From Georgia and Alabama in the South to Michigan and Maine in the North, the American chestnut was once a keystone species of the Eastern Deciduous Forest. In 1904, one out of every four trees east of the Mississippi was an American chestnut. It could reach heights over 100 feet, earning it the nickname “the […]
Darling 58: Using genetic engineering to save the American chestnut Read More »
Beneath the African continent and the Pacific Ocean; two mantle superplumes, massive areas of the mantle with different seismic wave velocities and different compositions; exist. These large areas are associated with most hot spot volcanoes and large provinces of volcanic rock on the Earth’s surface. Their formation is linked to the supercontinent cycle, the cyclical
Supercontinents, superplumes, and true polar wander Read More »
Modern-day folklore is rich with tales of cryptid species: stories of undiscovered animals, lake monsters and strange creatures stalking the night. As fun as these stories are, they don’t represent actual biology research, but in the same woods where people go hunting for bigfoot or the Mothman, one can find real-life cryptic species hiding in
Move over Mothman: Cryptic species and taxonomy Read More »
In the autumn of 1518, Strasbourg, a prominent trading city on the banks of the Rhine River, was alive with the sound of dancing. Musicians played day and night; a new stage was constructed across from the market; and over 400 people — all stricken by the dancing mania plaguing the city — whirled, twirled,
Boogie fever: A look at the dancing mania epidemics of the Middle Ages Read More »