"Something entirely unique, something beautiful and charming and grotesque, perhaps a little more esoteric" was how was described to me, and I believe it does live up to it. I have to say that one of the very few things that makes me uncomfortable with anatomical art is the arrangement of fetuses. That said, I do recognise that one of the best early ways to understand human development and growth was to look at nature's "mistakes" (for example, read Armand Marie Leroi's Mutan

A number of friends shared this with me, asking if I was in some way responsible. (Those of you who don't know me might not be aware of my skeleton and skull buying habits.) But in this case, it really is nothing to do with me. By fun coincidence, a skull was reported missing from King's College. But on inspection, isn't that missing skull. It also isn't Cromwell's skull, which is "known" to be missing in Cambridge (by repute buried somewhere in Sidney Sussex College grounds)

After much searching of blanket boxes, coffins, wicker beds, I have finally found an appropriate and well sized box for the new skeleton. And it gives him a window view. I am very thankful to have found an antiques place on ebay selling off loads of old clock cases. Traditional grandfather clock cases are the wrong size and shape, so I am also grateful for the clean straight lines of art deco design. But the main thing is that the skeleton is now protected from damage and dus

Some bones just give you a look. It is often the primates, but some skulls seemespecially expressive, and just catch your attention. This "enigmatic gibbon" is the Grant Museum blog specimen of the week. and I can't stop looking at it. It is like it is begging for a returned glance of mutual understanding. He reminds me of an immature gorilla at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. An archaeologist friend assures me that some skulls "smile". I won't say more. I wi

I have a medical skeleton. I have an additional medical skeleton. I have been studying bones and human anatomy, and whilst quite ill haven't been able to go and visit museums to augment this as often as I would like. And since spending time restringing the hand and foot of a medical half skeleton using a friend's plastic skeleton as a guide, I realised quite how different different skeletons are, and how one mass produced medical skeleton isn't very broad in showing the marve

20 years on from Jurassic Park, Jurassic World has been brought to our screens. (Yes, you read that right, 20 years! 22 years actually, Jurassic Park was released in June 1993. Doesn't time fly?) And despite a count of 36 sins on the Everything Wrong With Jurassic Park video, they somehow neglect to mention that most of the dinosaurs featured, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Velociraptor, lived in the Cretaceous Period. I will admit that the Jurassic did have the Brachiosau

... to the Wellcome Collection. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon. And actually my favourite part were the audio extracts, one of which was on the headphones behind this... skeleton? It is a description by Albert Howard Carter III (in First Cut: A season in the human anatomy lab) of medical students cutting hearts out of cadavers: "A quick worker, he is the first to have a heart entirely removed from the body. I watch him cut the last blood vessel and pull the heart up an

A late write up from a trip to the wonderful gem, Grant's Museum in London. Part of UCL, hidden somewhere near the Petrie Museum, I was drawn by the prospect of a thylacine, whole, pickled in a jar. (Apologies to Jack Ashby's collegue Mark, the Grant's Museum Curator, who prefers "preserved in fluid". But I like the term pickled. Its a nice layman term. And one day I hope to photograph pickled brains in jars, next to pickled cauliflowers in jars). There is always a drawn from