Dusting Off Metaphors
for The Last Word on NothingPublished: September 2013
As a science writer, I trade in metaphors. It’s not just how many dump trucks to fill the Grand Canyon or how close whale intestines would get to the moon if stretched out – that’s amateur hour.
Boobies Behaving Badly
for The Last Word on NothingPublished: September 2015
Hugh Drummond’s work on booby behavior is some of the most profound and enlightening science I have ever come across. But first, you have to understand that boobies are dicks. Seriously, they are profoundly selfish douchebags.
Heavy Rains and Hurricanes Clear a Path for Supercharged Mold
for Scientific AmericanPublished: December 4, 2018
Warmer temperatures and rising CO2 can also ramp up some fungal toxins and allergens
The Souless Flesh-Eating Kea
for The Last Word on NothingPublished: August 2013
In the Southern summer of 2004, my then-girlfriend and I were camped in a shelter near a rock climbing area in New Zealand called Flock Hill. It was a gorgeous landscape, sweeping grassy hills made famous as Rohan in the “Lord of the Rings” and glacial erratics from the final …
How Does This Shark Town Cope With Its Summer Visitors?
for National GeographicPublished: June, 2016
(For the full story click here)
Chatham, Massachusetts
Seven years ago, this was just another sleepy seaside town. After weathering long winters, vacationers from throughout New England packed its beaches every summer.
But over Labor Day weekend of 2009, some visitors arrived that would change this Cape Cod town forever: Great white sharks.
That …
What Screen Addictions and Drug Addictions Have in Common
for NOVAPublished: October 23, 2018
New research shows that age-old concerns about the detrimental effects of screen time hold true.
Bee Researchers Make Friends with a Killer
for Scientific AmericanPublished: November 2013
Latin America finds Africanized killer bees are better honey producers than expected
Slow Quakes Add Clues for Forecasting Terrible Tremors
for Scientific AmericanPublished: July 18, 2016
Slow earthquakes may be one of the most likely pathways to earthquake forecasting.
Have We Been Misreading a Crucial Maya Codex for Centuries?
for National GeographicA new look at the Dresden Codex may change our understanding of the ways the Maya used the night sky to plan their ceremonial calendars.