Natural History articles from December 2007

Natural History archives from December 2007

Lynx jinx.(THE NATURAL MOMENT)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caught in the clutches of a cat? You're not alone. In more than 38 million U.S. households, 90 million domesticated cats have owners wrapped around their little pinky claws and are lapping up household luxuries. But...

Hail from the Chief.(WORD EXCHANGE)
December 1, 2007... In case you missed Peter Brown's kind introduction last month, I have now succeeded him as Editor-in-Chief. As it happens, one of the first initiatives I've taken is to use the term "Editor in Chief" without hyphenation, to better conform with...

Stand up straight.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Ian Tattersall gives a fine summary of bipedalism in early hominids ["Lucy Goes Walkabout," 10/07] so I was surprised to see that Viktor Deak's cover illustration shows Lucy's close relative in a semi-erect, bent-knee stance. I had the good...

No translation necessary.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I read Neil deGrasse Tyson's discussion of the space race ["Fellow Traveler," 10/07] with great interest since I worked with the von Braun group on the creation of Jupiter-C, the rocket that launched Explorer 1. What Mr. Tyson didn't mention...

Translation necessary.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... Robert Anderson's mention of Sputnik 1's "evocative sounds" ["Beep Beep," 10/07] reminded me of that October morning in 1957 when I hastened from class to my dorm room to switch on my old Hallicrafters S-40B. Fortunately I had the presence of...

Outward bound.(nature.net)(www.naturalhistorymag.com)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... In 1958 the prolific science tact and fiction writer Isaac Asimov published "Our Lonely Planet," an article in which he reasoned that given the tremendous distances--four light-years even to the nearest star after the Sun, Proxima...

Eau de bird.(SAMPLINGS)(Crested auklets )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Crested auklets are little flirts. Not only do both sexes of that northern seabird sport showy crest feathers and bright orange bills, the better to woo each other; they also produce a distinctive citrus scent,...

A fluke of foresight.(SAMPLINGS)(Diplostomum spathaceum )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Fish often find strength in numbers: groups, called shoals, can spot predators quickly, confuse their assailants, and reduce an individual's chances of becoming lunch. Yet fish don't always have an eye for such togetherness--particularly when...

Fitness for grandmas.(SAMPLINGS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Menopause is puzzling from an evolutionary standpoint. Why should healthy women stop having children after age fifty when doing so curtails their reproductive success? Actually, it doesn't. A new study supports the...

The croc came back.(SAMPLINGS)(Saltwater crocodiles )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Saltwater crocodiles aren't known for their sentimentality, but they are prone to bouts of homesickness, according to a new study. Conducted with the help of the late Steve R. Irwin--the "crocodile hunter"--the study...

Did skimming fit the bill?(SAMPLINGS)(Black, African, and Indian skimmers )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Today, only three bird species have the chops to skim for their supper. Black, African, and Indian skimmers fly low, pushing their lower beaks through the water, then snap their jaws shut when they hit a fish. Anatomical similarities between...

On the trail of a snail.(SAMPLINGS)(John B. Burch)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... In 1970 John B. Burch, a malacologist visiting Tahiti, collected Partula hyalina snails bearing pretty white shells that islanders often fashioned into jewelry. Little did he know that the species, along with numerous others on South Pacific...

Camels 0, comet 1.(SAMPLINGS)(mass extinction thousands of years ago)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thirteen thousand years ago camels, giant ground sloths, and mammoths roamed a lush North American landscape, along with the continent's earliest human inhabitants, the Clovis people. A mere hundred years later,...

It's not just the heat.(SAMPLINGS)(Greenhouse gases )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's the humidity, or so the satellites say. They've been measuring a steady rise in atmospheric moisture over the oceans since 1988, when they first started gathering such data. The mugginess seemed a likely...

Earlier birds.(SAMPLINGS)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Birds returning from a winter's retreat are showing up in England earlier and earlier each spring as a result of global warming, a new study confirms. Unexpectedly, populations in decline show a less pronounced shift than thriving ones do,...

Hiber nation: understanding how creatures put their lives on hold could yield therapies for a variety of human ills.(LIFE ZONE)
December 1, 2007... As the nights close in and winter takes hold, I get a hankering to burrow into my duvet, curl up, and hibernate until spring. But alas, humans are not among the large and diverse group of animals that can put themselves on hold for a few...

Skating through the ages: skaters have been speeding up over the centuries, thanks to better footwear that allows longer strides for maximum efficiency.(BIOMECHANICS)
December 1, 2007... My little brother and I grew up on Rollerblades, the terrestrial version of ice skates. We raced on the rumpled streets of New York City, from Greenwich Village north to Central Park, ecstatic not to be circling a small oval of ice. In those...

At a loss for words: the Native-American language Salish-Pend d'Oreille is on the brink of disappearing. More than half the world's 6,000 languages will be gone by the end of the century.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John Peter Paul, a rugged, dignified man, was extremely ill during the summer of 2000. He was ninety-one years old and suffering from stomach cancer. Still, every week he insisted on wheeling himself into the...

