Five Inspiring Hispanic Scientists

One of many inspiring Hispanic scientists: Dr. Helen
Rodriguez-Trias, physician, educator, and advocate
for women's health and equal access to medical.
care. Image Courtesy: National Library of Medicine

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population in the U.S. will reach 132.8 million (or 30 percent of the total U.S. population) by the year 2050.   But Hispanic students (as well as other minorities) continue to be underrepresented in the STEM disciplines and to receive STEM degrees at a lower rate than their White counterparts. In K-12 education, Hispanic students are more likely than Whites to be exposed to funding inequities and to have science teachers who did not major in science.

In the face of these disparities and in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we're highlighting five Hispanic scientists that have had a major and lasting impact on the world around them.   In many cases they overcame obstacles, including racism and sexism, poverty, cultural and family expectations, and lack of mathematics background, in order to work and excel in the fields that they love.  Our hats are off to all of them, and to anyone out there who is studying or working in a STEM field.  May these stories inspire you.

Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias (1929 - 2001)
"We cannot achieve a healthier us without achieving a healthier, more equitable health care system, and ultimately, a more equitable society."

Helen Rodiriguez-Trias combined the two things she loved most--science and people--by pursuing a career in medicine. Born in New York city in 1929, Rodiriguez-Trias moved back and forth between New York and her parents' native Puerto Rico during her childhood and early career.  She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico Medical School in 1960 and established the island's first center for the care of newborn babies, which dramatically lowered the death rate for newborns at the hospital where she completed her residency.

In 1970, she moved back to New York where she became head of the pediatrics department at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx.  In addition to her work as a physician, Rodiriguez-Trias fought to improve medical care for people who had limited access due to poverty, cultural and language barriers, and discrimination. Among her many leadership roles, Rodiriguez-Trias served as the (first Latina) president of the American Public Health Association and the medical director of the New York State AIDS Institute. She also became a tireless advocate and leader in the women's health movement, fighting for equal access to healthcare for poor women and children and fighting against the horrifying practice of forced sterilization. In 2001, less than a year after receiving the Presidential Citizen's Medal, Helen Rodriguez-Trias succumbed to cancer.

For more, visit the National Library of Medicine and the American Journal of Public Health


Dr. Francisco Dallmeier (1953 - )
"In this century we will make the final decisions about how this sixth species extinction currently in progress will end… It is a tremendous responsibility."

At a very young age, Francisco Dallmeier knew that he wanted to follow in his great-grandfather's footsteps and make a career out of working with plants and animals.  At 14, he began volunteering at the La Salle Museum of Natural History in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela.  He moved up the ranks with remarkable speed, and by age 20, he was appointed director of the museum.  At the same time, he was working toward a biology degree at the Central University of Venezuela, and he eventually moved to the United States to pursue a masters and then a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology at Colorado State University. 

From Colorado, Dallmeier went to Washington, DC to work at the Smithsonian Institution.  As the head of the Smithsonian's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity (MAB) program, he has developed important and widely-recognized techniques for measuring and tracking changes in biodiversity. Dallmeier has worked all over the world in places as far reaching as Gabon and Peru focusing on ways to help environmental advocates and industry work together to reduce the impacts of human development.  MAB now has more than 300 research plots and trains scientists around the world in the tools and techniques of conservation biology.

For more, visit the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Friends of the National Zoo


Ynes Mexia (1870-1938)
Ynes Mexia found her true passions--botany and exploring--a bit later in life.  The daughter of a Mexican diplomat and an American socialite, Mexia was born in Washington, DC in 1870.  She made her first career as a social worker, and it wasn't until age 51 that she began taking classes in botany at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1925, she joined a botanical collecting expedition to Mexico sponsored by Stanford University but decided to break off from the group to collect on her own.  She returned with more than 1,500 plant specimens, but that was only the beginning.

Mexia went on to conduct collecting expeditions (often solo) in Alaska, the western U.S., Mexico, and South America, including a 4,800-kilometer canoe trip along the Amazon River. During her last expedition to Mexico, she became ill and was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died in 1938 shortly after her diagnosis.  Mexia's career in botany was short, but her contribution was large: in 13 years of work she collected nearly 150,000 specimens.  Among those, roughly 500 were new species, and two were new genera.

