Mr. Wizard, Rest in Peace

Don Herbert (Mr. Wizard) died yesterday at the age of 89.

I wasn't around for his first show in the 50's, but I did watch the Nickelodeon show "Mr. Wizard's World" that aired in the 1980's. I loved that show - it was great to see the different science experiments and technology bits and I think it was probably one of the things that got me interested in science and technology at an early age (leading me into the trap of Computer Science I find myself in today). In fact, I think that Mr. Wizard's World was where I first encountered the programming language LOGO, which I wasted much time with in my middle school years figuring out how to make that stupid turtle wander around the screen and draw stuff.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised to find out that he hadn't died earlier. And that he was only 89 - he must have been in his 60's when Mr. Wizard's World aired but he seemed older than that to me. Of course, most of that is probably just me getting older and realizing that, no, 60 really isn't all that old.

She Blinded Me With Science

So, scientists have determined that a female shark in the Omaha, Nebraska zoo gave birth to a baby shark through parthogenesis. Parthogenesis is where an egg develops into a full animal without any male genetic material being added. As the linked article says, this is the first time that it's been confirmed in cartiliginous fish like sharks, though the article states that it has been observed in amphibians, reptiles and birds, and I have read that it also occurs with some kinds of insects. This is also the process that the dinosaurs in the movie Jurrasic Park supposedly underwent despite the fact that there were no males on the island.

This is pretty darn cool if you ask me. In the end the offspring is like a clone of the mother -- since no additional genetic material is added to the mix, the offspring has to be female and has all of the mother's original genetic material. Just another reminder that the world is always a bit stranger than you give it credit for.

Update: I found another article at the Discovery Channel website with some more detail. Apparently the shark was not a full clone of the mother, inheriting only 1/2 of the genetic material from the mother instead of all of it. Also, the young shark died shortly after birth, apparently from an encounter with a stingray in the tank, so it never got to grow to full size. Still, an interesting story that adds a bit of weirdness to the day.