Traces in the sand: Libya boasts ancient ruins built over the Centuries by Berbers, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Long before it was dominated by sand and oil wells, Libya hosted a diverse fauna that feasted in its fertile green valleys. Such natural resources in turn lured prehistoric human populations more than 10,000 years...

Baboon heaven: a South African Animal Rehabilitation Center gives an unpopular primate TLC and a chance to return to the wild.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOW DID I GET HERE, WITH DENNIS HUDDLED AGAINST MY CHEST, TORTILLA GROOMING THE HAIRS ON MY ARMS, SABRINA ON MY LEFT SHOULDER, AND MAGGIE ATOP MY HEAD, BEHAVING LIKE A HAIRDRESSER? AS I SMACK MY LIPS IN AN ATTEMPT TO...

Florida underground: at a state park riddled with caves, even the Chipola River ducks below the surface.(THIS LAND)(Florida Caverns State Park)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As its name implies, Florida Caverns State Park is a place to see stalactites, stalagmites, and other cave features, but it also boasts a variety of natural plant communities, including one in which Appalachian...

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss.(Oceanic Wilderness )(Book review)
December 1, 2007... The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Claire Nouvian (The University of Chicago Press; $45.00) Oceanic Wilderness by Roger Steene (Firefly Books; $59.95) Until twenty-five years ago, the deep sea was virgin territory to...

The Pompeii Pop-Up.(The Red Volcanoes: Face to Face with the Mountains of Fire)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... The Pompeii Pop-Up Text by Peter Riley with Dr. Thorsten Opper; design by David Hawcock (Universe Publishing; $29.95) The Red Volcanoes: Face to Face with the Mountains of Fire by G. Brad Lewis and Paul-Edouard Bernard de Lajartre (Thames...

Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations.(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations by Vincent Virga and the Library of Congress (Little, Brown and Company; $60.00) If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a map is worth at least a thousand pictures. Not only does each place on a map...

Vanishing World: The Endangered Arctic.(Antarctic Fishes)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Vanishing World: The Endangered Arctic Photographs by Mireille de la Lez; text by Fredrik Granath (Abrams; $40.00) Antarctic Fishes illustrations by Boshu Nagase; text by Mitsuo Fukuchi and Harvey J. Marchant (The Johns Hopkins University...

Shells.(The Shell: A World of Decoration and Ornament )(Book review)
December 1, 2007... Shells by Paul Starosta and Jacques Senders (Firefly Books; $85.00) The Shell: A World of Decoration and Ornament by Ingrid Thomas (Thames & Hudson; $65.00) These opulent books document two of the world's most dazzling collections of...

Cutting-edge Science?(WORD EXCHANGE)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2007... I cringed at the description of the surgery on the pregnant ewe ["A Human Cell in Sheep's Clothing," 7-8/07]. Author and surgeon seem oblivious to the operation's severity and the ewe's painful recovery. Laurie Sexton New York, New York ...

Erratum.(WORD EXCHANGE)(Correction notice)
December 1, 2007... In last month's biographical note for Sandra L. Postel ["Contributors," 11/07], the Global Water Policy Project she founded was mistakenly identified as "geared toward sustaining the Connecticut River watershed." Though based in western...

The sky in December 2007 and January 2008.
December 1, 2007... Mercury is difficult, if not impossible, to view in December; it is at superior conjunction with the Sun (on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth) on the 17th. In January, however, Mercury will be an evening object, setting after the Sun,...

A gift from the sea.(At the Museum: AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If your idea of fossils is dull, dusty, old bones, a dazzling new specimen on display in the 77th Street Grand Gallery at the American Museum of Natural History is sure to challenge that notion. The fossilized shell...

Holiday spirits.(At the Museum: AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year, the Origami Holiday Tree (on view through January 1) is more magical than ever, teeming with the stuff of legends and fables: dragons, mermaids, unicorns, as well as real animals like narwhals and...

Rethinking Velociraptor: new study finds they had feathers.(At the Museum: AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY)
December 1, 2007... Remember those rapacious Velociraptors stalking children in the film Jurassic Park? It appears now that these prehistoric predators could use a costume change: they weren't leathery-skinned toughs after all! Scientists have known for years...

Saturdays in winter: we're all wet!(At the Museum: AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY)(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In four workshops on Saturday afternoons in January and February, youngsters are invited to delve into the science of water, the subject of Water: [H.sub.2]O = Life, the engaging exhibition that opened in November...

Museum events: American Museum of Natural History.(Water: [H.sub.2]O = Life)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... EXHIBITIONS Water: [H.sub.2]O = Life Through May 26, 2008 Live animals, hands-on exhibits, and stunning dioramas invite the whole family to explore the beauty and wonder of water and reveal one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st...

Who's Watching Whom?(ENDPAPER)(swimmming with dolphins)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To make ends meet during the summer--a season when graduate students like me often lack funding--I took the job of "naturalist" aboard the Juliet. The 104-foot, steel-hulled, three-masted schooner embarks out of...