News stories tagged with "nature"

(03/08/12) We all take thousands of breaths each day without thinking about it, yet it's one of the human body's most complex and interesting functions. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss what is actually happening when we breathe.

(03/01/12) The sound environment has a big effect on animal behavior. The prevalence of low-pitched machine sounds in an urban environment may cause male birds to raise the pitch of mating calls. And birds in an environment where the sounds of predators are common will be less successful in breeding and nesting. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss soundscapes.

(02/23/12) In Song of Myself, Whitman says, "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." Given that the world atom supply is finite, more or less, Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager explore the notion that all of us are made up of some atoms that were found in William Shakepeare, the dinosaurs, and each other.

(02/16/12) We think of evolution as moving in a linear progression from the sea to the land. But some creatures, such as whales and dolphins, clearly adapted to the land, then returned to the sea. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley talk about convergent evolution.

(02/09/12) In the second in our series about the biological marketplace, Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager look into the beehive. While some worker bees might try to "cheat," introducing their own eggs into the genetic pool of the hive, other workers will detect and destroy them. The queen presides over a society that shares her DNA, but it is run more like a police state than a family.

(02/06/12) State officials say they hope to save endangered spruce grouse, one of the most iconic birds in the Adirondack Park. more

(02/02/12) Symbiotes are species that must collaborate with another to survive. But some partners are more equal than others. Martha Foley and Curt Stager talk about how organisms can monitor cheaters in symbiotic relationships. It's the first of two conversations about the biological marketplace.

(01/26/12) With our bodies replacing most cells over a period of a few years, it raises the question "Is any part of us original equipment?" According to Curt Stager and Martha Foley, the answer is yes--parts of the eyes and teeth, as well as many nerve and (bad news for dieters) fat cells.

(01/19/12) Vertebrates get around by using their muscles to apply leverage to the bones. But how does an animal move when there are no levers, only muscles? Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley look at some boneless examples: the worm, the elephant's trunk, and the squid.

(01/12/12) Chipmunk, cluckmunk? Chipmunks and many animals have a variety of sounds used to express different things. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager sample the vocabulary used by this common denizen of North Country woods and villages.