Rediscovered species, Engineering careers, Ocean crusaders, French weirdness and more

Wow. It's almost hard to believe how many articles I published last week. This was one of those weeks when working on a combination of breaking news stories and features resulted in a whole bunch of stories coming out at the same time.

Meanwhile, readership on all of this articles was way above average. It helps when the world gives you interesting stories to tell!

So without further ado, here are this week's articles, starting with my two Extinction Countdown posts for Scientific American:

Solenodon: ‘Extinct’ Venomous Mammal Rediscovered in Cuba after 10-Year Search

(This was also reprinted by the Huffington Post.)

Last Wild Siamese Crocodile in Vietnam Found Strangled to Death


Two long-in-the-works engineer-related features came out this week, the first of which appeared in the IEEE publication, The Institute:

IEEE Trains Preuniversity Teachers in India 

...and the second of which appeared in IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Defense Industry STEM Jobs


Wrapping it up, here are this week's articles for Mother Nature Network, a mix of interesting environmental and science stories:

Plastic power: Aviator plans intercontinental trip using plastics for fuel

Scientists dash hopes for dinosaur cloning

Why are French bees producing blue and green honey?

TerraMar Project launches to celebrate and protect the world's oceans

New Mexico and other states face a new crime trend: Grass thefts

Ketamine could rapidly treat depression, study finds


Well, that's it for this time around. I'm sure this coming week won't be quite so publication-heavy, but I'm working on a huge batch of new articles that will probably all see publication in one big clump again some time in the next month. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

Life-saving dung, MacArthur geniuses and other goodies

Happy Monday! It's time for my weekly compendium of the previous week's articles. Just in time for you to delay the start of your work week!

Last week brought five new articles, plus one reprint. Let's start, as I usually do, with my Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:


Italy Faces Invasion of American Killer Squirrels

Dung from Critically Endangered Kakapo Parrots Could Save Endangered Plant

In addition, my recent Extinction Countdown article on Conservation Drones was reprinted by Mother Jones.


Mother Nature Network had my write about a few innovators this week, including two geniuses and one, um...

Innovative astronomer Olivier Guyon named a 2012 MacArthur 'genius' fellow

Marine ecologist Nancy Rabalais receives $500,000 MacArthur 'genius' grant

'Algae Opera': Singer grows edible algae with her breath


I have a bunch of new long-in-the-works articles pending publication this month -- maybe even this week -- so stay tuned to my Twitter feed for announcements as they go live.

Conservation drones, an amazing fish, and methane surprises

September's close brought a bunch of new articles by me, and tons of deadlines to finish up work that will be appearing over the coming weeks and months. Here are this week's links...

It was unofficially "primate week" for my Extinction Countdown blog at Scientific American:

Eye in the Sky: Drones Help Conserve Sumatran Orangutans and Other Wildlife

Guerrilla Marketing to Save Mountain Gorillas: Renewable Energy to the Rescue


Most of my publications this week were for Mother Nature Network, which had me writing about all kinds of interesting topics:

Amazing underwater 'crop circles' spun by Japanese puffer fish

Algae clogs newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C.

Carmageddon 2 looms over Los Angeles this weekend

What is methane and why should you care?

6 surprising sources of methane

Bicycle commuting: How does your state (and gender) compare? 


And that's it for this time around. There's lots more coming, so stay tuned!

World Cup mascot, biomimicry and more

Well last week was kind of light on the publication side, which feels strange since I have so many articles pending publication in so many places.

Oh well, here's last week's linkage -- the first two are from Scientific American, while the next two are from Mother Nature Network:



Tiny, Critically Endangered and Controversial Nevada Fish Experiences Dramatic Population Increase

World Cup Picks Endangered Armadillo as 2014 Mascot

Did GMO corn give these mice giant tumors?

Biomimicry: Science inspired by nature could feed the hungry, reduce impact of technology

(That last one was also reprinted by the Huffington Post.)


Well, that's it for this time around. Next week's list should be much longer!

Cayman Islands, Rhinos, Wolves and Engineers

What do the Cayman Islands, rhinos, wolves and engineers have in common? Well, since you're reading this blog, you know that they're all the subjects of my articles from last week.

Let's start with my Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American, which kicked off some discussion about hunting and responsibility:

Endangered Cayman Islands Parrots and Iguanas Could Use More Shelters and Havens

23,000 People from 33 States Apply for Minnesota Wolf Hunting Permits; Unrestricted Hunting Starts Soon in Wyoming

Meanwhile, one of my earlier Extinction Countdown articles, on bison embryo washing, was reprinted by Mother Jones.



Sticking with endangered species, my latest article for Conservation Magazine appears in their September 2012 print issue and online:

Spiked - Could poisoning rhino horns undermine their medicinal reputation?


Mother Nature Network is keeping me busy. I have at least four articles pending publication there, but here's what appeared last week:

Is Amazon Prime eco-friendly or wasteful?

Portland's vote to add fluoride to water looms

Drought sending more wildlife into towns looking for food


And finally, my latest article for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer covers a career path that many people don't even realize exists:

Career Focus: Contract Engineering Jobs


This week I'm heads-down on my next articles for Today's Engineer, Lion, Scientific American, Mother Nature Network and several other places, but expect plenty of links to new articles all week long. Follow me on Twitter to see them as they go live.

An otter extinction, NFL head injuries, and an award

I have so many articles in the works or pending publication that it almost seems anticlimactic to post this list of last week's published articles. But here goes:

First up, this week's two articles for Scientific American:

Japanese River Otter Declared Extinct

First Purebred Bison Calf Born after Disease-Washing Embryo Transfer

Next, three diverse news stories for Mother Nature Network:

From Starbucks croissants to succinic acid: Baked goods could become bioplastics

Hurricane Isaac deposits oil, possibly from Deepwater Horizon, on Louisiana beaches

Study finds NFL players three times as likely to die of brain disorders

In other news, I'm happy to share that The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction -- for which I have been very, very slowing writing the comics-related entries, won a Hugo Award last week. The editors have embraced a massive undertaking to create this incredible resource and they fully deserve this great honor.

More next week!

Pre-Labor Day Labors

It being the final week of the summer season, last week didn't see a heck of a lot of new articles by me, a situation I'm sure we'll see repeated during this, the short first week of the post-summer season. But here are the new headlines from all things Platt:

Scientific American:

Chimps Infected with Human Diseases Pose Possible Risk to Reintroduction Efforts [This was also reprinted by Mother Jones.]

Updates from the Brink: Dying Devils, Disappearing Vultures and a $473,000 Fish

In addition to the new web articles, my Extinction Countdown article on cougars has been adapted for the September print issue of SciAm:

(Don't pull out the magnifying glass. You can read the online version of this article here.)


Mother Nature Network:

Six Flags turns Wild Safari into off-road adventure

Follow me on Twitter for more articles throughout the week!