Big Science and Big Science BooksJanuary 04, 2004 – Today’s issue of Newsday has my review of Sea of Glory, Nathaniel Philbrick’s history of the first great scientific U.S. expedition. The review gets pretty harsh towards the end, despite the fact that the book is an exquisitely researched narrative of a fascinating subject. (What makes it particularly fascinating is that the expedition’s leader, Charles […]
A Projection of Things to Come for VeniceDecember 06, 2008 – By Ashley Thompson This week, Venice battled the highest floodwaters it’s faced in more than two decades, and the fourth-highest levels in contemporary history. Our friends over at National Geographic have a gripping photo gallery of life continuing in Venice, despite swelling seas and Mayor Massimo Cacciari’s request to tourists and residents to stay indoors.…
Blood Genes Where There Is No BloodApril 26, 2010 – In tomorrow’s New York Times, I take a look at a new way of finding disease-related genes: search their ancient evolutionary history. Scientists can find genes involved in blood vessel growth in yeast–which have no blood. They can find genes that help build human embryos in plants, where they sense gravity. It’s a twist on […]
Chimps in the land of cheeseNovember 02, 2003 – I’ll be off blogging duty for a couple days while I head out to Wisconsin to give a couple talks at UW. I’ll be talking about what chimp DNA can tell us about ourselves. I wrote about the topic last year for Natural History, but I’ll be focusing on some newer work that has come […]
Free Things to Do in BostonOctober 20, 2010 – As any Red Sox fan knows, Boston is a baseball town. But it's more than that. As a hub for revolutionary thinking during the colonial period, Boston has a rich history that is easily accessible without having to purchase any museum tickets. The city offers contemporary cost free attractions as well, such as outdoor concerts, which can be enjoyed in numerous public parks. Many of the area's distinguished institutions can be free as well, if you plan your visit with these deals in mind. Whatever type of diversion you're seeking, chances are, you can find it for free in Boston.
The Whale and the AntibodyDecember 31, 2004 – Evolutionary biologists face a challenge that’s a lot like a challenge of studying ancient human history: to retrieve vanished connections. The people who live in remote Polynesia presumably didn’t sprout from the island soil like trees–they must have come from somewhere. Tracing their connection to ancestors elsewhere hasn’t been easy, in part because the islands […]
40th Anniversary of Moonwalk: Interview with Buzz AldrinJuly 20, 2009 – Text by Ryan Bradley, Photograph courtesy of NASA It’s been 40 years since Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. became the second human in history to set foot on the moon. Though he retired from NASA not long after the Apollo 11 mission, he’s still awfully vocal about how important space remains, and why we need to…
News: Hikers, Racers Mount New Searches For Steve FossettJuly 15, 2008 – Text by Contributing Editor James Vlahos Last fall’s disappearance of Steve Fossett—one of the 21st century’s most celebrated aviators, the first person to fly around the world alone and nonstop by both hot air balloon and plane—prompted one of the most extensive search and rescue efforts in U.S. history. But neither Fossett nor his presumedly…
Tour Guide: San Fran’s ChinatownDecember 06, 2007 – In many major U.S. cities, you’ll find a cultural hub we all know as Chinatown (unless you’re in Seattle, where it’s the politically-correct “International District“). As many people flock to Chinatown for its cheap eats, the history and cultural aspects of these places often get forgotten. That’s why the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco…
The Long Weekend: Appleton, WisconsinJuly 17, 2008 – The Houdini-themed fiberglass “Metamorph Lion” stands guard in front of Appleton’s History Museum. I had a sense of what to expect from Appleton, Wisconsin, when I visited the most wholesome of college towns in Middle America—and on Flag Day, no less. But the genial college town proved more surprising with each cheesehead I encountered (best…
Obama Suspends Arctic DrillingMay 27, 2010 – Referred to as Obama’s Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is officially the worst spill in U.S. history, and an environmental turned political disaster. This afternoon, under extreme pressure to act, President Obama made his most dramatic policy response yet: an announcement that the U.S. will suspend any attempts at exploratory drilling in the Arctic…
Living SquaresJune 17, 2008 – Jordan writes: “My tattoo is of the ‘glider’ formation from John Conway’s Game of Life. As a History of Science student I love this geometric arrangement and its promise of self-contained (not viral) reproduction, and travel.”Carl: For more on Conway’s primordial artificial life, see here. Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
Comets, War, and LoveSeptember 13, 2008 – Philosopher Kate Devitt writes, “I started my undergraduate degree in the history and philosophy of science. For our second wedding anniversary, my beloved proposed getting matching shooting star tattoos to immortalize our first date under the night sky. The Halley’s comet design from the Bayeux tapestry was a perfect way to celebrate.” Carl: The Bayeux […]
The Dawn of Brains and BonesFebruary 22, 2006 – Go back far enough in our history–maybe about 650 million years–and you come to a time when our ancestors were still invertebrates. That is, they had no skulls, teeth, or other bones. They didn’t even have a brain. How invertebrates became vertebrates is a fascinating question, made all the more fascinating because the answer tells […]
Bus2Antarctica: Andrew Speaks!March 31, 2010 – Andrew Evans always dreamed of going to Antarctica. How he’d get there was another story. So he came to us with an idea: He’d take the bus. The rest, as they say, is history. Those of you who followed along with Andrew during his 10-week, 10,000 mile Bus2Antarctica journey learned to love the funny, poignant,…
Interview: John Huston, First American to Ski to North Pole UnsupportedApril 29, 2009 – Text by Tetsuhiko Endo At 5:30 p.m. on April 25th, after 54 days of skiing, John Huston, 32, and Tyler Fish, 34, reached the North Pole and became the first Americans in history do so unassisted and on skis. ADVENTURE caught up with John Huston yesterday as he relaxed in a hotel room on Oslo, Norway, waiting to…