I talked to cattle veterinarians about bird flu making the jump into US dairy cows. They described farms hiding the issue to avoid government involvement, and ongoing denial of the problem among those not yet affected. thinkglobalhealth.org/article/cattle… Think Global Health

The butterfly effect of zoonotic disease - or how international demand for tobacco might cause novel diseases to emerge from African forests. Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/how-ug…

Parasitic worms preserved in expired cans of salmon allowed researchers to track changes in ocean health over the past 40+ years - giving new meaning to the phrase “opening a can of worms.” Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/decade…

2,000 years before Amsterdam's coffee shops, people in the Netherlands were hitting hallucinogenic seeds. Also, I got to use the phrase 'ancient stash pouch' for NYT Science. nytimes.com/2024/03/21/sci…

Morrissey was right: some girls are bigger than others. Specifically, nearly half of female mammals are the same size as the males of their species - and 16% are bigger than the males. Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/males-…

We humans like to think of ourselves as special, but the more we learn about animals, the more our notions of exceptionalism are challenged. Turns out chimps and bumblebees(!) are capable of complex learning previously assumed to be human-only. Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/scient…

It's called MDMA, Rohit

interintellect.com/salon/i-feel-l… 👈🏻

Great piece on the 'extinction-level event' that's currently underway in the media industry.

The FDA just fast-tracked the application to make MDMA-assisted therapy an approved treatment for PTSD. Decision should come by August this year. I had a timely conversation with Nick Gillespie at reason ahead of this announcement.

Cannabis' medical uses for animals is just starting to be explored, but veterinarians are already reporting exceptional results for everything from tigers and tortoises to elephants and parrots (not to mention cats and dogs!). NYT Science nytimes.com/2024/02/06/sci…

The mystery of why insects are attracted to lights at night has finally been solved. Scientific American
scientificamerican.com/article/why-in…

I FEEL LOVE is coming to Europe! I'll be speaking in Brussels on Feb 8 with the Psychedelic Society Belgium. I know literally one person in Belgium, so please help spread the word if you know anyone in the area who's interested in MDMA. All are welcome! meetup.com/psychedelic-so…

So sad to see the hollowing out of National Geographic continue with the closure of the Wildlife Watch desk. There's really no where else in media for the kinds of deeply reported, nuanced stories that WW did on illegal trade and poaching. Its loss is a loss for us all.

Covid increased awareness about the ability of animals to pass diseases to humans. The reverse process - humans passing diseases to animals - happens, too, but gets way less press. Yet it's now a leading cause of death for chimpanzees and gorillas. nature
nature.com/articles/d4158…

15,000 US cities could become virtual ghost towns by 2100. Goodbye, Buffalo, Louisville, Syracuse, New Haven, Pittsburgh, Cleveland etc. Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/thousa…

With media budget cuts, outlets that shy away from difficult topics & readers who no longer read as much, it's ever more difficult to pull off complex, nuanced environmental stories. Thanks to Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) & bioGraphic for still supporting that kind of work.
sej.org/publications/f…

Africa's incredible birds of prey are disappearing. In just three raptor generations, some species - including the iconic secretary bird - have declined by 90 percent. NYT Science
nytimes.com/2024/01/08/cli…

Ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic, could help relieve traumatic brain injury and a host of other problems like PTSD, depression and anxiety. New findings from combat veterans who undertook this therapy in Mexico. Scientific American scientificamerican.com/article/ibogai…