For more, visit JSTOR Plant Science and the UC Berkeley Jepson Herbaria


Dr. Ellen Ochoa (1958 - )
As a child growing up in La Mesa, CA, Ellen Ochoa loved math and music.  She earned her undergraduate degree in physics from San Diego State University, and was contemplating a career in business or as a classical flutist. In the end, she decided to go to graduate school for electrical engineering at Stanford University. In 1983, two years before Ochoa completed her Ph.D., Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, made her first shuttle mission.  Ochoa was inspired, in part by Ride, to apply for the astronaut program.  She was accepted and became an astronaut 1991.  She would soon become the first Latina to go to space.

Since then, Ochoa has logged 978 hours in space, earned three patents, and held a slew of leadership posts at NASA that include assignments on four space missions (at least one of which involved a flute recital in space).  Ochoa now serves as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center and has received many awards for her work as an engineer, physicist, astronaut, and leader.  She has also traveled around the country sharing her experiences with students in the hopes that they will be inspired to dream big and follow their passions.

For more, visit Latina Women of NASA, the Lemelson-MIT Inventor Archive, and NASA News


Dr. Mario Molina (1943 - )
"I am heartened and humbled that I was able to do something that not only contributed to our understanding of atmospheric chemistry, but also had a profound impact on the global environment."

By age 11, Mario Molina had already decided that he wanted to be a research chemist.  Born in Mexico City in 1943, Molina was hooked on science the first time he peered through a microscope and saw tiny amoebas swimming around. He converted a little-used bathroom in his family's home to a chemistry lab, and, with the help of an aunt who was a chemist, began conducting chemistry experiments appropriate for college freshmen. After attending boarding school in Germany, Molina returned to Mexico to study chemical engineering at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).  When he graduated, Molina knew he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, but he also knew his math and physics skills would be behind other students who had majored in physical chemistry.  He did some graduate coursework in Germany, spent several months studying math on his own, and taught at UNAM before eventually applying to get his doctorate at University of California at Berkeley.

With his Ph.D. in hand, Molina went to work in the lab of F. Sherwood Rowland at the University of California at Irvine. There, he began studying what happens to a class of nonreactive chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFC's, when they are released into the air.  Molina and Rowland quickly realized that when the sun breaks down CFC's in the upper atmosphere, the chlorine atoms released catalyze a reaction that destroys ozone molecules. That reaction, repeated over and over again, would eventually deplete and lead to thin spots in the Earth's protective layer of ozone.  This realization, combined with work by another scientist named Paul J. Crutzen who was studying the ozone layer over Antarctica, eventually led to a global ban on CFC's--and to the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the three researchers.

For more, visit the Nobel Prize Foundation


These are just a handful of the many, many inspiring stories out there, and it was extremely difficult to pick five.  Please share your thoughts with us: which Hispanic scientist(s) do you find most inspiring?


LEARN MORE
If you are interested in learning more about these and other Hispanic leaders in science, check out these resources.

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science

SACNAS Biography Project

The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES)

SHPE Foundation (Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math, and Science)

Latinos in Science, Math, and Professions by David E. Newton (book)

Image of the Week: Six New Species of Millipedes Found in Musuem Collections

A male specimen of Nephopyrgodesmus eungella--one of six new
species of millipede found in leaf litter that was sitting on the shelves
of two Australian museums. Image Courtesy: Robert Mesibov (CC)

Think you have to organize an expedition to an isolated patch of wilderness or the deepest depths of the sea to find news species?  Not hardly.  This week, scientists described six new species and three new genera of millipedes that were found on the shelves of two Australian museums.  Dr. Robert Mesibov, a millipede specialist at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, discovered the specimens among the "residue" (in this case bags full of leaf litter) from previous collecting expeditions focused mainly on beetles.  Our image of week shows one of the new species.  All six are described--and shown in beautifully creepy photographic detail--in the open access journal ZooKeys.

