Meet the creature that eats its own brain!
The sea squirt is one of my favorite sea creatures. When I was a young boy, I first met my first one in a tidal pool in Laguna Beach, California. I remember bending down close to examine it, and like any kid, I gave it a gentle poke. Imagine my surprise when it squirted me … Continue reading
Meet the Amazing Salp
The first time I saw a photo of a colony of salp, I thought it was a picture of something from a science fiction movie: As a science and nature writer, I’ve become familiar with many sea creatures over the years. But somehow, I had never come across the salp before. What in the heck … Continue reading
Taking a look at landslides in California
Readers of this extreme science blog might want to stop by my Berkeley, Naturally! site and take a look at my latest post: Berkeley Hills Landslide We had a series of very powerful El Niño-related storms last week in California, and I wrote about the effects here in the Berkeley Hills and San Francisco Bay … Continue reading
How “Avatar” Inspires Love of Nature and Love of Science
Few recent movies have moved this nature-lover’s heart as much as the smash-hit “Avatar.” For anyone who loves nature and astonishingly beautiful plants and animals, the experiencing the world of Pandora was like entering a dream-come-true. In fact, that’s exactly how one New York Times reviewer described the movie—”a biologist’s dream.” The reviewer should know, … Continue reading
Amazing Oxygen-Key to Planetary Life
One of the best science books I read in 2009 was Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution by biochemist Nick Lane. Although I think I have a good basic understanding of fundamental biological processes, I didn’t find the book an easy read, frankly. This is no criticism of Lane’s writing. The biological processes … Continue reading
The Red Demons of the Sea of Cortez
The fishermen of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico are said to call it Diablo Rojo, or Red Demon. They tell of fishermen who have fallen into the water and been dragged to horrible deaths, their bodies never recovered. The object of their fear and respect is one of the more formidable predators in the … Continue reading
