Heavy Rains and Hurricanes Clear a Path for Supercharged Mold

for Scientific American

Published: 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 Nothing
Published: 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 Geographic

Published: 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 NOVA
Published: 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 American
Published: November 2013

Latin America finds Africanized killer bees are better honey producers than expected

Slow Quakes Add Clues for Forecasting Terrible Tremors

for Scientific American
Published: 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 Geographic

A new look at the Dresden Codex may change our understanding of the ways the Maya used the night sky to plan their ceremonial calendars.

Here’s What Placebos Can Heal—And What They Can’t

for National Geographic Book Talk

Published: Nov 27, 2016

The latest research in biochemistry reveals that your brain can actually self-medicate.

Searching for the World’s Worst Glass of Water

for The Last Word on Nothing

It takes a few days to adjust to life at 13,300 feet in Potosi, Bolivia. As soon as I touched down in the tiny airport, I remembered the time I climbed Mt. Whitney and got desperately sick in camp at 13,000 feet. Whitney is the highest point in the lower …