Darwin's dead frog, billionaire brains and ant suicide

Ah, summer in vacationland. There's nothing like summer in Maine. The sun, the cool ocean air, the flowers, the birds... It almost makes up for the winters!

Regardless of what season we're in, I'm sure to be found type-type-typing away. This past week didn't see too many new articles published, but I'm working on a ton of other assignments and as busy as ever.

Anyway, here are this week's six new articles, all for Scientific American and Mother Nature Network. Enjoy!

Weird Frog Discovered by Charles Darwin May Be Extinct [this was reprinted by Salon]

Philippines Cancels Planned Burn of Confiscated Elephant Tusks after Clean-Air Groups Object

Why do army ants commit suicide?

Billionaires could live forever by putting their brains in robots

BP ends Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi

Find the cleanest, safest beaches with updated Swim Guide app [this was also reprinted by the Huffington Post.]

That's it for this week! Lots more as we close the books on June and head into July.

Chimpanzees, Cybersecurity and Inventive Teens

Last week started off with a bang and then never slowed down. I interviewed some amazing people, saw several long-in-the-works features appear, fought off come climate-change-denying trolls, and generally had an amazing time. What can I say, I love the life of a freelance writer!

So what did all that excitement yield? Let's go to the links!

First up: This week brought some very cool stories for Extinction Countdown, including my 500th article for Scientific American!

Chimpanzees May Finally Gain Full Protection under the Endangered Species Act

Climate Change versus Groundhogs: Even Common Species Will Suffer

Diseased Tigers, Wounded Rhinos and Other Links from the Brink


Next up, my latest technology careers article for Today's Engineer. The dramatic need for people in this particular field is both terrifying and encouraging:

Cybersecurity Careers – An International Priority

(Seriously, if you know any students who aren't sure what technology career they want to eventually go into, point them in this direction.)

Next up, several articles for Mother Nature Network, including one long-gestating feature and three blog posts:

The Inventioneers: 6 teens invent way to stop dangerous texting while driving

OCD both triggered and treated in mice

RoboRoach: Now you can create your very own cyborg cockroach

Fracking companies are exploiting the Amish, say reports

Bee semen could help combat colony collapse disorder

Meanwhile, an earlier MNN feature on NASA's AirSWOT program was reprinted by the Huffington Post, which probably reprinted one or two other MNN articles. (It's kind of hard to keep track, honestly.)

That's it for last week. This week I'm working on several new SA and MNN articles, plus several features that will appear in the coming months. It's going to be another busy, fast-paced few days, so excuse me while I go get that adrenaline pumping!

Wolves, NASA, God's Bathtub and the buzz about an extinct bee

Happy Monday, folks! I can't believe it's already the second week of June. The time flies by when you're on deadline (make that multiple deadlines).


Last week was a whirlwind. I turned in my first magazine cover feature and three other features that will be making their way to you over the coming weeks and months. And I also wrote all of the articles below. (Well, all but one; the NASA piece was turned in a few weeks ago).

So, about those links! We'll start with my regular Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

Britain Tries (Again) to Re-Introduce Extinct Bees

Extinct Frog Rediscovered in 2011; World Takes Notice in 2013

Gray Wolves Declared ‘Recovered’ and Other Links from the Brink

Next up, a wide range of topics for Mother Nature Network:

Math is hard, but solving this equation could earn you $1 million

NASA takes to the air to measure the world's water

Study: Increased carbon dioxide may lead to greener deserts

God's Bathtub: The Australian lake untouched by time or climate

How a plan to destroy Gezi Park in Turkey sparked nationwide protests


In other news, the fiction anthology on which I served as contributing editor is now available. Check it out.

That's it for this week (and it was enough!). More next Monday, or follow me on Twitter for the latest links as they happen.

Lion tacos, condor controversy and killer diseases

What a week. I sure stirred up some discussion with this week's articles. Meanwhile, I found myself hard at work on several articles that won't appear for at least a couple of months. Freelance writing is sometimes all about immediacy, but other times it's about the slow burn.

Let's start this week's link list with three Extinction Countdown pieces for Scientific American:

Lion Meat Tacos (You Read That Right) Are the Latest Threat to Conservation

Does Controversial Decision Pit California Condors against Wind Turbines?

