When it comes to echolocation, some bats just wing it
My latest piece for NationalGeographic.com is about scientists discovering that some bats can echolocate using sonar clicks from their wings. In every previously known example of echolocation, animals such as bats, dolphins, some birds and even some shrews use some sort of vocal organ (larynx, tongue, ‘sonar lips’ etc) to produce high-frequency sounds that they […]
How crazy ants live up to their name
Crazy ants (named for their strange, jerky walk) are displacing fire ants from the Southern US. Fire ants are notorious for their toxic venom, so researchers wondered how the crazy ants were able to overcome them. It turns out they’ve developed a neat behavioral trick, smearing their own formic acid venom all over their bodies […]
Writing, coding, and time for a vacation
I finished my last freelance story for 2013, a NationalGeographic.com article about a dinosaur fossil with a fleshy comb like that of a rooster. I also took a few lessons on CodeAcademy. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a quick primer on various programming languages, I find their lessons quite a bit of […]