Yarn Versus Science: Who Wins?

Posted on July 10, 2006June 1, 2020 by Lori Jia

A couple readers have emailed me asking what I think of the recent Nature article on blogs by scientists. I agree with Revere that it’s great that Nature (and specifically, Nature reporter Declan Butler) is paying such close attention to blogs in science. The top 50 list they provide is a good launch pad for rocketing off into this realm of the blogosphere.

But I’ve always loathed the newsiness of lists. Put a number on a cover, and you sell copies. There must be some weird psychological weakness we have for lists. I noticed that the headline on the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly is “113 PEOPLE AND THINGS WE LOVE RIGHT NOW.” Poor 114. Not quite enough love to go around…

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Behold, For I am the Giant Flatulent Raccoon!

Posted on July 10, 2006June 1, 2020 by Lori Jia

I just want to make one thing clear. When Ann Coulter talks about her Giant Raccoon Flatulence Theory, she’s talking about me. Don’t let anyone else tell you that they are a giant flatulent raccoon. They’re all just a bunch of wannabes. For I am the One True Giant Flatulent Raccoon.

Allow me to explain…

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Clues to a bird’s life in island treasure

Posted on July 5, 2006April 11, 2020 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.

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The Dodo Graveyard

Posted on July 4, 2006June 1, 2020 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.

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

Posted on July 4, 2006April 11, 2020 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” →