June 2008

Eww, Gross!!

June 27, 2008

Now that the month is almost over, I can say it: the June cover was . . . well . . . obscene. (Like Justice Potter Stewart, I know it when I see it.) Not to mention the opening shot of “Sex and the Single Schistosome.” Can you display this on your coffee table in the presence of children? Are parasites another one of the "facts of life" you'd just as soon postpone their finding out about?  more

Older than Insect Flight, Stronger than Steel

June 24, 2008

Biologist Cheryl Hayashi, who won a 2007 MacArthur “genius” grant for her work on the evolution, genetics, and materials science of spider silk, says that this amazing adaptation evolved even before insect flight—over 300 million years ago. Now humans are clumsily trying to spin it into everything from bulletproof vests to high-performance workout gear.   more

World Bank To Earn Its Stripes

New Global Initiative in Response to Tiger Crisis

June 12, 2008

The World Bank’s portfolio is development – a global war on poverty. It “has rarely taken on wildlife conservation efforts of endangered species,” Reuters wrote today. But it is making an exception for the critically endangered tiger.  more

Deadly Fascination
June 4, 2008

When Joe Slowinski was bitten by a many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), perhaps the deadliest land snake on the planet, in a North Burmese jungle far from medical help, the first thing he did was sit down and have breakfast with his colleagues. (The date: September 11, 2001.)  more

(Annie Gottlieb)