These topics cover marine biology and issues in other related sciences, such as marine ecology, marine archaelogy and applied sciences.
The year 2020 will be long remembered as the Year of the Coronavirus. The corona or halo of this virus envelope will be the most enduring image of this troublesome year as it flashes all around the newsrooms and as a backdrop of almost all government updates on the Covid-19 pandemic. This seemingly alien structure … Read more
This seems such an odd topic from the start, but I thought it’s worth revisiting in celebration of today’s 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s orbital flight around the earth. John Glenn and Scott Carpenter (who will be celebrating his own 50th anniversary in May) are the last surviving members of the original seven astronauts of NASA’s Project … Read more
This is not your usual technical article on seaweed biochemistry or biology. This topic is quite different. It is the untold tale of discovery, repeated thousands of times around the world by scientists from all disciplines. It is the chase, the hunt for something new, something useful. Starting with a hunch, proving an idea and … Read more
There is so much going on in science and technology every day, yet I am compelled instead to write about this singular event of the decade—September 11th. Where were you on 9/11? This is a most often asked question posed to any New Yorker traveling overseas or just going across the State lines. I wish I … Read more
Native Americans (such as the Pomo, the Ge, the Serrano and Hupa), the Vikings and the Chinese all have their own myths about the lunar eclipse. The Vikings believed that the moon is eaten by Hati, the wolf; the ancient Chinese says that the dragon ate the moon; the Serrano Indians thought that the … Read more
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn … Read more
His Majesty’s Ship Beagle is among the most celebrated of all British warships, commissioned in 1820 as a Cherokee Class, 10-gun brig-sloop. I always thought that it was odd to name a ship after a dog, unless of course there was an actual Mr. or Mrs. Beagle around back then who was worthy of … Read more
This blog entry has its origins from a company newsletter I wrote in 2009 for scientists working on marine coatings. Darlene Brezinski, the editor of Paint & Coatings Industry magazine, liked the topic so much and asked me to take excerpts from that newsletter into the article that appeared in the magazine on the same … Read more