Science Cheerleader

Ame, a reader from Philly, posted this question in response to the FireFly article:

I don’t see as many Fireflies these days so my daughter and I will participate in the FireFly Watch to help solve the mystery. I also don’t see as many bees and I’ve never seen a baby pigeon. Why?

Now is the time to spot baby pigeons in Philly, Ame. According to Hannah Holmes, spring and summer months provide the best viewing opportunities but you’ll have to look carefully. You don’t see them often because, like tennis great Rafael Nadal, pigeons like living at home with their parents. (OK, Nadal is only 20–and cute–so we’ll cut him a break.)  

By the time a pigeon leaves its nest, it’s about the size of a mature adult. There are some visual clues: their heads may be narrower than other pigeons and they may have down feathers poking out. They may also be dating gorgeous supermodels. Ooops. Getting baby pigeons confused with Nadal again. If you’re interested, you can read more about baby pigeons here.

The buzz on the bees. Yup, we are seeing fewer of them. More than one-third of bees in managed colonies in the U.S. disappeared  last winter in what’s been called a “colony collapse disorder.” It was thought a virus was responsible but that’s looking less likely to be the cause. The case of the disappearing bees needs to be solved soon because they play a critical role in our ecology and economy.

According to this bit in Discover Magazine, Congress was faced with some surprising facts last week during an official hearing on this topic: nationwide, bees pollinate $14.6 billion worth of fruits and veggies every year;  Haagen-Dazs gets more than 40% of its product’s flavors from fruits and nuts, dependent on honeybees. And, here are 20 more things I didn’t know about bees.

 Jonathan Farley, math whiz, winner of too many awards to count, and movie consultant, recently wrote about missing bees in The New York Times. In the article, he talks about the unexplained collapse of bee colonies since 2006, and how a mathematical model could be used to predict the number that will die in the future. I chatted with Farley about this and other topics. He’d like to speak with citizen scientists working with bees to see if they have some insight into this ongoing mystery. If I just described you, let me know if you’d like to be put in touch with Farley. Super neat guy.  Here’s just part of what he does for fun.

Hope this answers your questions, Ame.

Check out Paul Hoffman’s blog. Paul, my friend and former boss at Discover Magazine (when it was owned by Disney) is a master at deducing complex scientific material and cerebral challenges into terms I can understand. He did this as the editor in chief at Discover, then as the President of Encyclopedia Britannica and more recently as the author of The King’s Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World’s Most Dangerous Game.

My book club discussed this book recently and we spent a good ten minutes dissecting the meaning of the cover alone. Hard to imagine a book with chess on the cover could be a page-turner, but it is. And I’m not just saying that because Paul just blogged about me here! 

Cheers!

Darlene

It’s been quite a week for science. Some of the greatest minds in science shared their visions and concerns for the future of mankind at the World Science Summit yesterday at Columbia University in NY.

(I squirreled my way into the “invitation only” event and managed to insert myself into fascinating conversations: “Quasors and String Theory, uh, yeah, I [pause] got it,  but how can we provide more meaningful opportunities for citizens to voice their opinions, concerns, hopes and fears about science?” More on that wild experience, later!)

After NYC Mayor Bloomberg opened the Summit (did anyone know he majored in engineering in college?), actor Alan Alda took the stage to help announce the winners of the $1 million Kavli Prize. Here’s the report I wrote for Discover Magazine. 

All of that took place in just the first hour of the day-long Summit. Stay tuned for more.

Cheers!

Right now, Shad are starting to appear in rivers. A sure sign spring has sprung!

The Shad is a remarkable fish with a rich history (as told by John McPhee in The Founding Fish) and impressive ecological link. Like the Salmon, it is anadromous and migrates from its salt water ocean home to fresh river waters to spawn. The Shad’s oscillating presence in the rivers reflects the health of the water. No Shad? That’s Bad. It means our (drinking!) water is polluted and the Shad took a pass. Fortunately, citizen science and other efforts are underway to keep rivers clean.

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