Recently departed Saint Paul, MN native Deborah Howell has a great article on the perils and paragons of science journalism. It's a smart read for any of us, who are trying decipher the true nature of the hundreds of scientific breakthroughs, findings, and bursts published in our media each day.
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Carolina Parakeet: A photo of a Carolina Parakeet researchers named "Coqueta" now living in captivity in Honduras.
Courtesy John Heldee, Cornell UniversityHuge news in the bird world today as the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology announced the re-discovery of a small isolated population of the "extinct" Carolina parakeet. This news comes hot on the heels of an announcement this month by National Geographic that another extinct species the Worchesters Buttonquail was photographed.
The news from Cornell, as detailed in this press release is a far greater story. The Carolina Parakeet was the only member of the parrot family found in the United States. It was thought they were extinct but a small non-migratory population was found in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve in the Mosquitia region of northeastern Honduras.
Full details will come out in an article in Science magazine this month but lead researcher Hubin Tubbs has said, "The bird we currently have in captivity, the individuals we have seen in the wild and the male we are tracking through telemetry are absolutely the Carolina Parakeet. We know from historical data that the Carolina Parakeet was migratory to this general region. There must have been individuals that did not migrate and they have formed a small but viable non-migratory population all this time."
Biography
- I wish I were an expert in:
- Mountaineering, Animal Training, Writing Poems, Photography
- Dream jobs:
- Wildlife film-maker, Chemical Engineer, Economist
Science in my life
- What is science to you?
- Think about something that does not exist and using critical analysis process make it a reality.
- Technology I love
- Sony PlayStation 3 Nintendo Wii Computers and microcontrollers
- Technology that drives me crazy
- Anything that is overcomplicated and I can see a very simple way to do it.... like, creating a secure wireless network around your home, sharing and printing files within the home networking, connecting your TV to DVD, DVR, Stero System and video game console, improving the performance of Windows XP system by stopping all the unnecessary programs running on your computer
- What technology do you use every day?
- My 2 desktop PCs at home and 5000 in the office!!! Playstation 3 Personal Finance software Internet to read the news
- What math do you use every day?
- What percentage of my income was spent on what? Am I driving faster than 10% of the posted limit :) How much will I save by using this %off coupon on the purchase that I am making?
How has the Internet changed your life?: (Gene in his all-too-natural habitat.)
The newspaper USA Today is turning 25, and is running a series of list -- 25 important events of the last 25 years in 25 different areas of life. Recently, they listed 25 ways in which the Internet has changed our lives. And it got me to thinking how my life has changed because of the web.
- I couldn't do my job without the Internet. Literally. I live in Michigan, but work for the Science Museum of Minnesota. Everything I do is via e-mail, FTP site, or shared server.
- Liza and I were talking just the other day about how the Internet has spoiled us, making it so easy to find photos and information that we now get annoyed if we can't find some obscure piece of information within the first five minutes.
- I keep in touch with family and friends all over the country, through e-mail and a personal photo blog. In fact, I maintained a long-distance relationship with a girlfriend in another country, thanks to e-mail.
- I spend wayyyy too much time reading blogs every night.
So, tell us: How has the Internet changed your life? Leave a comment.
What stood out in the crowd?
Well, 2006 is nearing its end and that means it's time for those always fun end of year lists. So what science discoveries, news stories, scandals, or events were the most important of 2006. Post your ideas as a comment and we will turn the list into a poll where people can vote which ones were the most groundbreaking. I 'heart' community created lists.
I'll add my suggestions as a comment, you should to.
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Science Buzz is supported by the National Science Foundation.Copyright © Science Museum of Minnesota, 2004-2010, except where noted.
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