LEARN MORE
Find out how scientists classify and name the diversity of life on Earth, in our modules: Taxonomy I and Taxonomy II: Nomenclature.

Read about two new bat species discovered in 2009 among the Smithsonian Institution's mammal collections and a new dinosaur discovered in 2011 in Natural History Museum of London's collections.

See the new species of lacewing scientists in California recently found by browsing photos on Flickr.

Video of the Week: E.O. Wilson's Advice to Young Scientists about Facing Math and Excelling in Your Field

For many students, even those majoring in science, math is a four-letter word. But renowned evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson has a message for aspiring scientists:  "If you are a bit short in mathematical skills, don't worry."

Wilson--who didn't take algebra until his freshman year of college or calculus until he was 32 and a tenured professor at Harvard--wants students and young scientists to know that they can catch up. 
In our video of the week, Wilson offers advice on how to tackle fear of math, how to find the field of study that fits you, and how to excel even if math isn't your strong suit. He implores young people to go into the sciences, saying: "The world needs you, badly."

At Visionlearning, we know that many students struggle with the mathematical components of their science courses.  That's why we're excited to begin work on a series of new modules covering mathematical concepts and skills commonly used in the sciences, from biology to geology. We'll let you know when the first module is ready, and we hope you'll give us your feedback. 

In the meantime, is there a mathematical concept that you (or your students) struggle with?  Has there ever been a time when math held you back in your career or studies?

Controversy over Arsenic-Loving Bacteria comes down to Data Interpretation

Mono Lake, California, home to the controversial, arsenic-tolerant
bacteria known as GFAJ-1.  Image Courtesy Flickr User anaurath (CC)

A little over a year ago, we ran a blog post about a provocative paper in the journal Science called "A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus." Or more accurately, we ran a blog post about the heated discussion and, yes, controversy surrounding the paper.

The researchers' findings were startling because they pointed to a life form--a bacterium called GFAJ-1--that, according to the authors' interpretation of the data, did not need phosphorus to survive. In fact, the authors, led by NASA astrobiology fellow Felisa Wolfe-Simon, posited that the bacteria were replacing the phosphorus in their DNA with the normally-toxic metal arsenic.

The implications were huge. If the results were reproduced by other researchers, our understanding of what makes life possible, on Earth and potentially on other planets, would need serious revision. As soon as the paper appeared online, debate raged in the scientific community. When the paper went to press a couple of months later, it was published alongside eight "technical comments" voicing concerns about the paper's conclusions as well as a rebuttal from the researchers.

Fast forward to this Monday--July 8, 2012.

Two new papers on GFAJ-1 have been published in the online version of Science, both of which suggest that the conclusions drawn in the original study were wrong. The second round of researchers--led by Tobias Erb at the Institute of Microbiology, ETH in Zurich and Marshall Louis Reaves at Princeton--took a closer look at the situation.  They grew the same bacteria (provided by the original authors) in arsenic-rich and phosphorus-depleted conditions. For the most part, their results were similar to the original study--the bacteria did indeed continue to grow in these adverse conditions, and they did find arsenic in its cells.

But when they examined the bacteria's DNA and cellular byproducts more closely, they came to different conclusions than Wolfe-Simon's team had. The new results and their revised interpretation of the data indicate that GFAJ-1 bacteria is very resistant to arsenic (a feat in and of itself), but that it does not incorporate the metal into its genetic material and that it still needs a small amount of phosphorus to survive.

So what happened?  Was the first study "bad science?"  Did the system of peer review fail?  Does this mean that we've wasted our time studying and reading about GFAJ-1?

On the contrary.  This is the process of science. This is how our understanding of the natural world grows and evolves.

In a press statement released with the new papers, the editors of Science summed it up this way:

The scientific process is a naturally self-correcting one, as scientists attempt to replicate published results. Science is pleased to publish additional information on GFAJ-1, an extraordinarily resistant organism that should be of interest for further study, particularly related to arsenic-tolerance mechanisms.

