Nature is full of heartwarming stories about partnerships. One of my all-time favorites is the three-way mutualism between Western ponderosa pine trees, tassel-eared squirrels and mycorrhizal fungi. The trees house the squirrels in their branches and the fungi on their roots. The mycorrhizae break down nutrients in the soil for easier absorption by the tree [...]
Wow, I didn’t realize how burned out I’d gotten on daily blogging. Do I still have any readers, after finishing “100 Days of Science” and then logging off for a whole week? Well, stick with me, because I just needed a break. I won’t blog daily any more, but I’m still here! Today I’m in [...]
Even though I’ll blog after the end of “100 Days of Science,” I’m sweating this last push of my daily effort, wanting to make sure I tackle some of the most pressing science stories I haven’t blogged about yet. A case in point: White-nose syndrome in bats. The disease got a slow start in 2006, [...]
Out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington — which happens to be my undergraduate alma mater — comes good news for coral reef restoration. Study authors Steven McMurray and Joseph Pawlik report that sponges knocked off their reefs by human activities or storms can actually be re-attached with excellent success. “The worldwide decline of coral [...]