About this Blog

Why does this blog have such a silly name?

Like most students, my first week of university was largely spent asking, and responding to, a small set of the same questions... over and over again, with just about every new person I met. And though I can't say I recall the answers that most people gave, I do remember the trend that began to emerge when we came to the part of the Freshers' script that goes: "What do you study?".

See, when somebody gives their reply to this question, there are two courses of action. If it's a familiar subject, the conversation flows happily onwards: you say "Oh, that's interesting", maybe mention you met one of their course-mates earlier, and move on. Option two, however, involves staring blankly at your partner in the hope that they'll explain what the HELL they just said.

I got a lot of blank stares I got when I explained that I studied Zoology. Fair enough- not many people look all the way to the end of the alphabet in their search for a course. Before I could explain myself, however, a fair number of people decided to make a rough guess instead.

"Oh. So... you're going to be a zookeeper?"

I won't rule out that somewhere, there is a university that offers a course in making fences of optimal thickness to keep jaguars in their place, and requires you to recite the important constituents of an elephant's diet. However, if you're still confused, "Zoology" is the study of animals and their biology. How they evolved, how they co-exist in their habitats, and how they are affected by humankind. It's fascinating, and I will never regret studying it. "Zoo" simply means "animal", and the zoos that we visit in order to giggle at penguins and make faces at lions were originally called "Zoological Gardens". However, I tend to just tell people I studied biology these days. It saves a lot of time.

What's the point of this blog, anyway?

It's been over four years since Freshers' week, and after completing my Master's degree, I've now been thrust into the real world. Yes, I'm still young. I don't expect this blog to compete with those written by PhDs and professors in my subject. I will probably make some stupid mistakes. But I do know that I've learned a lot of cool stuff over the past few years, and I'm itching to share it with someone. Unlike my family, if you find my blabbering dull, you can get some relief with a single mouse click, and never come back. I hope it won't come to that, though.

I suppose my target audience is people who are curious about the natural world, but haven't officially studied it in a long time. You might be an avid birdwatcher. You might just feed the ducks every now and then, or enjoy nature exclusively from your sofa. But perhaps you're curious- how does all this fit in with the Big Stuff? The science of evolution, genetics and all the rest can seem worlds away from your local urban fox, or the lush cinematic escapism of a David Attenborough show, but they're all closely connected. My aim is to give you an insight into what we can learn about science from seemingly everyday organisms (and the occasional peculiar one that you've never heard of). I can't promise you won't end up with more questions than you started with, but that's what science is all about: a frustrating but rewarding vicious circle of curiosity. I may also go on an occasional rant about science in a broader sense, you'll have to see.

A small footnote about me.

My name's Josie Rylands. I studied an MBiolSci in Zoology at the University of Sheffield in the UK, and I'm now job-hunting for work in the fields of Science Communication and Outreach, and/or scientific publishing. I spend my holidays at home in Devon, adjusting to the lack of public transport.

If you want to contact me, josierylands@gmail.com is the way to do it. I also pop up on Twitter every now and then when I find something worth sharing: @JosieRylands

I would like to dedicate this blog to all the unfortunate animals that got hurt/squashed/brutally murdered in my tender early days of fascination for nature. My name is probably a dirty word in insect heaven, but I'm very grateful to you all.