THEN AND NOW:

Compare the Headlines:
New York Times Story "Microbe Finds Arsenic Tasty; Redefines Life," Dec. 2, 2010

New York Times Story "Studies Rebut Finding That Arsenic May Support Life" July 8, 2012


Compare the Papers:
The Original Science Paper, "A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus" Dec. 2, 2010

The Technical Comments and Rebuttal from the authors, May 27th 2011


The New Science Papers, July 8, 2012
"GFAJ-1 Is an Arsenate-Resistant, Phosphate-Dependent Organism"

"Absence of Detectable Arsenate in DNA from Arsenate-Grown GFAJ-1 Cells"

Note: All related papers are free to access, but you may need to register with AAAS.

Darwin Tunes: Scientists Examine How Consumer Choice Can Drive the Evolution of Music from Noise

Image Courtesy: Flickr User all that improbable blue (CC)

Here's an application of evolutionary theory you don't see everyday: the evolution of music by natural, make that public selection.

Researchers from the Department of Life Sciences at the Imperial College of London and the Media Interaction Group at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Japan joined forces to investigate how consumer preferences--as opposed to directed artistic efforts--can affect the evolution of music.  They set out to answer some very interesting questions, including:  Is it possible to make music without a composer? If so, what kind of music is made? What limits the evolution of music?

Inspired by research on evolution in microbes and studies on how art and music develop and change in response to cultural forces, the team created "Darwin Tunes," a computer-based system for simulating natural selection within a "population" of audio clips. Darwin Tunes is powered by an algorithm that creates "digital genomes"--computer programs, which, when executed, create short loops of sound. Like a biological genome that serves as a blueprint for an organism, each digital genome specifies certain parameters--in this case things like instrumentation and note placement. The algorithm does not receive any melodies, rhythms, or other human-created sounds as inputs, so the music created by Darwin Tunes is truly computer-generated.

Running the algorithm once produces a population of 100 audio loops that go through a number of "life cycles" during the course of the experiment. Which loops get to "reproduce" and which "die off" is determined by the ratings given by a group of nearly 7,000 human listeners who use a five-point scale ranging from "I can't stand it" to "I love it." Those clips that are deemed most pleasing reproduce and those that are hard-on-the-ears go extinct. In evolutionary terms, listener ratings are the "selective pressure" acting on the population.

As with living organisms, the offspring of the audio loops differ from their parents for reasons that also mirror biological evolution.  Each audio loop in the second generation is produced by combining the genomes of two first-generation loops (akin to sexual reproduction in nature). The genomes of the second generation are also modified with new, random musical "genetic material" akin to DNA mutations in nature. Each new generation is again rated by listeners.

By repeating this process a few thousand times, the research team found that clips changed over time--moving from sound that would most aptly be called "noise" to sound that qualified as "music." The difference is easy to hear in the clips below, which contain loops produced initially by Darwin Tunes (generation zero), loops from generation 1,500, and loops from generation 3,000.


Generation Zero

Generation 1500

Generation 3000

As any musician or music lover can tell you, the qualities that make a piece of music appealing are complex. To better understand which traits were being "selected for" in the Darwin Tunes populations, the researchers looked to the emerging field of music information retrieval (MIR) technology. MIR is what allows services like Pandora and iTunes to suggest new music based on the songs already on a user's playlist. Using two MIR algorithms to analyze the various generations of clips (both those that evolved with listener input and controls that were randomly assigned ratings), the researchers identified two specific traits that were changing over time: the presence of chords commonly used in popular music and the complexity of rhythmic patterns in the music.

While these two features are clearly important, the researchers conclude that there are many other musical factors in the evolution of these clips and that additional experiments using a wider variety of MRI algorithms would be interesting. The results of the study appear in today's early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. You can listen to and rate clips by visiting the Darwin Tunes website.

For more about evolution and natural selection, browse our modules on Adaptation and Charles Darwin (and don't miss Part 2 or Part 3!).


Want to read more about the science of music? Check out the research conducted by the Pattern Analysis and Intelligent Systems Research Group at the University of Bristol. Their work to develop a mathematical equation that can predict hit songs was presented in December 2011 at the 4th International Workshop on Machine Learning and Music. Visit their Score a Hit website or download the short paper that appeared in the conference proceedings.

