March 2013

Library Launches Exhibit On Bioluminescence

Deep-sea fishes that use glowing lures to capture prey ... fireflies like the ones in your backyard ... jellies from which Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), widely used in molecular & cellular biology, was first isolated ... glowworms that dangle glowing sticky threads to lure and capture prey ... even mushrooms and clams. So many luminescent organisms! Who would have thought!

Come check out the exhibit on Bioluminescence in the sunny lobby of the Northwest Building, 52 Oxford Street. Funded by Library Lab, the three display cases built by HMNH Exhibits staff...

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Spring Poem From the Library Pets

They say spring is coming, that it’s really here;
The days growing longer are bringing good cheer.
Are you tired of cold and of way too much snow?
Are you feeling eager for winter to go?

While snug in our houses, we don’t really care.
So come over to see us, that is, if you dare.
Bring us banana and we’ll be your friends;
Though we’ll dance on your graves when this old world ends.*

(* Not really; that would be our nasty cousins.)

Take your picture with a cockroach (or two)! No extra charge.

posted by Dorothy Barr