1. You are made of stardust.
2. No. of bacterial cells in you is ten times the number of human cells.
3. The Fourier Transform. Example: Every sound is a sum of pure tones (of single frequencies added).
4. The universe is simply particles and the forces that govern their interactions.
5. Abstract concept of information and concrete concept of energy are fundamentally connected.
6. Organisms are in fact only carriers used by genes to self-perpetuate.
7. An electron in a material is completely delocalized.
8. Virtual particles are in fact as good as real particles. That is, everything is a model.
9. 1 = 0.99999….
10. The clumped distribution of matter in the universe is due to random quantum fluctuations at the Big Bang.
11. Cytochrome-C, an essential complex in the respiration pathway, also triggers cell death, or apoptosis.
12. The last woolly mammoth died after the pyramids were built.
13. Elephant’s closest living relative is the hyrax.
14. The Sahara desert endures 20,000 year cycles of desertification and greening as the Earth’s precession changes the location of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and therefore the northwards extent of the western sub-Saharan Africa monsoon. The last cycle drove the migration of desert tribes, such as Touregs, southwards into the African savannah and towards peoples like the Fulani, driving cultural evolution in West Africa.
15. Harvesting silk requires killing silkworms.
16. Dung beetles orient themselves at night by the Milky Way.

Favorite Organisms

• Japanese honeybee
• Marine flatworms – Penis fencing
• Naked-Mole Rat
• Nudibranch – Mollucs that lost their shell, spectacularly colourful.
• Polar bears
• Pufferfish (specifically Tetraodontidae Torquigener)
• Siphonophores – Meters-long colonial organism composed of zooids that are morphologically and functionally specialized.
• Tardigrades
• Wood frog
• Planarian – Worms that can regenerate lost body parts. A planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals.

Things I Changed My Mind On

• Everyone is entitled to an opinion – Not necessarily.
• Transparency is always good – Not necessarily. The underlying information itself should be accompanied by appropriate context.
• Intelligence is influenced by genes – Research shows intelligence is partly inheritable.
• Male:female ratio in STEM (or any field) should be 50:50 – I’m undecided now, due to unresolved issues such as this.