Image of the Week: Deep Sea Life Under Pressure

Image Courtesy: NOAA Ocean Explorer and Kevin Raskoff, California State University, Monterey Bay. (CC)

This stunning red deep sea jellyfish from the genus Crossota was photographed during the "Hidden Ocean Expedition" in 2005. That summer, a team of scientists from the United States, Canada, China and Russia embarked on a journey to explore the frigid depths of the Canada Basin, one of the deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean. This jelly, our image of the week, is just one of the many beautiful, bizarre, and mysterious creatures that inhabit the deep sea.

To many scientists, the deep sea (generally defined as below 200 meters) is the Earth's last frontier, and it remains one of the least explored places on our planet. In human history, 12 people have walked on the moon but only three have ever been to the deepest part of the ocean--an area called Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. And we know relatively little about the lifeforms that call the deep sea home. Which species live there? How do their ecosystems function? Physiologically, how do they withstand the extreme high pressure?

This week's issue of Science News features several scientists who are coming up with inventive ways to answer these questions, including a contraption called the Abyss Box. Check out Susan Gaidos' feature story Defying Depth to learn more.

For more images of incredible deep sea creatures, browse NOAA's Aliens from the Deep gallery.

Beach Reads of the Science Variety

Looking for some titles to add to your summer reading list?
Check out some of the Visionlearning team's favorite books.  
Photo courtesy: Flickr User cmcgough. (CC)

Temperatures are on their way up and the swimming suits are coming out of hiding, which can only mean one thing: summer break. Before you buy the latest "beach lit" paperback to while away those sunny hours or download the entire Twilight saga to your e-reader, consider this humble suggestion: this summer, try a page-turner of the science variety.

Think we're joking? Not hardly.  The stories of science are full of complex and intriguing characters who experience, and are shaped by, all the same things as their fictional counterparts--conflict, mistakes, rivalry, passion, doubt, discovery, and luck, to name a few.  But these stories are even more compelling because they are true.

To get you started, we took a quick survey of the Visionlearning team's favorite (nonfiction) science books. They are a combination of recent releases and trusty classics, spanning the range of disciplines. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and we hope you will help improve it by critiquing our suggestions and offering up favorite titles in the comments section below. Happy reading!

ASTRONOMY
Death by Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson
This collection of witty essays from well-known astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson runs the gamut, exploring what would happen if you actually fell into a black hole, the most egregious astronomy errors on the big screen, and everything in between.

The Day We Found the Universe by Marcia Bartusiak
In a book that is part scientific thriller, part character-driven drama, Marcia Bartusiak describes the exciting early days of modern astronomy in the United States. The characters, some of whom are rarely mentioned in pages of textbooks, show how breakthroughs are often not single moments of brilliance, but a collection of hard work, imagination, rivalry, and luck.


BIOLOGY
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
One of science's unsung heroes, Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer from Virginia whose cells (taken without her consent) were grown in culture and used throughout decades of medical research on polio, cancer, the effects of radiation exposure, and much more. Yet Lacks died virtually unknown, and her family never received compensation from the multi-billion dollar industry that her cells made possible. Science writer Rebecca Skloot offers a riveting look at Lacks' story and her legacy, weaving together biology, business, ethics, and the ties that bind families together.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Science writer Mary Roach blends humor, science, and old-fashioned grossology as she explores the fascinating exploits and scientific contributions of human bodies--after they're dead.

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen
As a winner of the John Burroughs Medal, David Quammen is known for his nature writing, but his ability to write about human nature and all our quirks and foibles is equally impressive. This book takes readers back to the 19th century to trace the journey of Charles Darwin--not so much his fabled voyage aboard the HMS Beagle,  but his intellectual and emotional struggle to understand the evidence for natural selection piling up before him.

Evolution's Rainbow by Joan Roughgarden
Evolutionary biologist Joan Roughgarden takes readers on a fascinating tour of sexual diversity among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, challenging traditional notions of gender and sexuality in the animal kingdom and human society.

