The New York Times, September 5, 2006

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Across the eastern United States, a gruesome ritual is in full swing. The praying mantis and its relative, the Chinese mantis, are in their courtship season. A male mantis approaches a female, flapping his wings and swaying his abdomen. Leaping on her back, he begins to mate. And quite often, she tears off his head.

The female mantis devours the head of the still-mating male and then moves on to the rest of his body. “If you put a pair together and come back later, you’ll just find the wings of the male and no other evidence he was ever there,” said William Brown, an evolutionary biologist at the State University of New York in Fredonia.

Continue reading “This Can’t Be Love” →

The New York Times, July 5, 2006

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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 New York Times, July 4, 2006

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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” →

The New York Times, June 21, 2006

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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” →

The New York Times, June 20, 2006

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On paper, Toxoplasma gondii looks as if it ought to be the most famous parasite on earth. This single-celled pathogen infects over half the world’s population, including an estimated 50 million Americans. Each of Toxoplasma’s victims carries thousands of the parasites, many residing in the brain. As if that were not enough of an accomplishment, Toxoplasma is equally adept at infecting all other warm-blooded animals, as disparate as chickens and kangaroos.

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 “A Common Parasite Reveals Its Strongest Asset: Stealth” →