Wildlife Trafficking, Cybersecurity & Turtle Sex

Hey folks! Happy Monday!

Last week saw the publication of two big new features, both of which I feel have already had a pretty big impact. I can't believe how many emails and tweets I got about them.

Here's the first, probably my longest article to date for TakePart, which managed to predict at least one thing that later came true:

Obama in Kenya: What the President Can Do This Weekend to Help End Poaching


And here's the second feature, my latest technology careers piece for IEEE-USA InSight:

Cybersecurity Professionals: The Government Wants You [Seriously, if you know any smart kids or young professionals, point 'em toward this career.]

Next up, my latest "Extinction Countdown" article for Scientific American, a follow-up to one of this year's most popular articles:

No Motherhood Yet for 100-Year-Old Turtle


Finally, here are two more wildlife-related news articles for TakePart:

Climate Change and Mosquitoes: A Deadly Combination for Hawaii's Rare Birds

Canine Cops Target Ivory Smugglers in Africa


That's it for this time around! Join me next Monday for more or follow me on Twitter for the latest links as they happen.

My Own Private Shark Week (and other stories)

Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week" programming may be over, but that didn't stop me from having my own shark week, with two new articles about Sharks for TakePart and Scientific American:

A Tech Billionaire’s Plan to Save Endangered Sharks and Coral Reefs

Three Angel Shark Species Proposed for Protection


I also wrote two other endangered species stories for SciAm and TakePart:

World's Biggest Bumblebee at Risk of Extinction

Groups Ask Obama Administration to Protect Critically Endangered Pangolins


My last of this week's headlines comes from IEEE's The Institute, where I once again profile the annual Presidents' Scholarship winner (one of my favorite gigs of the year):

High School Student Designs a ‘Wheelchair’ That Lets Users Stand Up


That's it for this week. Make sure to tune in next Monday for more links, or follow me on Twitter for headlines as they happen!

Wolves, Monkeys and Apps Developers

Triskaidekaphobia is a thing. Don't judge me.

It's Monday the 13th and I should probably be superstitious but I have too many projects on my plate to be nervous. (Yes, I know Monday the 13th isn't a thing, but it should be.)

Anyway, last week saw several projects get off my plate and into the world. Here are the first two, my latest "Extinction Countdown" articles for Scientific American:

Wolves and Monkeys: Unusual Hunting Buddies

Endangered Antelope with Fur More Valuable Than Gold on Its Way to Recovery


Next up, two new wildlife/environment articles for TakePart:

Plastic Bags Are Killing Fish—but Not in the Way You Might Think

Will the Drought Topple California’s Towering Redwoods?


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

IEEE/IBM Watson Student Contest Wants App Developers


Lots more in the days and weeks ahead -- assuming I make it through today, of course!

What do whales and jobs have in common?

What do whales and jobs have in common? Easy: they're the subjects of my articles from last week:

A New Threat to Whales: Snake-Oil Salesmen

Poaching Could Cost Africa Millions of Jobs

Those were both for TakePart, by the way.

I've been working at kind of half my normal levels for the past two weeks (which was almost, kinda, sorta like a vacation), but I'm back to full speed ahead starting today. Expect a whole bunch of new articles for all of my regular publishers over the next week and beyond!

Lion Week

Hey folks, welcome to Monday!

I only had two articles appear last week, which was actually two more articles than I had planned. I took a big chunk of last week off to recharge, but that didn't mean I completely stopped writing. Two very different stories about lions popped up, so I wrote them both for Scientific American:

African Lion Populations Down 42 Percent in 21 Years

and

Good News for the World's Rarest Lions

This week's publication list will also probably be on the short side, what with the whole July 4 holiday coming up this weekend, but come on back here next Monday for whatever headlines happen.

Wolves, Whales and other Wildlife

Oregon's famous OR-7 wolf. Credit: USFWS

What a week! The past 7 days brought about all kinds of new articles from my keyboard, including this one, my first feature for Vice magazine's Motherboard imprint:

Wolf-Safe Beef: An Idea Whose Time Has (Almost) Come


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

The Sneaky Ways 2 Frogs Are Beating a Killer Fungus

Sex and the Single Male Bird: Why Uncoupled Individuals Matter

Plus one recent article that was just translated into Spanish for SciAm Español:

Una tortuga de 100 años, la última de su tipo, pronto podría ser mamá


Finally this week, here are three new articles for TakePart:

Saving Elephants by Making Expensive Art

The Unseen Extinction Wiping Out the World's Wildlife

Humpback Whales Are Starving, and Climate Change Is to Blame


I'm pretty proud of this week's articles. I hope you enjoy reading them.

More next Monday!

Elephants, Wolves and Life Sciences

Sometimes journalism is a waiting game. There are many, many subjects that I know I want to cover one day, but all too often they need to wait for the right news hook. Sometimes the opportunity to write about these subjects doesn't come around for weeks, months, or even years.

This week three of those long-in-the-queue subjects hit.

Two of them saw publication in Scientific American:

Alaska's Rare Alexander Archipelago Wolves Nearly Wiped Out in 1 Year

Isn't It Time We Recognize African Elephants as 2 Separate Species?


One more appeared in TakePart, where I also covered a few other cool stories:

A Rare Songbird May Become This Era's Passenger Pigeon

Climate Change Is Helping One Weird Pest Destroy More Crops

Organic Farming's Big Secret: It Helps Wild Animals, Too


Despite the thrill of finally being able to cover those three stories, almost all of this week's articles were pretty negative. Well, here's a nice palate cleanser, my latest careers article for IEEE's The Institute:

The Life Sciences Offer Job Opportunities for Engineers


That's it for this week. See you in 7 days for another link list. Or follow me on Twitter for the latest headlines as they go live.