Grand Prismatic Spring, one of the geothermal features of the Yellowstone Caldera. Photo by Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia CC-by-SA 3.0
Let’s cut to the chase: The purported NASA plan to “defuse” Yellowstone is pure science fiction.
OK, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into the details of the numerous articles that have jumped all over what might best be termed a “thought experiment” by scientists at NASA. Yellowstone, the massive caldera in the mi ...read more
Earlier this week I tweeted a link to a Quora post which, I felt, was rather silly. The post was a response to the question “Are people with very high IQs generally happy?” and it answered in the negative:
Let’s say high IQ is a blessing which comes with a terrible price. And each and every person with reading east from 135 has paid that price.
HIgh IQ persons usually have also extremely vivid and wide spectrum of emotions and emotional life, and when they are happy, they are ...read more
These tough bats can tussle with the deadliest scorpions in North America and win.Photo by Connor Long
Pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus) are quirky little creatures, the sole species in their genus. Their long ears, which can equal half their body length, make them look quintessentially batty, but unlike most of their night hunting relatives, they prefer to tackle ground-dwelling dinners—a strategy called “gleaning.” Pallid bats glean as much as half their body w ...read more
(Credit: Horia Bogdan/Shutterstock)
Twenty years ago, a pasture in Costa Rica was nearly barren farmland, choked by invasive grasses. Today, it blooms anew with a rich tangle of jungle plants. The magic ingredient for this resurgence? Oranges.
In the mid-1990s, Del Oro, a newly established orange juice manufacturer in Costa Rica was looking for a way to get rid of the rinds and pulp left over after juice extraction. They planned on building an expensive processing plant, but two ecologist ...read more
Pikas are related to rabbits and live at high elevations in the mountains of North America. Climate change is shrinking the areas where they can live. (Credit: Alison Henry)
According to a survey from Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communication, 70 percent of Americans think global warming is happening, but only 40 percent believe it will harm them personally.
But what if those same people who believe they are somehow immune from harm were told climate change is being blame ...read more
(Credit: doppel)
For Americans, public speaking ranks higher on the list of fears than heights, blood, ghosts, clowns, flying, needles and…dying. Indeed, one in four Americans admits standing and delivering before a crowd of strangers is a dread inducing experience.
On top of that, it’s hard to get through life without encountering situations that force us to confront this fear in some form, which may explain why it’s so pervasive. As such, there are countless remedies: pict ...read more
By Dolores Hill and Carl Hergenrother, Target Asteroids! Co-Leads Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission
Today’s amateur astronomers carry on long held traditions in citizen science by making valuable contributions in data collection and monitoring celestial objects of all kinds. They supplement work done by professional astronomers and fill gaps in our knowledge. Imagine being a modern-day Tycho Brahe who, in the late-1500s, me ...read more
My, what sharp teeth you have, Janjucetus. New research finds ancient whales like “The Juce” here had dentition more similar to land carnivores than today’s filter-feeders. (Credit: Nobu Tamura/Wikimedia Commons)
The biggest animals on the planet right now are baleen whales, which upped their size thanks to efficient filter-feeding. How they got that specialized system has long been a mystery, but a new study nixes some theories about it evolving out of ancient ...read more
