Author: Lori Jia

Clues to a bird’s life in island treasure

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, July 5, 2006

Link

Everyone knows about the death of the dodo, but no one knows much about its life.

The stocky flightless bird became extinct at the end of the 1600s, less than two centuries after European explorers discovered its home, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Beyond passing descriptions, little evidence of the bird has survived – a preserved skin here, an isolated leg bone there.

Over the last few weeks, however, a team of scientists has been exploring a trove of dodo fossils that may be as old as 3,000 years.

Continue reading “Clues to a bird’s life in island treasure” →

The Dodo Graveyard

Posted on by Lori Jia

In today’s New York Times I have an article about the discovery of a vast graveyard of dodo fossils. The fossils date back an estimated 3,000 years. Dodo fossils are exquisitely rare, and so it’s quite something to find an entire assemblage of them. But as the leader of the expedition that found them told me, that discovery alone would have been scientifically unimportant. What matters is the entire package. The scientists found fossils of lots of other animals and plants. It wasn’t just the dodo that went extinct on the island of Mauritius. It was an entire ecosystem, and these fossils may help scientists understand how that ecosystem lived and breathed.

Continue reading “The Dodo Graveyard” →

Newfound Island Graveyard May Yield Clues to Dodo Life of Long Ago

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, July 4, 2006

Link

Everyone knows about the death of the dodo, but no one knows much about its life.

The stocky flightless bird became extinct at the end of the 1600’s, less than two centuries after European explorers discovered its home, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Beyond passing descriptions, little evidence of the bird has survived — a preserved skin here, an isolated leg bone there.

Over the last few weeks, however, a team of scientists has been exploring a trove of dodo fossils that may be as old as 3,000 years. Along with the dodos, the scientists have found fossils of other species of birds, reptiles, bats and numerous plants.

Continue reading “Newfound Island Graveyard May Yield Clues to Dodo Life of Long Ago” →

A Letter from Stony Brook

Posted on by Lori Jia

Last night I took the ferry across Long Island Sound to spend the day in Stony Brook at Evolution 2006, the joint annual meeting of American Society of Naturalists, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Society of Systematic Biologists. About 1500 scientists were there, and there were enough talks going on–often simultaneously–to keep me in constant motion from eight in the morning till eleven at night.

Continue reading “A Letter from Stony Brook” →

Unlocking secrets of an obscure but powerful parasite

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, June 21, 2006

Link

On paper, Toxoplasma gondii looks as if it ought to be the most famous parasite on Earth. This single-celled pathogen infects more than half the world’s population.

Each of Toxoplasma’s victims carries thousands of the parasites, many residing in the brain. And Toxoplasma is equally adept at infecting all other warm-blooded animals.

Scientists are now discovering some of the secrets of Toxoplasma’s success. Researchers in Sweden report that the parasite fans out through the body by manipulating mobile cells that are part of the immune system.

Continue reading “Unlocking secrets of an obscure but powerful parasite” →