By Nala Rogers, Inside Science A spider buries her fangs in a clear oakworm moth on Andy Warren’s porch after luring the moth down from the oak canopy. Courtesy Andrew D. Warren (Inside Science) — Andy Warren spent the summer of 2014 driving around the country with a pair of “magic spiders.” Warren, senior collections…
On Oct. 8, 2013, Carolyn Branecky received news no Ph.D. student ever wants to hear: her research project could be pushed back a year, or worse. The U.S. government had shut down a week earlier, and federally funded research was put on hold until Congress voted on a budget. Less than a month before that,…
Long ago, years before they would marry, make two children, raise them and eventually divorce, my parents shared a bizarre experience. On a Sunday morning in the early 1960s, they were at the same church service. Suddenly, everything began to move. Dad first saw something amiss with the ceiling fans. “They were dancing!” he told…
Parenthood is both a universal and deeply personal experience. With my science background, I’m always contrasting what I understand as a biologist and what I feel as a mother. Sometimes the latest evolutionary/genetic/cognitive behavioral/comparative biology discovery reinforces my experiences (for example positive benefits of co-sleeping.) Other times it jars me out of a prejudice I…
Allison Doupe was one of those people who somehow seemed immortal. She blazed with brilliant curiosity and warmed those around her with kindness and humor. But the undeniable truth is that cancer can take any of us. When I heard of the UCSF neuroscientist’s death in late October, I was as shocked as though a beloved…
As an ocean lover and long-time fan of “The Little Mermaid,” I’ve daydreamed about plunging into the ocean and hanging with the dolphins, sea lions, and whales. I’ve considered getting SCUBA certified, but never gone through with it. The thick wetsuits, clunky air tanks and potential for the bends give my tranquil daydream a wake…
In the American Civil War, the United States fought itself in a bloody struggle that dragged on for four years. A new study out of the University of California, Santa Cruz shines light on an even longer – and seemingly endless – conflict within ourselves. This internal struggle takes place within our genome, between an…
For many years, I thought California sea otters were cute and cuddly. Who can resist watching them playing in the ocean, often with a baby otter alongside? Cute sea otter imagery is everywhere, from event logos to plush toys to bumper stickers, because we love them so much. Sea otters also help keep the ocean…
The story of the world’s first Ebola epidemic burns at the flash point between science and policy, an enticing yet frightening intersection that can make or break a writer’s credibility. During an after-dinner speech at the time when the outbreak is beginning to dominate the news, I grasp the value of health care policy and…
For the past six years I lived under the cotton candy clouds and big blue sky of Albuquerque, home of the television series Breaking Bad. The show is about a high school chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin, and it’s great drama. But the most memorable scenes for me were not the tense standoffs with bad…
