows that would have been otherwise overlooked?

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