Category Archives: Essays
Life, According to Mary Shelley
Weather can have profound effects upon history. In 1815, the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded occurred on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. It wiped away all life on the island and sent enormous plumes of sulfur into the atmosphere. … Continue reading
Posted in Biology, Essays, History, Origin of life
Tagged biology, history, life, Science
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Of cicadas, mayflies, and naiads
A few days ago, I opened the front door to pick up the newspaper and was greeted by a large, bulky insect, a cicada, perched on the threshold and facing the door as if it were waiting for someone to … Continue reading
Virchow’s family tree
With their technology so severely limited (as compared with today’s world), I’m always amazed at how often the 19thcentury scientists got things right. Maybe it’s because we only hear about the scientists whose theories have survived the test of time: … Continue reading
The Alien from Mono Lake
Mono Lake (image from Wikipedia Commons) One of my favorite science fiction movies is Contact, the Robert Zemeckis vehicle that spent some twenty years in developmental hell before finally being released in 1997. Based on an idea from Carl Sagan (who … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Essays, Origin of life
Tagged aliens, arsenic, astronomy, bacteria, biology, extraterrestrial, life, phosphorus, Science, space
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