Author Archives: Lauren Wyman

In Princeton Borough and Princeton Township–the home of anthrax scares, bear cubs and the ever so popular campus masturbators–nothing fails to surprise.  We’ve got beavers, cool embryos and more for this week in news.  Here we go!

Princeton is once again wrapped up in zoological drama, the second round following the bear cub hullabaloo back in the spring.  This time the star of the show is another species that begins with the letter “b”: beavers.  Yes, that’s right, the fauna that inspired the creators of Angry Beavers, the creatures whose homes are one letter away from swearing, the lovely Castor canadensis.

Public Enemy #1

Princeton Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson will be tried “in the near future” by the Ewing Municipal Court for shooting two beavers back in May, according to a Princeton Packet article.  The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued two court summonses to Johnson, who did not acquire a permit to shoot the State-protected beavers.

Oh no he din-uhhnnn.

Of course, the shooting awakened the wrath of Princeton-town’s vitriolic animal rights bloggers (read: the wrath of Princeton-town’s only animal rights bloggers), who have dubbed Johnson everything from “cruel and sadistic” to an “‘Animal Control Officer’”. Note the double quotations, oh man, the blogger may have used sarcasm! Bam.

In other news, life works.  According to a study led by Professor of Molecular Biology Ned Wingreen, the first few minutes of life are a wave of calcium away from complete chaos.

Individual cells in an embryo may develop at different rates or may cease development altogether if they were not regulated by waves of calcium that traverse the ball of cells at regular intervals.  The waves essentially serve as an atomic clock for the developing embryo, making every cell divide and grow at the same time.  James Ferrell, a researcher at Stanford whose formulas on the cell cycle Wingreen and McIsaac used in their models, said:

“One of this group’s conclusions is that chaos lurks not far from where the system normally functions, like a monster in the corner, and that it matters to have synchronicity established quickly to prevent it.”

So, moral of the story: if it wasn’t for periodic element number 20, life as an embryo wouldn’t be tranquil–at least, not as tranquil as this video.

And lastly, former America’s Next Top Model contestant and history major Jane Randall ‘13 had her picture taken … by the New York Times.  Randall received the Times treatment this week in an article entitled “Beautiful Minds.”  Randall talked about the U Store’s odd range of products (you grab the cheese puffs, I’ll get the Vera Bradley wristlets!), the awesomeness of egg sandwiches at Olives and the weirdness of Princeton traditions. Read the interview here.