This month marks the 50^th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. As a youth, Carson enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, originally intending to major in English but later switching to Biology and eventually earning a master’s degree in 1932./… Read full post »

On our last night in the chalet that has been our home for almost the past two years, my wife Yaa poured a glass of wine for me and I stepped outside onto the back porch we never used, to take in the night air. The moon was shining brightly… Read full post »

The hippopotamus is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa but its range is now highly fragmented. The only other living species of hippopotamid, the pygmy hippopotamus, is found only in a few scattered locations in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Coté d&rsquo… Read full post »

The Witches’ Camp at Kpatinga provides sanctuary for women who have

 been forced to flee their homes because of accusations of witchcraft. World Vision Ghana provides support for these women in an effort to help them improve their lot.

    &… Read full post »

Here’s an article in the Los Angeles Times about a couple raising their son as a girl.

Of course, that’s not how they describe it. They identify themselves as the parents of a “transgendered” child.

The article tells the story of Aaron, a… Read full post »

Like a zombie plague, they just keep coming and coming…

An abstract in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology describes efforts by scientists at Braasch Biotech LLC to develop a vaccine for obesity in mice and men. The vaccine works by inactivating soma/… Read full post »

According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, a proposal in the California State Legislature to study alternative models of dental care delivery has set some people’s teeth on edge.

In case you think this is a trivial matter, think again. Nationwide, some 50 m… Read full post »

The era of the Serial-Killer-As-Star coincided almost perfectly with my formative years, which may explain a lot. The archetype was Gary Gilmore, the first man to be executed in the United States after almost a decade and the subject of a much-ballyhooed Playboy interview./… Read full post »

“Steep fall in death rates among diabetics,” announces the headline in the New York Times.

That seems like great news, doesn’t it? But things are not always as they seem.

The NYT article describes a study published by Doctor Edward W Gregg and his colleagues/… Read full post »

Italian Army sword, Italian Army bayonet, and Ethiopian swords on display at the Ghana Armed Forces Museum, Kumasi

The Gold Coast Regiment had its roots in the Gold Coast Constabulary, organized in 1879 as an internal security force and composed initially of personnel from… Read full post »

"Our tragedies often start before we are born." – Joan Bennett, in character as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard from Dark Shadows

CHAPTER ONE

Over 40 years ago, a no-good punk and would-be grave robber named Willie Loomis pried open a coffin, a hand reac… Read full post »

In a sane society the idea of a blood test for depression might seem absurd, like checking the oil level in your car because you don’t like the destination at which you have arrived. Nevertheless, a recent paper in Translational Psychiatry describes efforts to develop/… Read full post »

Tuesday 13 March 2012: We departed at the ungodly hour of five AM and drove all day long, stopping at Kintampo Falls to take in the scenery.

Wednesday 14 March 2012: Our intrepid guide Issa showed us this track and rai… Read full post »

Noted philosopher and humanitarian Lady Gaga recently appeared at Harvard to kick off her anti-bullying foundation Born This Way, whose website describes its mission: “To foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.&/… Read full post »

Did I ever tell you about my one degree of separation from the late Dwight David Eisenhower? That's right, between me and the 34th President of the United States of America there is but one degree of separation -- thanks to my friendship with Old Mrs. Knight.  

&n… Read full post »

After we had finished our would-be whale-watching excursion, I ran two miles along the beach in fourteen minutes and five seconds. Daniel accompanied me on the way out, but he got tuckered out and had to walk back. Then, after a refreshing dip in the Gulf of Guinea to cool… Read full post »

The flying fish constitute the family Exocoetidae, which contains over 50 species. They are gliders rather than true flyers, although a Japanese film crew recorded one specimen taking to the air for forty-five seconds, which is pretty good for a fish. They are found in warm… Read full post »

 PET scan showing distribution of brown fat in a human subject

Here we go again…

Scientists at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered that exercise stimulates the production of a hormone that turns white fat into brown, promoting fat loss/… Read full post »

The turtles constitute the Order Chelonia, which is generally believed to be the sister group of all other living reptiles. The oldest undisputed stem-group turtle, Odonotochelys semitestacea, appears in the fossil record some 220 million years ago.

 The name li… Read full post »

The past year has not been a good one for the manufacturers of psychotropic drugs, and the assault continues. The January 29 edition of the New York Times features an essay by L. Alan Sroufe, Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Child Development of the Univer/… Read full post »

“Ankasa” literally means “don’t talk.” Legend has it that once upon a time, travelers crossing the bridge spanning what is now known as the Ankasa River were admonished to keep quiet, lest they might attract the attention of malevolent dwarves,… Read full post »

 I just found out I'm going to be expected to teach not one but two new courses this semester (sure glad they  didn't wait until the last minute to tell me). Plus I still have a stack of 240 exams to grade. Until I get a handle on all this,… Read full post »

TeenScreen, a program sponsored by the National Center for Mental Health Checkups of Columbia University, offers “free tools and materials to health care, educational and community-based professionals to screen for depression and mental illness in adolescents.” Their website… Read full post »

A series of articles in the Palm Beach Post has revealed that children in the custody of the Florida juvenile justice system are being prescribed massive doses of powerful antipsychotic drugs, often by doctors with questionable records and/or financial conflicts of interest/… Read full post »