Category: Biology

A recent bike ride took me past a dead buck lying by the side the road – a testament to the dangers faced by both animals and people as we continue to build out our roadways. A few miles later, after noticing the remains of a couple of unfortunate squirrel-car encounters, I started to wonder […]

The child you scold for spending so much time on World of Warcraft? That kid could turn out to be a biochemist’s dream. According to University of Washington researchers who run an online game—sorry—an online science project called Foldit, players can beat computer algorithms at solving one of science’s toughest problems: How to fold a […]

For those citizen scientists in the western states who like staying up late, here’s your chance to spy on some winged mammals for science. Two monitoring projects still need your help observing and listening for bats this summer. Citizen scientists in Seattle are needed to help researchers determine what types of bats are chirping in […]

Having just returned from a vacation to one my favorite cities of all time, Seattle, I thought I would highlight some of the amazing citizen science projects taking place in Washington state. Below, I’ve provided just a quick sampling of some the projects we’ve added to our Project Finder. Do you know of any other […]

Around noon today, a Florida wildlife rescue worker loosened his grip on a red-shouldered hawk that had been recuperating from a serious head injury over the past two months. As the surrounding crowd cheered, the bird took flight and soared through the skies over Biscayne National Park (see the video, below). This was the official […]

The major rivers and estuaries along the northeastern coast of the U.S. are preparing for peak spawning season of herring, eels, shad, and other fish. Aquatic dwellers in the Hudson River, situated between NY and NJ, are fortunate to have the Hudson River Estuary Program and Scenic Hudson organizations looking out for them. Now through […]

You might say this post misses the boat. It’s about citizen scientists who monitor water quality—and World Water Day was last week. But  the remarkable thing about these volunteers is that they never stop. They work all year round and nearly around the clock to keep our rivers, streams, and lakes healthy. Now I know […]

They come by the hundreds, always under cover of night: It’s the annual migration of American toads in Upper Roxborough, a suburb of Philadelphia. And that means it’s time for the Toad Detour, when citizens and officials come together to close local roads—and educate commuters—so the amphibians can cross safely to their breeding grounds. From […]

One of the many reasons I love to sneak up to Point Reyes is the night sky.  It’s often stunningly clear up there compared to foggy, urban San Francisco, offering a gorgeous celestial show to anyone inclined to look up. But on a recent getaway, I was bummed to find out that I’d forgotten to […]

Here’s your chance to be part of science history! In the video below, Andy Farke and Matt Wedel introduce the Open Dinosaur Project, a collaborative research effort to develop a database of dinosaur bone measurements. The best part? You don’t need formal scientific training, a background in research, or even to have seen the Jurassic […]