How a fine arts alum helped solve an old mystery in paleontology.
Paleo-artist and WSU fine arts alumnus Ray Troll’s obsession began way back in 1993, when he spotted what he calls a “strange doorstop” in the basement of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. “It was a beautiful whorl… I thought it was a big snail,” he says now, recollecting the moment when he visited the museum for a book he was working on.
Caren Goldberg, an ecologist at Washington State University, is knee-deep in the cutting-edge field of environmental DNA, or eDNA. This modern approach to surveying species in freshwater environments takes advantage of the fact that animals leave DNA—from sloughed off skin, feces, or urine—behind in the water. Researchers simply take water samples and then analyze them for eDNA to determine which species are present. » More …
This question takes us on a journey deep into the Earth. Figuratively speaking, of course. It’s really hot under Earth’s surface. It’s so hot it can melt rock. This melted rock is known as magma. And anything that erupts magma is a volcano. » More …
Bizarre creatures that go years without water. Others that can survive the vacuum of open space. Some of the most unusual organisms found on Earth provide insights for Washington State University planetary scientist Dirk Schulze-Makuch to predict what life could be like elsewhere in the universe. » More …
School may be out for the summer but students in Clarkston are still learning. These little scientists took part in a four-day summer camp at Grantham Elementary this week. The Washington State Department of Education provided a grant of nearly $550,000 to make it happen. The large grant pays for teachers to be part of the summer program, as well as substitute teachers during the school year and school supplies. » More …