Articles
Looking for stories about science and nature? I’ve written quite a few, some for kids and some for everyone. Here is a selection.
How do marine animals hear?
To your ears, sounds underwater are muffled. But many marine animals do hear well underwater. Find out how. Online. April 2025.
Making waves (news round-up)
Nutrients and the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt • Ocean’s top predators face drastic habitat loss • Eco-friendly plastics • Gulf stream weakening • Predicting oceans’ response to global warming • Deep-sea corals produce reactive “superoxide” • Monitoring coral reef health. Online. Summer 2024.
How do corals form colonies?
To your ears, sounds underwater are muffled. But many marine animals do hear well underwater. Find out how. Online. March 2022.
How do glaciers affect sea level rise?
Our glacial past creates big differences in sea level rise from place to place. Online. January 2022.
Five marine living fossils you should know
After living for millions of years, these species may have mastered evolution in our ocean. Find out how. Online. October 2021.
Fascinating facts about emperor penguins
Learn more about emperor penguins, the largest penguin in the world and permanent residents of Antarctica. Online. September 2021.
Please do not touch the Australian stinging tree
Its leaves are covered with sharp needles that inject a spider-like venom. Online. November 2020.
Many student athletes face risk of concussions that heal slowly
Recovery appears longer for girls and any high school athlete with a previous concussion. Online. November 2020.
New solution for carbon dioxide: Turn it into ‘green’ fuel
Chemists develop a novel catalyst that turns a greenhouse gas into ethanol. Online. September 2020.
Pesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs
Poisoned milkweed plants may be killing off this butterfly, at least regionally, scientists worry. Online. August 2020.
Science at Work: Te Jones, Bat Researcher
You probably know bats echolocation to navigate in darkness. Learn how Te Jones is studying this surprisingly complex process. October 2020.
Pop! Blow a Perfect Bubble
Bubbles are fun to make., and they follow precise laws of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. July/August 2020.
Creeping, Crawling Colors
Test the rainbow with two sweet experiments. September 2018.
Flesh-Eaters or Friends?
Carnivorous plants eat bugs and other small animals to survive. Learn how some animals benefit by living closely with the flesh-eating killers. May/June 2018.
Don't Cry Over Spoiled Milk
Harness the power of microbes by making an ancient food: yogurt! January 2018.
Windows to a Hidden World
Learn how microbes were discovered and how we know what we know about this invisible world. January 2018.
Your Microbial Jungle
Take a tour of your body and meet the microbes that live on you. January 2018.
Mount Everest: What a Mess!
Everest's popularity with mountain climbers has given it a big problem: trash! November/December 2014.
Saving Fallingwater
When Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous house was voted the greatest work of American architecture, there's was just one problem. It was falling down. May/June 2014.
Amorous Architects
Male bowerbird's impressive architectural skills have one purpose: to woo females. May/June 2014.
Wind Farms Are Coming: Scientists Race to Protect Marine Wildlife
With offshore wind farms coming to the mid-Atlantic, scientists want to protect marine birds, but first they have to find them. April 2014.
Gone Today, Here Tomorrow?
Can a tree that had disappeared be brought back from the edge of extinction? April 2011.
Blight Resistance: It's in the DNA
DNA studies are aiding the effort to restore the American chestnut.
Healing Work: Bringing Chestnuts Back to Old Mine Lands
A new approach promises to bring chestnut forests to old surface coal mines in Appalachia.
Chestnuts in China: A Science Expedition Turns into an Adventure
A research expedition heads to China and encounters twists along the way.
Battling the Emerald Ash Borer.
Scientists investigate a new tree-eating invader.