There’s a whole lot more shaking going on in the Midwest lately—and humans are causing it. Originally published in Popular Science. MARK CRISMON AND I WERE SITTING OUTSIDE his Oklahoma house, looking at the day lilies that lined his pond, when our conversation was interrupted by a distant boom. “Did you feel that?” Crismon asked. […]
Why the Beach Makes Us Happy
Scientists have explored everything from the sound of rolling waves to the molecular ions in the salty air, but is there a power even greater behind the sea’s ability to transform us? And can we harness that power to save the sea itself? Originally published in Coastal Living. IT DOESN’T TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST to tell […]
Do-It-Yourself Genetics
The mapping of the human genome inspired not only a flood of scientific research, but also a flurry of commercial genetic tests aimed at the curious consumer. The author submitted his DNA and gained access to a trove of information—some fascinating, some reassuring, some terrifying. Originally published in Duke Magazine. WHEN WE ADOPTED SCOOTER IN […]
Losing Louisiana
Originally published in OnEarth. The BP blowout caused months of pain and suffering for the people and environment of the Gulf Coast. But Louisiana was in trouble long before the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Its wetlands are disappearing at the rate of a football field every hour due to rising sea level, storm damage, and the […]
Pragmatic Problem Solver
Tim Profeta, comfortable among scholars and respected within Capitol culture, brings a sure hand to the delicate task of inserting good environmental research into the national legislative discourse. Originally published in Duke Magazine. TIM PROFETA, DIRECTOR OF DUKE UNIVERSITY’S Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, arrives one April morning at the Capitol Hill office of a Republican senator […]
RNC Day 4: Palin, Creationism, and Other Red Meat
On the first day, God created pit bulls. On the second day, He created lipstick. Originally published in IndyWeek. AS THE OWNER OF A FRIENDLY PIT-BULL MIX, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s off-script line last night at the Republican National Convention: “Do you know the difference between a hockey mom and […]
Lobsta Got to Swim, Dinosaurs Got to Fly
In the field of comparative biomechanics, Mimi Koehl is an audacious pioneer whose success stems from a willingness to challenge assumptions. The Mr. Potato Head models don’t hurt either. Originally published in Duke Magazine. THE WEEK WAS NOT GOING WELL FOR RASTA LOBSTA or for its creator, Mimi A.R. Koehl. The robotic crustacean — built from the […]
Putting Science in the Dock
In an effort to exclude dubious experts, judges have assumed unprecedented power—and tilted the system against injured consumers. Originally published in The Nation. ON A CHILLY MORNING IN NOVEMBER 2001, David Healy stood in a witness box in Kansas City, Kansas, and received a sobering lesson on the U.S. legal system. A professor of psychological medicine at Cardiff University […]
Why Do Animals Age?
Scientists studying wild creatures, from turtles and terns to bats and parakeets, are coming up with answers that may help humans stave off some of aging’s most devastating effects. Originally published in National Wildlife. FOR THE REPTILES living in the University of Michigan’s E.S. George Reserve, Justin Congdon is something of a troll under the bridge. A […]
Schweitzer’s Dangerous Discovery
When this shy paleontologist found soft, fresh-looking tissue inside a T. rex femur, she erased a line between past and present. Then all hell broke loose. Originally published in Discover. EVER SINCE MARY HIGBY SCHWEITZER peeked inside the fractured thighbone of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the introverted scientist’s life hasn’t been the same. Neither has the field of paleontology. […]