The Last 50 Corroboree Frogs and Other Links from the Brink



As usual, Mother Nature Network kept me busy writing about a wide range of topics:

Plants resurrected after 400 years under a glacier

Middle Eastern virus called 'threat to entire world' by World Health Organization

Is this grainy sonar image actually Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane?

Apple hires former EPA chief to head green efforts


Last week also saw a few reprints at the Huffington Post and Business Insider.

This coming week will definitely see more from SA and MNN. We'll see if any of other long-in-the-works articles appear as well!

Amphibians in crisis, a gene that itches, and a whole lot more

If it's Monday it must be time for a look back at my articles from the previous week -- even if it's Memorial Day. What can I say, freelancers don't always get to take holidays off.

I'll start this week's list with my Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American, where amphibians found themselves on the bad side of the news:

Frog-Killing Chytrid Fungus Hits Rarely Seen, Wormlike Amphibians

Amphibians in U.S. Declining at “Alarming and Rapid Rate” (this was also reprinted at Salon)

A Monkey with Human Eyes and Other Links from the Brink


Next up, a big batch of articles for Mother Nature Network, including some pretty cool science:

Why we itch: Blame a gene called Nppb

Student filmmakers produce powerful documentary about sea turtle conservation

Fire ants inspire ideas for life-saving search-and-rescue robots

Mystery cause of Irish potato famine finally solved

Oman invests in solar energy -- to extract oil


Outside of the published articles I have also been deep, deep, deep into my next articles for Conservation magazine, Today's Engineer and The Institute, as well as several more articles for SciAm and MNN, plus a big batch of ten articles for another client and a two corporate newsletter gigs. PLUS, this week I got a call out of the blue that ended up being my first magazine cover assignment. So there's that.

Yeah -- busy, busy, busy!

Anyway, even if this is a four-day week, there will still be plenty of new articles. Follow me on Twitter for the latest links as they happen. And I'll see you here next week!

Bad genes, red tides, ocean science and comics

Hey, this is my 250th post at the John Platt Article Library! That's a lot of weeks posting article links and archival pieces. And guess what -- I'm not stopping any time soon!

This week's first article links come your way from the pages of Scientific American, where my Extinction Countdown series appears three times a week:

Desperately Seeking Cichlid: Fish Species Down to Last 3 Males, No Known Females

What Do Tigers and Kiwi Have in Common? The Answer Lies in Their Genes

Deadly Snakes, Ugly Critters, Leonardo DiCaprio and Other Links from the Brink

Next up is something different, three articles for the Transect newsletter published by Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. These cover glowing red tides, a unique cross-continent education program, and an expedition deep, deep, deep below the Atlantic Ocean -- while Hurricane Sandy pounded the coast a few hundred miles away! You can download the PDF here.


And finally, here are four new articles for Mother Nature Network:

Bill Gates 2.0: From Microsoft founder to disease eradicator

'Crazy ants' invade southeastern U.S.

Sequester forces cuts in volcano monitoring

Monsanto wins Supreme Court case on GMO soybean seeds


In addition to this week's articles, I made a rare public appearance at the Maine Comic Arts Festival in Portland, where I was selling my handmade comics and original art. What a great time! It was nice to hear so many people laughing at my work. I spend so much time writing about dark and depressing subjects, it's nice to get back to the humorous side of things once in a while!

Well, that's it for this week. I have a lot more in process and pending publication. Stay tuned for the latest updates!

How to be a consultant and ten more new articles

If it's Monday, it must be time for another list of links to my articles from the previous week. And what a bunch of articles they were!

I'm going to break tradition and start this week's list with my latest careers articles, the first of which comes your way from The Institute. This contains some great advice for anyone running their own business or consultation practice:

Building a Better Consulting Practice

Next up, another career-oriented piece, this time from Today's Engineer:

What Makes a Good STEM Mentor?

Now we get to my usual Extinction Countdown articles for Scientific American:

How Poachers Stole 10 Percent of an Entire Tortoise Species…and What Happened Next

The 5 Most Endangered Canine Species

Massacred Elephants, Found Frogs and Other Links from the Brink

And finally, here are several articles for Mother Nature Network:

Oil and fracking booms creating housing busts

Solar industry is evolving — and experiencing growing pains

Al Gore reportedly now worth more than $200 million, called 'Romney-Rich' by Bloomberg

Fracking is draining water resources, especially in the West

Launch of the Nautilus: New magazine aims to be 'a New Yorker version of Scientific American'

Man survived being swallowed by a hippo

More to come!