45 Things I’ve Learned about Science Since I was a Student
Editor's note: At Your Wild Life we like to do public science, science in which we open the process of scientific discovery so that you [...]
The Most Common Bacteria in New York City Soils are Unnamed, Can’t be Grown, and Aren’t Being Studied and Probably Won’t be in the Conceivable Future
It is worth remembering, when deadly pathogens are in the news that most microscopic species are either of no consequence to human health and well-being [...]
NC State University Found to be the Most Bio-Diverse College Campus in North America
Several years ago, we started paying more attention in our lab to what was going on biologically near at hand. This transition would eventually lead [...]
Mapping the ants of the world
Several years ago, Benoit Guénard decided that he was interested in knowing where one kind of ant could be found. Another ant biologist asked. Benoit [...]
Jeni Corn and the Chimpanzees of Fire
At some point our ancestors tamed fire. With fire they could cook their food and store it. With fire they could light whole landscapes aflame. [...]
The Rise of CHARLANTA
Very occasionally, the opportunity arises for a group of people to decide where and how to build a city. In 1792 the legislators of North [...]
The Tip of the Gutberg: The World’s First Map of the Patina of Feces
If one tells the story of the history of the Earth from the perspective of microbes, one of the great leaps forward was the evolution [...]
Hot in the ‘Hood
When we build our cities with cement and asphalt, they trap heat. This trapped heat warms our cities, as much, in some cases, as global [...]
Breakthrough: The Relationship Between Urbanization, Lifestyle, the Microbiome(s) and Autoimmune and Allergic Problems is Complex
Recently, the news has been awash with stories of the links between the biodiversity outside of peoples’ homes, the diversity of bacteria and other microbes [...]
The True and Deadly Story Behind My National Geographic Article on the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Four years ago I went to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to write the story of a place, a giant body of water in which [...]
Delayed Gratification, Citizen Science and Why You Might Not Have Received an Email about Your Sample Yet
But, If You Are So Willing, You'll Receive Emails and Updates for the Next 10 Years. Also, Did I Tell You about the Cats? I [...]
Fruit Flies Use Alcohol to Self-Medicate, but Feel Bad about it Afterwards
In preparation for the debut of our collaborative wasp yeast beer at the World Beer Festival in Raleigh on April 5, 2014, I revived the [...]
A Sip for the Ancestors: The True Story of Civilization’s Stumbling Debt to Beer and Fungus
In preparation for the debut of our collaborative wasp yeast beer at the World Beer Festival in Raleigh on April 5, 2014, I've decided to [...]
Lewis Thomas and the Ants of New York City
Lewis Thomas was a doctor who wrote articles so beautiful everyone forgot he was anything but a writer. Joyce Carol Oates used Thomas’s writing in [...]
He is a wise man who invented beer
It has been a fun set of weeks in the lab. Two weeks ago I discovered ants from our lab had made their way to [...]