James MacDonald

James MacDonald received a BS in Environmental Biology from Columbia and a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University, spending 4 years in Central America collecting data on fish in mangrove forests. His research has been published in scholarly journals such as Estuaries and Coasts and Biological Invasions. Until his death in the fall of 2019, James worked in fisheries management and outreach in New York.

Fossilized dinosaur eggs

Plants & Animals

The Color of Dinosaur Eggs

What color were dinosaur eggs? Looking at their closest cousins, birds, may give us a clue.

Nutrition label

A Long Overdue Ban on Trans Fats

The FDA is banning trans fats in food.

A decomposing fish out of water

Science & Technology

It’s Official: A Global Mass Extinction is under Way

New research confirms that the next mass extinction is in progress, and we’re the cause.

Ancient Egyptian statue of a cat

Plants & Animals

For Pets in Ancient Egypt, Life Was Hard (or Really Easy)

Life wasn’t always easy for pets in ancient Egypt.

A woman reaches out from bed to silence her alarm clock

Plants & Animals

Early Bird? Night Owl? It Might Be in Your Genes.

Researchers in England have identified several genes associated with the timing of peak activity.

A Sawfish swimming in the water

Plants & Animals

With Few Mates, Female Sawfish Go It Alone

Smalltooth sawfish are increasingly reproducing without males, according to new research.

Ice shelf

Science & Technology

Poor Prognosis for the Western Antarctic Ice Shelf

The western antarctic ice shelves are thinning rapidly.

A row of caught haibut

Plants & Animals

Just for the Halibut: More Fish are Deliberately Wasted Than Caught

More halibut are dumped dead in the ocean as waste than sold by fishermen.

A crowd of blurry figures in cool blue light

Natural Science

What Would Alien Life on Other Planets Look Like?

Predictions on alien life on other planets.

A Saiga Antelope

Plants & Animals

What’s Killing the Saiga Antelope?

In Kazakhstan, saiga antelope are dying by the thousands, and nobody knows precisely why.

Close-up of a diamond held by jeweler's tweezers

Plants & Animals

Got Plants? You May Also Have Diamonds!

The use of plants as indicators for specific environmental conditions

An octopus swimming in the ocean

Plants & Animals

Seeing Through Your Skin? No Sweat, If You’re an Octopus

New research suggests that the octopus can “see” through its body.

Famous Meroe pyramids

Science & Technology

The Forgotten Pyramids of Sudan

Sudanese pyramids are far less well known by either archaeologists or the public than their Egyptian counterparts.

Moonfish

Plants & Animals

The Opah Fish is Warm-Blooded!

The Opah fish, or moonfish, is actually warm-blooded.

Oil spill in the ocean

Science & Technology

History Repeats Itself in a Santa Barbara Oil Spill

Two pieces look at a 1969 oil spill in California

Coffee

Good News, Coffee Drinkers!

A moderate amount of coffee might be genuinely good for you.

Woman sneezing in a grain field

The How of Seasonal Allergies

Allergies, how do they work?

A rhino walking in grass

Plants & Animals

Why Rhinos Need Their Horns

Trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn is banned in most countries, but every effort must be made to turn the consumption of wildlife products from status symbol into stigma.

Close-up of an open human eye

An Eye Full of Ebola

Dr. Ian Crozier was declared cured after a harrowing bout with the Ebola virus, only to discover that his left eye was full of the virus.

Vintage engraving of the Dodo

Plants & Animals

Warty Pigeons, Dodos, Giant Tortoises, and More: The Extinct Wildlife of Mauritius

Newly discovered Dutch manuscripts describe the extinct wildlife of Mauritius Island.

Bees swarming on a honeycomb

Plants & Animals

The Lowdown on Bees and Pesticides

New research suggests that declines in wild bees may be due to a specific pesticide.

The Blood Falls seeps from the end of the Taylor Glacier into Lake Bonney.

Natural Science

The Creepy “Blood Falls” of Antarctica

How Antarctica's "Blood Falls" were discovered.

The Messenger spacecraft orbiting a planet

Science & Technology

The Mercury Messenger Spacecraft: Going Out in a (Planned) Blaze of Glory

NASA's Mercury Messenger Spacecraft has crashed.

A giant snail on a hand

Plants & Animals

Endangered Gorillas’ New Ally – Giant Snails

Giant snail farming may be the only hope to save an endangered gorilla species in Cameroon.

A desalination plant

Science & Technology

Desalination: Drought Relief or Liability?

Is desalination a viable solution for California's water crisis?

Editors' Picks

James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni in Conversation

In 1971, two legends of Black letters discussed Black manhood, white racism, the role of the writer, and the responsibility to teach.

Science & Technology

Can We Build a Better Facebook?

Is it time to turn our back on Facebook? And if so, what social network could possibly replace it?

Science & Technology

The Anatomists of Ancient Alexandria

Cultural forces under the Ptolemaic dynasty briefly allowed scholars like Herophilus to practice dissection—and possibly vivisection—on human subjects.

Politics & History

The Genocide Before the Shoah

For a century, Jews in Turkey have maintained a strategic silence when it comes to recognizing the Armenian genocide. Could that be changing?

Politics & History

Wilhelm Reich: Twice Burned

A psychoanalyst and physician, Reich fled the Nazis only to be detained by the US as an “enemy alien” during World War II. And then came the sexual revolution.