Crazy worms, cheetah selfies and more

It's T-minus 14 days until the moving truck pulls up and we officially begin our move to Portland, Oregon. I'm still writing away, though, trying to get as much done before the packing boxes overwhelm my office.

Here are this week's five new articles: two for Scientific American, two for TakePart, and one for Mother Nature Network sister site From the Grapevine:

Wild Births are Big Steps for Rare California Condors and Mexican Wolves

Somali Ostrich and 360 Other Newly Discovered Birds Added to List of Threatened Species

The Aggressive, Insatiable Asian Crazy Worm Has Invaded Wisconsin

Cheetahs Are Being Wiped Out, and Selfies Are to Blame

Universities in Connecticut and Israel team up to study clean energy


Next Monday will probably be my last weekly update here until after the move, but I will no doubt be tweeting links to any articles that go live while we're in transit. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen.

Job Interviews, Mountain Gorillas and Reptile Robberies

Monday rolls around once again, and with it comes my latest list of article links. This week also marks the beginning of big changes in my publication patterns. Right now I am typing like a madman in anticipation of moving from Maine to Portland, Oregon, in three short weeks. I should have a lot of articles out over the next few weeks, then things will slow down during August as we pack, drive across the country, unpack and get settled. Then, come September, the article machine should once again kick into high gear.

But that's the future. Let's talk about the recent past. Here are my publications from this past week, starting with my latest careers article for IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer. I had a lot of fun writing this:

Tips for Effective Skype Job Interviews


Next up, two new Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Tiger Skins Are Like Fingerprints—Could That Help Stop Smugglers and Poachers?

Baby Mountain Gorillas Celebrated by 40,000 People in Rwanda


Sticking with animals (but getting a bit bleaker), here are this week's wildlife/poaching articles for TakePart:

Is This Polar Bear the World's Saddest Animal?

Reptile Robbery: Why Poachers Are Wiping Out Ontario’s Turtles


And finally, a newsy environmental article for Mother Nature Network:

EPA: Proposed Pebble Mine could destroy Alaskan salmon fishery


Well, that's it for today. Next week's list should be even longer. I have a ton of articles due this week and quite a few already in my editors' hands pending publication. Oh yeah, and I have a lot of packing to do. Lots and lots of packing...

Manatees, Milk and More

I hope you're sitting comfortably because you have more than a few of my articles to read this week. Several of these were written last week, while many finally worked their way through the publication cycle into the world.

Let's start the linkfest with my two latest "Extinction Countdown" articles for Scientific American:

Endangered Manatees Face a New Threat: Lawsuits

Why Is Namibia Killing Its Rare Desert Elephants?


Next up, my latest wildlife and poaching articles for TakePart, as well as two explainers:

The U.K.'s Unjustifiable Plan to Kill Thousands of Its Beloved Badgers

Poachers Are Killing Thousands of African Vultures to Hide Evidence of Their Crimes

How do solar panels work?

What is a carbon footprint?


My latest article for Conservation just hit the web. It's also in their summer print issue:

Non-Toxic Flame Retardants Made from Milk


Here are three new articles for Mother Nature Network and their sister site, ReThink Israel:

Photosynthesis photographed for the first time

Butterflies change travel plans as U.K. warms

5 cool new robot inventions


And finally this week, my latest careers article for IEEE's The Institute:

Noncompete Clauses: What You Should Know


This coming week should bring one or two other new items from the publication queue, as well as all of the new stuff I'll be writing this week. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for links as they happen!

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!