Natural History articles from October 2003

Natural History archives from October 2003

What life looks like on Mars?(The Natural Moment)(microorganisms of Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A week of tramping for miles underground and sleeping in limestone catacombs tunneled out by sulfuric acid is not everyone's idea of happy camping. But Dave E. Bunnell--photographer and cave aficionado--is not everyone. He was thrilled to be...

Desert secrets.(Up Front)(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... It is impossible to conceive any thing more aweful or sublime than such an approach [to the ancient city]: the width [of the desert canyon] is not more than just sufficient for the passage of two horsemen abreast; the sides are in all parts...

War of words about war.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... R. Brian Ferguson ("The Birth of War," 7/03-8/03) has long believed the past was peaceful and has steadfastly ignored the archaeology refuting that myth. What he fails to realize is that most archaeologists have also fallen prey to the same...

Hot rocks.(Samplings)(steaming cracks in dry lake beds in Mali)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... For centuries the nomadic Tuaregs of the Sahara, warned off by legends of diabolical fumes and flames, have avoided camping in the dry lake beds around Timbuktu, Mall. Some geologists noted similarities between the lakes' steaming cracks and...

Reading the leaves.(Samplings)(genetic welding creates plant indicator for fertilizer need)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... When soil is poor in phosphorus, plants put a lot more effort into growing hairy roots than they do into growing the parts people eat. So, to make sure crop yields are high, farmers tend to use a lot of fertilizer. But excess phosphorus leaches...

Serious gravity.(Samplings)(research on variations in Earth's gravity)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... If the Earth were a uniform orb both inside and out, its gravity--and thus your weight--would be the same everywhere. But our planet is flattened at the Poles; it has deep seafloor trenches and towering mountain ranges; the density of the rock...

Experiment of the month.(Samplings)(navigational abilities of dung beetles)
October 1, 2003... Question: How did the dung beetle cross the road? Answer: By moonlight. This past March this column noted the first-ever evidence of an animal--the elephant hawkmoth--seeing color by night. Now another insect has joined the ranks of the...

A matter of taste.(Samplings)(bacterial properties of Stilton cheese)
October 1, 2003... Every slab of cheese is an entire community of organisms, and, as with many human communities, its character may not be appreciated by everyone. Take Stilton. Made under license by only six dairies in the English Midlands, it's one of those...

Let there be light: some 380,000 years after the big bang, the universal fog lifted and the cosmic background radiation was set free.(Universe)
October 1, 2003... In the beginning of everything, when the universe was just a fraction of a second old, a ferocious trillion degrees hot, and glowing with an unimaginable brilliance, its main agenda was expansion. With every passing moment the universe got...

Something to howl about: to earn her spurs as a tropical biologist, the author decided to study a parasite that even her colleagues wanted to avoid.(Naturalist At Large)(botflies specific to howler monkeys)
October 1, 2003... In 1974, as a greenhorn to the tropics, I traveled to Panama to begin a study of the dietary behavior of wild howler monkeys on Barro Colorado Island. The island was separated from the mainland in 1912, during the construction of the Panama...

Bermuda: bird enthusiasts from all over the world regularly flock to Bermuda to observe a colorful combination of native species and migrating visitors.(special advertising section)
October 1, 2003... THE SUBTROPICAL ISLAND OF BERMUDA is a haven for birds and birders alike. Be prepared to spot a wide variety of birds--350 species have been recorded in this twenty-one-square mile paradise. The bright, lemon-yellow great kiskadee is both easy...

The Cayman Islands: birders in the know are finding their way to Cayman Brac, one of the three Cayman Islands.(special advertising section)
October 1, 2003... CAYMAN BRAC, A SMALL ISLAND IN THE western Caribbean Sea, is one of the least explored birding destinations in the West Indies, but it is a birders' delight: miles of trails through tropical forests and coastal woodlands, good roadside viewing,...

Korea.(special advertising section)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... LOOKING FOR A BIRDING VACATION off the beaten path? Why not visit Korea, with some 400 bird species and fantastic opportunities to see some of East Asia's greatest birds? Birdwatchers have discovered that Korea's extensive tidal flats,...

Queen Anne's County.(special advertising section)(Maryland birdwatching areas)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... LOVELY AND HISTORIC QUEEN Anne's County, a gateway to Chesapeake Country, is also a fine site for birding. Start your visit in picturesque Kent Island, established in 1631. Across from the island, in Grasonville, you'll find the Horsehead...

Garrett County.(special advertising section)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... GARRETT COUNTY, the westernmost county in Maryland, boasts extensive and exceptional birding hot spots. This frontier region's state parks and forests are ablaze with beautiful foliage, crashing waterfalls, and clear lakes. Because of its...

Worcester County.(special advertising section)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... THE ONLY OCEAN-FRONT COUNTY in Maryland, Worcester County is especially known for the sandy beaches and boardwalk of Ocean City and the wild ponies that roam the dunes of Assateague Island. But Worcester is also a great place for birdwatching....

Charles County.(special advertising section)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... COME TO CHARLES COUNTY, THE gateway to historic Southern Maryland, and see the wild side of the Potomac! Visitors to this suburban county--less than an hour from Washington D.C. and historic Annapolis--are surprised to find it teeming with...

