Hipster chimpanzees and other science

With 35 days to go until our big move to Portland, I find myself facing more than the usual number of deadlines. In addition to packing like a madman, I have also cleverly loaded up my July with lots of writing assignments so I can take a good chunk of August off in order to accomplish the move. That means a lot of stuff I'm writing now may not appear for weeks or even a few months. But quite a bit of it will still appear regularly, as the news waits for no man or moving date.

Anyway, here are this week's five new articles, written for TakePart, Mother Nature Network, and MNN's sister site, ReThink Israel:


Hipster Chimpanzees Sticking Grass in Their Ears Is the New Hot Thing

A New Weapon Against Poachers: Bitcoin

How your old cellphone could help stop illegal logging and poaching

Human evolution reveals clue to solving modern illnesses

Why do children in Israel have fewer peanut allergies?


This coming week should see a bunch of publications at those sites, plus Scientific American, The Institute, and maybe a few others. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for links as they happen!

Extinctions, Poaching and Smart Cities

It's a crazy, awesome, exciting time here at Platt Editorial. In addition to working on a whole bunch of new articles and other top-secret projects, I'm also preparing to move from Maine to Portland, Oregon. That big transition won't happen until early August, but a lot of the planning took part last week. With that out of the way (well, most of it) I'll spend all of July writing so I can once again get into moving mode around August 1.

Expect more news on the move soon, but for now, here are last week's five new articles. Let's start with two "Extinction Countdown" articles for Scientific American:

Bye-Bye Tricolored Blackbird as Population Crashes 44 Percent in 3 Years

Japan Could Lose 561 Plant Species by the Next Century


Now we have my latest wildlife and poaching articles for TakePart:

The Government Wants to Shoot 16,000 Birds to Save the Coho Salmon

CSI Melghat: DNA Evidence Helps Convict Tiger Poachers in India


And finally, here's a new blog article for IEEE's The Institute:

Whose Smart City Is It Anyway?


More next Monday!

Animals and Engineers

This week's articles break down into two pretty clear categories: wildlife and technology. Let's get to the linkage!

First up, two "Extinction Countdown" columns for Scientific American:

Pygmy Sloths Could Gain Much-Needed Endangered Species Protection

After Near-Extinction, Recovery Declared for Two Island Foxes


Next, my latest wildlife and poaching articles for TakePart:

Asia's Demand for Apes is Spurring a Deadly Illegal Trade

Bald Eagles Are Dying of Lead Poisoning and Hunters Are to Blame


And here's one more short wildlife article, time time for Mother Nature Network:

Smithsonian cries uncle on bugs


Shifting to the technology side, here's my latest careers article for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer:

Career Focus: Quality Assurance Engineering


And here's my first blog post for one of my oldest clients, IEEE's The Institute:

Tesla Motors’ Patents Up for Grabs: Any Takers?


Finally this week, here's a technology article for Mother Nature Network's new sister site, ReThink Israel:

Students combine video game and GPS tech to help the blind


That's it for this time around. Join me next week for another batch of new articles!

Sex-crazed marsupials and other science

Hey there, Monday. How have you been? Did you have a nice weekend? Are you ready to get to work, or you do you still need a few things to read over breakfast and your morning coffee? What's that, you're still taking it easy? Perfect! Here are several brand-new articles for you to read while your brain finishes waking up.

First up, two new endangered species articles for Scientific American:

Island Sanctuary Could Save Sex-Crazed Northern Quoll

Should We Stop Selling Nautilus Shells? (this was also reprinted by Salon)


Next we have my latest wildlife and poaching articles for TakePart:

World's Cutest Anteater Increasingly Threatened by Poachers

George R.R. Martin Wants to Kill You to Save Some Wolves



And finally, here are some science/medicine stories for Mother Nature Network and its affiliated sites:

Could a medicine used to treat gout also save our citrus?


Researchers find protein that may help reverse Alzheimer's

New research could help the blind 'see' colors and shapes


There now, that should have you stimulated more than a cuppa java. Time to get to work! (Me too -- I've got more articles to write!)

Tiny bats, deadly poachers, World Cup mascots and more

Last week I bemoaned the fact that I didn't publish all that many articles. Well, this week made up for it. Not only did a lot of my articles come out this week, they were also extremely popular. That's gratifying, especially since so many of them were so much fun to write.

Let's get to the list, starting with this week's two "Extinction Countdown" articles for Scientific American:

Big-Eared Bat, Once Feared Extinct, Rediscovered after 120 Years

3 New Species of Weird, Endangered Fish Discovered in India, U.S and Colombia


Next up, two poaching articles and one wildlife article for TakePart:

Suspected Poachers Arrested for Murder of Zambian Wildlife Ranger

Poachers Are Taking a Deadly Toll on India’s Rare One-Horned Rhinoceroses

Why is the Brown Pelican’s Population Crashing This Year?

And finally, a big batch of science, explainer and history articles for Mother Nature Network and their family of sites:

How the Navajo code talkers helped win World War II

What is beach restoration?

Meet the World Cup's endangered armadillo mascot


Researcher unlocks cause of deadly brain cancer

You may be able to ditch your glasses, new study suggests



That's it for this time around -- I know, it's enough, right? Make sure to follow me on Twitter for more links as they go live in the coming days.

Mysteries and Mayhem

This snake was mystery # 1 for the week.

Huh. Looking back on this past week, it feels as if I must have worked on about 187 different articles, but only four of them saw print. (Well, "print" is not really the word in this online society, but you get my drift.) Anyway, I guess that means you have a whole lot of new articles to look forward to in the coming weeks!

So here are this week's articles, two for Scientific American, one for Mother Nature Network, and one for TakePart. May of these deal with longstanding mysteries. One is incredibly sad.

Found: A Snake Species No One Believed Existed

Genetic Tests Reveal 10 Previously Unknown African Terrapin Species

Have we finally solved the fairy circle mystery?

After Years of Abuse, These Chimps Lashed Out -- And Now the Government Wants Them Dead



Don't miss the hundreds of additional articles coming your way soon. Follow me on Twitter for links as they happen!

Poaching, Genetics and Green Dudes

Hey there, and welcome to my 300th post on the John Platt Article Library. This blog started out as a way to archive some of my previously published articles and other writing, but it quickly evolved. Now the Library is mostly a weekly check-in to look back at my publications from the previous seven days.

Speaking of which, here are eight new goodies from the past seven days.

I'll start this week with three articles for TakePart. In addition to my weekly wildlife articles there I am now also their poaching correspondent.

Mourning Mountain Bull: Poachers Slay Fabled Elephant in Kenya

Elephant Poachers Have a New Problem: U.S. Marines

Meet the Rare, Poisonous Plant That Has Australian Sheep Behaving Like Heroin Addicts


Next up, my latest "Extinction Countdown" article for Scientific American. I only did one article this week because of the pending Memorial Day holiday, but I have some great pieces in the pipeline for this coming week.

Flower Power: Collaboration Keeps Rare Plant off the Endangered Species List


Now we come to some science news articles for Mother Nature Network, where my editors always give me the coolest topics to cover:

With termite genome decoded, researchers aim for less toxic pest control

Evolutionary wrench: Comb jelly discovery may add new branch to tree of life

Longitude Prize reborn to solve top issues of modern world


And finally this week, here's something new: my first appearance on the "Green Dudes" segment of the Green Divas Radio Show, along with a corresponding blog post. I'll be appearing on the show every four-to-six weeks, and it should be a lot of fun. I got my start in radio and it's a blast to be back.

Well, that's it for #300. Join me next week for more!