Natural History articles from April 2009

Natural History archives from April 2009

Viperized.(THE NATURAL MOMENT)(desert reptiles; photographer Solvin Zankl)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE NATURAL EXPLANATION At most altitudes and latitudes around the planet, atop alpine crags or rainforest canopies, inside wood crevices or brain coral, organisms struggle to keep on the sunny side of life. But...

Allergic reaction.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I count myself lucky: my immune system doesn't overreact to pollen, animal hair, peanuts, or anything else. But both my wife and daughter are sensitive to cats and dogs (as is about a tenth of the U.S. population)....

Chemical warfare 1.0.(SAMPLINGS)(Roman-Persian war)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A fierce battle between Roman defenders and invading Persians took place at Dura, a garrison city on the Euphrates River in what is now Syria. That was around A.D. 256, nearly seventeen centuries before the 1925...

Lost in the vog of time.(SAMPLINGS)(volcanic fog in 1761)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Unusual atmospheric phenomena were recorded worldwide in 1761, unexplained at the time. Now independent astronomer Kevin D. Pang of La Canada Flintridge, California, says he's figured out the cause--and he credits Benjamin Franklin with a...

Career change.(SAMPLINGS)(dung beetles)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dung beetles live in poop, breed in it, sip its bacteria-rich juices--a poor livelihood, by human standards. Some species branch out to feed on carrion and rotting fruit or fungus, but that's hardly an improvement....

Thermo dino.(SAMPLINGS)(dinosaurs)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... You know the scenario: 65 million years ago, a big meteor crash sets off volcanoes galore, dust and smoke fill the air, dinosaurs go belly up. One theory holds that cold, brought on by the Sun's concealment, is what did them in, but a team of...

Venom in your eye.(SAMPLINGS)(cobra)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sway your head in front of a spitting cobra, and in no time, you will be sprayed with venom from its fangs. The poison, harmless to the skin, causes stinging pain and even blindness if it gets in your eyes--and it...

It takes all kinds.(SAMPLINGS)(fish behavior)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... They may look alike within a tightly packed school, but not all fish are created equal. Some are bold, some are shy. And "Vive la difference,'a recent study shows. John R.G. Dyer and his graduate adviser at the time, Jens Krause of the...

Sow, shine, and reap.(SAMPLINGS: THE WARMING EARTH)(global warming control using reflective plants)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... One way to slow down global warming is to reflect more sunlight back into space. We could all close our eyes and wish for bright clouds to become more abundant, but that's a rather passive approach. More enterprising--not to mention cumbersome,...

A pardon for plants.(SAMPLINGS: THE WARMING EARTH)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... We're all counting on plants to help fight global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide. So it was disheartening to hear in 2006 that plants actually make another greenhouse gas, methane [see "How Does the Greenhouse Grow?" March 2006]. That...

Out of sync with science.(SAMPLINGS: THE WARMING EARTH)(humans' contribution to global warming)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Polls show that fewer than 60 percent of Americans think people are responsible for global warming, and fewer than 50 percent think scientists agree on that point. But according to Peter T. Doran of the University of Illinois at Chicago and his...

Seeing the light: we humans pride ourselves on our color vision. Yet compared with many other animals, we are visual pipsqueaks.(LIFE ZONE)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In my mind's eye, I'm sitting in front of a row of magic helmets. Like motorcycle helmets, they cover the head and face; each is labeled with the name of a different animal. Here's one that says "yellow swallowtail...

Meet the Alloparents: shared child care may be the secret of human evolutionary success.
April 1, 2009... We cram our bodies into the plane's narrow seats, elbow-to-elbow, making eye contact with nods and resigned smiles as we yield to latecomers pushing past. Most ignore the crying baby, or pretend to. A few of us even signal the mother with a...

Jewel of the deep: are the modern incarnations of age-old traditions--coral diving and craftsmanship--selling Mediterranean red coral out?
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We sink into cool, dusky water along the island's rocky foundation. A strong current hinders our swimming and washes in organic particles that cloud the view through our diving masks. The particles are food for...

The magic rock garden: a rare dolomite plays host to Alabama rarities.(THIS LAND)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Exploring parts of the future state of Alabama in 1775, William Bartram was one of the first prominent naturalists to record some of the native vegetation. In the ensuing years, many professional and amateur...

Ivory's Ghosts.(Book review)
April 1, 2009... Ivory's Ghosts by John Frederick Walker Atlantic Monthly Press, 2009; 312 pages, $25.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1889, Henry Drummond of Scotland's Free Church College wrote that "the only thing of value the interior of...

Decoding the Heavens.(Book review)
April 1, 2009... Decoding the Heavens by do Marchant Da Capo Press, 2009; 328 pages, $25.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sometime in the first century B.C., a heavily laden sailing vessel struck a rock off the small island now called Antikythera,...

Made for Each Other.(Book review)
April 1, 2009... Made for Each Other by Meg Daley 0lmert Da Capo Press. 2009; 291 pages, $26.00 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Why do we love our cats and dogs so much? If you think it is just that they are cute, clever, and affectionate, well, that's...

Skylog.(astronomy)(Calendar)
April 1, 2009... In a joint initiative of the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO, this year has been designated the International Year of Astronomy--IYA2009. The celebration coincides with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's historic...

Not dead yet.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... In his article about the revival of Hebrew ["Flowers Have No Names," 2/09], Benjamin Harshav correctly identifies the importance of language to smaller nations that seek to define themselves in the absence of political sovereignty. To my...

Illogic.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2009... In "Onboard Computer" ["Samplings," 2/09], Stephan Reebs describes a cell designed to signal "when one particular drug is present but the other absent" as performing a NAND function. But NAND would signal that only one drug or neither is...

A place apart.(At the Museum: American Museum of Natural History)(Palmyra Atoll)
April 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The coral reefs of Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean have long been prized by scientists as a relatively untouched ecosystem. Despite dredging and other alterations to ease the movement of military supplies in World...

Creatures great and small.(At the Museum: American Museum of Natural History)(Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time)
April 1, 2009... How do you replicate an animal that no one has ever seen? That was one of the central challenges of mounting the exhibition Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time, which opens on May 23 at the American...

Rx for a greener world.(At the Museum: American Museum of Natural History)(Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Ten years ago, a cutting-edge film opened with a women telling her therapist she couldn't stop thinking about garbage. "I've gotten real concerned about what's going to happen with all the garbage," she says. "I mean, we've got so much of it,...

At the museum: American Museum of Natural History.(Calendar)
April 1, 2009... EXHIBITIONS Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future Through August 16, 2009 This timely exhibition explores the science, history, and impact of climate change on a global scale. Climate Change is organized...

Possum on the rostrum.(END PAPER)(effects of global warming on endemic species)
April 1, 2009... When we ponder the perils of global warming, the polar bear pops into many people's minds before any other threatened creature. But a different icon may be needed. Undoubtedly the bear is seeing its habitat melt away; yet the Arctic harbors...