It’s the biggest conservation crisis that no one talks about. — Paul Johnson, Director, Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center What group of species is more common in North America than anywhere else in the world? The answer: freshwater mussels. But this unique group of organisms rarely reaches the headlines or even becomes the center of discussion […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: The Who’s Who of global exploration gathered in March, celebrating the 109th year of the Explorers Club. Eating exotic critters, sharing new limits to the endurance of the human spirit, and wearing indigenous dress, explorers swarmed the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: For a typical mom in rural India, breakfast does not involve take-away Starbucks, micro-waved oatmeal, frozen waffles or sparkling tableware extracted from an automatic dishwasher. Instead, it usually consists of leaning over a wood-burning stove for many hours, inhaling particulates while cooking for her family. This scenario […]
You can achieve amazing progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal. — Bill Gates The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just released its annual letter, providing an update on its progress toward creating a better world in which “every person deserves the chance to […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just released its annual letter, providing an update on their progress toward creating a better world in which “every person deserves the chance to live a healthy, productive life.” Their mission is daunting: Globally, it seeks to improve health, education, agriculture, […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: As a nerdy scientist, I was never a Super Bowl fan. This year when Anquan Boldin – who shares my passion for building stone walls in Ethiopia – made the first touchdown of the winning Baltimore Ravens, I became one. Science and sports appear worlds apart, but […]
I can try to explain it to you, but unless you see it for yourself, you really can’t grasp the situation. They’re going through one of the worst droughts ever, it’s barely rained in three years. There is no water to grow vegetation, no water to drink. Everything is like desert. For people in the […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: What group of species is more common in North America than anywhere else? Freshwater mussels. But this unique group of organisms rarely reaches the headlines or even reaches the center of discussion in school biology classes. Even more amazing is the fact that, of the 297 species […]
Coffee is migrating. As it’s getting hotter at lower altitudes, the lower plants are dying off, so it marches the coffee forest up the slopes. — Dean Cycon, owner of Dean’s Beans Coffee Co. Coffee, java, morning Joe, black wine, jolt juice, espresso, cappuccino … Whatever the name, coffee is synonymous with the American dream. […]
Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com: The new Nature Research Center in downtown Raleigh is a world-first in many ways – cutting-edge scientists working in glass labs where the public can see their activities, unprecedented global outreach of science discoveries through the multi-media SECU Daily Planet theater, myriad citizen science participatory programs for […]