The Journey of Man by Spencer Wells
Using DNA as a guide, population geneticist Spencer Wells maps all of human history, from our earliest common ancestor to the global diversity we see today, and illuminates the surprising links that connect all of humankind.


CHEMISTRY
The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson
Prolific author Steven Johnson tells the quirky, dramatic story of Joseph Priestley--an 18th century scientist, minister, and associate of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, whose intellectual contributions spanned chemistry, theology, and politics.

The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
Writer, chemist, and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi blends memoir and science writing to tell the beautiful, poignant stories of his life and community--using one element from the periodic table to anchor each chapter.


EARTH SCIENCE
The Two-Mile Time Machine by Richard Alley
Climatologist  Richard Alley offers a glimpse into the world of a climate sleuth and a history of Earth's climate as written in the rings of Greenland's ice cores.

Basin and Range by John McPhee
A classic from Pulitzer Prize-winner John McPhee, Basin and Range is a poetic exploration of the rugged terrain along Interstate-80 through Utah, Nevada, and California--and the geologic processes that created it. A great book for anyone who has ever looked at a landscape and wondered how it came to be.

The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester
Prolific journalist and author Simon Winchester chronicles the story of William Smith--a British coal miner whose on-the-job observations of patterns in rock layers and fossils beds led him to develop the first geologic map of the strata beneath the Earth's surface. The map was not greeted with the acclaim one might expect, but Smith and the power of his idea ultimately triumphed.


ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & NATURE WRITING
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
Journalist Richard Louv examines the body of research showing how healthy childhood development is linked with direct exposure to the natural world and makes a compelling case that the current "wired generation" is seriously threatened by "nature deficit disorder."

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
From the dizzying overabundance of a modern supermarket to the quiet intensity of wild mushroom gathering, Michael Pollan tackles the seemingly simple but ultimately profound question: what should we have for dinner?

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
Today, marine biologist Rachel Carson is probably best remembered for her book Silent Spring and its role in chronicling the effects of pesticides and jumpstarting the American environmental movement. But a decade earlier, in 1951, Carson penned this beautiful, best-selling treatise on the science and poetry of the sea.

The Whale and the Supercomputer by Charles Wohlforth
Journalist and lifelong Alaskan Charles Wohlforth takes readers on a journey to the far North, where climate change is very tangible--to both the scientists studying it and the native people struggling to cope with it.


PHYSICS
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog by Chad Orzel
Physicist Chad Orzel, and his curious dog, Emmy, offer a fun, engaging, and truly unique way to explore quantum mechanics. By considering such practical questions as how to catch a squirrel or locate a bone, Orzel and Emmy dig into the history and technical details of weighty topics like particle-wave duality, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and quantum entanglement.

Einstein: His Life and the Universe by Walter Isaacson
Acclaimed biographer Walter Isaacson examines the life and world-changing ideas of Albert Einstein. Like many icons of history and science, Einstein is surrounded by legends, and Isaacson offers an interesting new take on what is fact and what is folklore.


TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING
The Code Book by Simon Singh
Physicist-turned-award-winning-journalist Simon Singh explores the history and science underlying the secret world of codes and cryptography from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Internet security.

The Human Factor by Kim Vincente
If you've ever felt confused, frustrated, or even endangered by the very technology that is supposed to make life easier and safer, you are not alone. Scientist and engineer Kim Vincente offers a compelling look at how technology has failed us and how we can make dramatic improvements in our satisfaction and safety by factoring the realities of human needs, limits, and habits into technology design.

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine Benyus
Writer, educator, and sustainability consultant Janine Benyus presents a simple but powerful strategy for good design: ask nature. She argues, using compelling examples, that we can learn to design cleaner, more efficient products and technologies by studying nature's 3.8 billion-year record of innovation.


INTERDISCIPLINARY READS
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Renowned travel and nature writer Bill Bryson offers a quick and cheeky tour of, well…everything, from the beginning of the universe to the rise of modern human society. Not content to simply rehash what we know, Bryson takes readers on a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening quest to understand how we know what we know.

Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway
Science historians Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway shine the light on a group of high-level scientists who have repeatedly been the voices of dissent on topics like acid rain, climate change, DDT, and secondhand smoke and examine what can happen when scientific research is at odds with political motives.

Finally, we would be remiss not to mention Visionlearning's own book: The Process of Science by Anthony Carpi and Anne Egger
Using examples drawn from everyday life as well as historical case studies from nearly every branch of science, Carpi and Egger offer a clear and concise explanation of how science really works. While that may not sound like the first thing you'd normally toss in your beach bag, The Process of Science is an easy read and great way to reinvigorate (or start) a thirst for scientific thinking. If you're a student considering a career in science or a teacher looking for resources to help students engage in science, this is a must-read.

E. O. Wilson Takes to Writing Fiction

E. O. Wilson, renowned biologist and one of (if not THE) foremost experts on ant biology and ecology has put pen to paper once again. Only this time, it's to appeal to fiction readers who might not have the time or interest to pick up his more comprehensive nonfiction works.

The novel takes place by the side of a lake in rural southern Alabama. While the story focuses on a young boy who grows up to be a lawyer, the majority of characters, which probably comes as no surprise, are ants. In this undertaking, Wilson says he "had in mind a message, although I hope it doesn't intrude too badly, persuading Americans, and especially Southerners, of the critical importance of land and our vanishing natural environment and wildlife." Read more of his interview with Steve Ross of the Huffington Post here.

It's a unique and interesting undertaking, to say the least. Here, Nature is not just present to provide atmosphere to the story -- it's a main character. Wilson is giving voice to an 'entity' that we typically don't hear from (at least not in the conventional sense). Interestingly, the writer's voice has remained intact during this jump from nonfiction to fiction. The phrasing and terminology used is not unlike that of Wilson's very readable nonfiction books. While it isn't always the most conversational of tones, it is nevertheless quite engaging and gets across a sense of character that many writers of fiction would envy.

What intrigues us more, though, is Wilson's intent before writing -- to create a work of fiction that not only is entertaining, but puts across a sociological message: human beings are a biological species, acting in a biological environment and everything we do impacts all that is around us.

What do you think? Could the new wave of eco-activism be subterfuge? Will making us empathetic to creatures through fiction help a conservation movement that has taken quite a few hits in the last year?

Listen to the NPR podcast on this remarkable new story by clicking here.
Or read a book review by Barbara Kingsolver in the New York Times here.

New Species Found in Phillipines

In the last century, advancements in technology and science have allowed for a thorough exploration of our planet and the rapid sharing of information. So, it is a peculiar condition of our modern times that many young people feel that there is nothing left to discover -- everything has already been done and found (especially the big stuff). But as those who work in the various scientific disciplines know, there is always something new to uncover. You just have to look in the right place!

In the latest volume of Biology Letters, scientists working in the Philippines discuss their discovery of a new species of monitor lizard (genus Varanus). The giant, golden-spotted lizard, a relative of the Komodo dragon, is approximate 6 1/2 feet long, lives in the northern forests of the Sierra Madre mountains in Luzon, and feeds solely on fruits and snails. Apparently, the scientists learned about the species for the first time in 2004, when they spotted local tribesmen carrying one of the dead creatures.

As the article notes, the researchers used "data from morphology and mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences, [to] demonstrate the taxonomic distinctiveness" of the species. This information provided insight into the biogeographical history of the organism; a phylogenetic analysis shows that, though the lizard differs in "characteristics of scalation, colour pattern, body size, anatomy of the reproductive organs and genetic divergence," it is still closely related to lizards on other, nearby islands.

The discovery is noteworthy for many reasons, but particularly because the organism in question is so large. Finding new species of large vertebrates is not nearly as common as finding new types of frogs, insects, or small fishes. Even more, this discovery comes about on an island under significant threat from development and deforestation. Rafe Brown, a member of the team that discovered the monitor lizard, said in a statement to the Associated Press, that they "hope that by focusing on protection of this new monitor, conservation biologists and policy makers can work together to protect the remaining highly imperiled forests of northern Luzon."

Images copyright of Associate Press and Google.com