The deadly boomslang, the snake fingered in the death of Dr. Karl Schmidt. Photo by William Warby
The actual bite happened in less than a second. Dr. Karl Schmidt, an American herpetologist at the Field Museum in Chicago, had been sent a live snake to identify by his colleague, Richard Marlin Perkins (then the director of the Lincoln Park Zoo). The animal appeared to be a boomslang (Dispholidus typhus), a kind of rear-fanged African snake, but there was something a bit odd about its scales ...read more
Citizen Science Day is back!
SciStarter is excited to once again present Citizen Science Day in collaboration with the Citizen Science Association! This month-long event is a chance to celebrate the millions of citizen scientists who have contributed countless hours to collect data in their backyard, analyze online images to cure diseases, build low-cost instruments, and SO much more! Citizen Science Day kicks off on Saturday, April 15th with celebrations running& ...read more
Puerto Rico has a problem: a population of rabies-infected mongooses. The small American territory reports that 40% of its mongoose population is infected with the deadly rabies virus, and just last month the CDC published the first known case of rabies transmission by mongoose bite.
On November 30th, 2015, a 54-year old man from southeastern Puerto Rico was admitted to a local emergency room with a strange constellation of symptoms.(1) Fever, cough, and chest tightness pointed to a respiratory ...read more
Screen images from the Autoimmune Citizen Science app.
Nearly 50 million Americans live with one or more of 80 recognized autoimmune disorders, conditions in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells or tissues. Though widespread, the search for treatments for these conditions can be convoluted and frustrating.
Autoimmune Citizen Science founder Vivek Mandan experienced this frustration first-hand as he struggled to deal with his own autoimmune disorder.
“I spent a l ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