Dorchester County.(special advertising section)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... FOR A TASTE OF CHESAPEAKE BAY tradition and the unique lifestyle of Maryland's Eastern Shore, come to Dorchester County. Bounded by the Choptank River and Chesapeake Bay, this gracious land welcomes you with the charm and simplicity of...

BigPockets.(special advertising section)(products for bird watchers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... BEFORE YOU EMBARK ON YOUR next birding or natural history trip, take some time to browse www.bigpockets.com or to request a catalog (877-247-3758). BigPockets is the first company to design and manufacture clothing specifically for birding. ...

The Johns Hopkins University Press.(special advertising section)
October 1, 2003... FOUNDED IN 1878, Johns Hopkin's is one of the largest and most reputable university presses in the country. Birders will be especially interested in the press' many books on Chesapeake natural history, including Birds of the Mid-Atlantic and...

Evolutionary anthems: the songs of Darwin finches might be responsible for the group rapid speciation.(Biomechanics)
October 1, 2003... On Santa Cruz Island, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the morning sounds of songbirds foraging and courting are reassuringly familiar in the otherwise outlandish landscape of the Galapagos Islands. The dry washes here partly conceal tortoises the...

Portal to Petra: hewn out of sandstone cliffs, the hidden capital of the ancient Nabataeans became a center for spice traders, artisans, and urbane sophisticates 2,300 years ago.
October 1, 2003... Towering high above the Wadi al-'Arabah, a seasonal streambed that runs between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of 'Aqabah, in southwestern Jordan, majestic cliffs strike the eye with their patterns of russet and gold. Yet tucked inside the sandstone...

Promised land: several million years ago tectonic forces began to create an edenic corridor that led early humans out of Africa and into the Near East.(related article: history of Jericho, West Bank)
October 1, 2003... Straddling the border between Israel and Jordan, deep within a region torn by decades of political strife, is the stark, desolate, intensely saline Dead Sea. Virtually barren of life, and imbued with a stillness that bespeaks extreme antiquity,...

Sunbathing seals of Antarctica: the puzzle is' how do they keep cool?(Weddell seals )
October 1, 2003... Within an hour of the passing of a late October blizzard, there is little evidence of the storm on a vacant Antarctic beach. The bright Sun shines in a cloudless sky, and a light breeze riffles the clear waters of an open pool in the sea ice of...

Fern relations: a patch of forest in Massachusetts harbors some shady characters.(Bartholomew's Cobble National Natural Landmark )
October 1, 2003... Near the foot of the Berkshire Hills, alongside the scenic Housatonic River in southwestern Massachusetts, is a National Natural Landmark known as Bartholomew's Cobble. In its 329 acres more than 800 plant species flourish, including...

Crop circles: spin notwithstanding, can GM food still save the world?(Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto - The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest)(Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism )(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... Food, Inc.: Mendel to Monsanto--The Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest by Peter Pringle Simon & Schuster, 2003; $24.00 Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism by Marion Nestle University of California Press, 2003;...

Space, the Final Frontier?(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... by Giancarlo Genta and Michael Rycroft Cambridge University Press, 2003; $29.00 Rockets, like locomotives almost two centuries ago, are embodiments of progress, symbols of society's technical mastery over nature, and so they raise a host...

Eating Apes.(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... by Dale Peterson, with an afterword and photographs by Karl Ammann University of California Press, 2003; $24.95 Karl Ammann, in love with Africa from an early age, is a Swiss citizen who has lived for the past quarter century in Kenya. He...

The Silent Landscape: The Scientific voyage of HMS Challenger.(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... by Richard Corfield Joseph Henry Press, 2003; $24.95 The nineteenth century, no less than the age of Columbus and Magellan, is notable for its voyages of exploration. A search of Amazon.com returned nearly thirty entries for books about...

Thought for Food.(online resources on genetically-modified foods )
October 1, 2003... Unless you don't eat, you probably already have strong personal opinions about genetically modified (GM) foods [see "Crop Circles," by Marc J. Cohen, page 58]. Rightly or wrongly, they call forth many of the same health anxieties people have...

Petra: Lost City of Stone.(traveling exhibition )
October 1, 2003... October 18, 2003-July 6, 2004 Literally carved from the red sandstone cliffs in the Jordan Rift Valley is the ancient city of Petra, now mostly in ruins. Petra: Lost City of Stone, opening at the American Museum of Natural History on...

Museum Events.(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... EXHIBITIONS The Butterfly Conservatory Opens October 11 The butterflies are back! Mingle with more than 500 live, free-flying tropical butterflies in an enclosed tropical habitat. The Butterfly Conservatory is made possible through the...

The salt not of the earth: throughout the Egg Nebula, astrochemists have detected--what else?--sodium chloride.
October 1, 2003... Chemistry, to most of us, means test tubes, Bunsen burners, and beakers filled with bubbly concoctions. A select group of chemists, however, rarely handle flasks of foul-smelling fluids. Instead, telescopes are their glassware, and the stars,...

The Sky in October.(star-gazing)(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... Always hasty, Mercury makes a brief appearance before dawn early this month, rising just above the due-eastern horizon. It soon disappears into the glare of the Sun and reaches superior conjunction (on the other side of the Sun as seen from the...