How to Date the Grand Canyon: Go With the Flow

Posted on March 6, 2008May 2, 2020 by admin

WIRED, March 6, 2008

The Grand Canyon is a victim of terrible press.

Its banded walls make up one of the most magnificent landscapes on Earth. And yet it seems the only time reporters bother to mention its geology is when they are writing about creationists and their bogus claims that the Grand Canyon formed a few thousand years ago. It’s a shame, because the real story of the Grand Canyon is a riveting epic. Even its scientific history is fascinating: Figuring out just how old the Grand Canyon is has challenged geologists for 150 years. And just this week, the mystery may be solved.

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Social, and Smart

Posted on March 4, 2008May 2, 2020 by admin

The New York Times, March 4, 2008

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For the past two decades, Kay E. Holekamp has been chronicling the lives of spotted hyenas on the savannas of southern Kenya. She has watched cubs emerge from their dens and take their place in the hyena hierarchy; she has seen alliances form and collapse. She has observed clan wars, in which dozens of hyenas have joined together to defend their hunting grounds against invaders.

“It’s like following a soap opera,” said Dr. Holekamp, a professor at Michigan State University.

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The Encyclopedia of Life, No Bookshelf Required

Posted on February 26, 2008May 2, 2020 by admin

The New York Times, February 26, 2008

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Imagine the Book of All Species: a single volume made up of one-page descriptions of every species known to science. On one page is the blue-footed booby. On another, the Douglas fir. Another, the oyster mushroom. If you owned the Book of All Species, you would need quite a bookshelf to hold it. Just to cover the 1.8 million known species, the book would have to be more than 300 feet long. And you’d have to be ready to expand the bookshelf strikingly, because scientists estimate there are 10 times more species waiting to be discovered.

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Honey Bees Give Clues on Virus Spread

Posted on February 22, 2008May 2, 2020 by admin

WIRED, February 22, 2008

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Everyone likes a medical mystery — even more so when the mystery in question is solved. When a few people in Queens developed fevers in 1999, scientists pinpointed an American strain of West Nile virus. When people in East Asia began to get particularly wicked coughs in 2003, scientists discovered an entirely new virus called SARS. As much as we admire the ingenuity that went into solving these medical enigmas, that doesn’t mean we should ignore the medical-sleuthing stories that haven’t yet reached a satisfying ending. Their very mystery actually says something important about how nature works.

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Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters

Posted on February 19, 2008May 2, 2020 by admin

The New York Times, February 19, 2008

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WOODS HOLE, Mass. –The cuttlefish in Roger Hanlon’s laboratory were in fine form. Their skin was taking on new colors and patterns faster than the digital signs in Times Square.

Dr. Hanlon inspected the squidlike animals as he walked past their shallow tubs, stopping from time to time to ask, “Whoa, did you see that?”

One cuttlefish added a pair of eye spots to its back, a strategy cuttlefish use to fool predators. The spots lingered a few seconds, then vanished.

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