Why, my friends, do we head to the beach? Is it for the sun, the surf, the sand, the salt? Seashells, seagulls, sandpipers, swimming, snorkeling? (oh god somebody stop me). No! Obviously, we pile ourselves in a hot, sandy car for hours and burn ourselves to a crisp for the smells. Yes, you heard me … Continue reading
Obligatory marine science reference. Back in high school, I remember visiting the house of a friend whose parents were the proud owners of two bulldogs. They were cute and slobbery (the dogs, not the parents), but what I most vividly recall about them are how the sound of their snuffles and wheezes would fill the whole house. The upside … Continue reading
No matter the size, color, or species, what unites almost all of life on Earth is it’s ultimate dependence on sunlight. Plants use energy from the sun to grow, which we and other organisms then utilize through stuffing those plants (and animals that have eaten plants) into our greedy mouths. However, there are exceptions to … Continue reading
Once again, it’s Shark Week on Discovery Channel. As a marine scientist I can’t condone the unholy union of fact and fiction which has seemed to characterize this year’s programming (see “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine” and “Megalodon: The Shark That Lives”), but I can’t deny that sharks are pretty awesome. Despite evidence that a … Continue reading
This past week, I was lucky enough to attend ComSciCon 2014 in Boston. ComSciCon stands for the “Communicating Science Conference” and is basically a workshop run by graduate students, for graduate students, so we can get together, share ideas, and ultimately become better science communicators. The workshop was a whirlwind of panel discussions, writing sessions, 1 … Continue reading
If you’re reading these words right now, chances are you’re a human (if you’re not, shoot me an email–I have a LOT of questions for you). As humans, our tendency is to organize–to tease meaning out of data. Humans are wired to look for patterns; this is one of the traits that’s propelled our species … Continue reading
Today I have for you the second part of our inaugural podcast, all about the wonderful world of diatoms! In this half of our podcast, I talk with Natalie Cohen and Carly Moreno, two of the other graduate students in my lab at UNC-Chapel Hill. Topics range from what it’s like to go on a … Continue reading
Today I have something a little different to share–my first ever podcast! It’s diatom-themed (of course) and in it I discuss what diatoms are, what it’s like to research them, and why you should care about them in the first place. I’m far more used to writing blog posts than creating something audio-based, so this … Continue reading
Dinoflagellate; the combination of the Greek δῖνος/dinos, “whirling” and Latin flagellum, “whip, scourge.” I recently ran across a poem, written back in 2001 by a scientist named Mary Harrington who was in the midst of some phytoplankton research. She published her poem, transcribed below, in the Journal of Biological Rhythms. Science to follow! — FEEDBACK If the lazy dinoflagellate … Continue reading
It was a bright and cheerful morning, with birds chirping outside and a hint of spring in the air. But inside my cubicle, things weren’t looking nearly as sunny. In front of me was a scientific journal article, hot off the presses, which supposedly held the answer to the biggest murder mystery in the history of … Continue reading
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