Evolution of the Horse

The common ancestor of Perissodactyls (horses, rhinos, tapirs) appeared in North American during the Paleocene, about 60 million years ago (...

Deadly Romance

No, this is not the title for another TV murder mystery. Rather, it is an acknowledgement that we have entered the peak roadkill season, as...

Flamingos & Grebes

Watching a flamingo navigate the shallows of an ephemeral lake, one would surely conclude that it is closely related to storks, herons and i...

Pleistocene Plant Revival

A recent article in the New York Times reported on the successful revival of a narrow-leafed campion from deposits of the late Pleistocene. ...

Eastern Sandhill Cranes

Most American birdwatchers associate sandhill cranes with the Great Plains and Western U.S., having seen large flocks at staging areas, such...

Winter's Comeback

My office at the medical school commands a broad view to the west and, at noon yesterday, I looked out on an idyllic scene; bright sunshine,...

The Armadillo Army

Distantly related to sloths and anteaters, armadillos evolved in South America during the mammal explosion of the early Tertiary Period, som...

The Caffeine Pushers

The latest drug craze in the U.S., promoted by numerous television commercials, is the use of high dose caffeine. Offered for consumption, ...

Sea Eagles

Members of the genus Haliaeetus, sea eagles inhabit all of the continents except South America and Antarctica. Genetic studies indicate tha...

Crocus Days

The crocuses have been blooming in Columbia over the past week, a bit ahead of schedule due to our mild winter. Their appearance, together ...

The Nature of Conifers

Conifers, represented by 200 species in North America and more than 600 worldwide, evolved in the Pennsylvanian Period, some 300 million yea...

Snows at Dusk

As I walked home last evening, the sky was clear and the temperature hinted of spring. University students sauntered about in shorts and T-...

Red Crossbill Diversity

Red crossbills are nomadic finches of North America that roam the coniferous forests of southern Alaska, southern Canada, New England, the u...

Erosional Remnants

Mention erosional remnants and we tend to think of sea stacks, free-standing buttes and other solitary rock formations that have withstood t...

Madagascar's Cyclone Season

Madagascar, the fourth largest island on Earth, lies off the southeast coast of Africa, in the western Indian Ocean. Oriented northeast to ...

The Dark Side of Love

On this annual, commercialized tribute to love, it is appropriate to acknowledge that there is a dark side to this complex human emotion. A...

The Human Swarm

In this era of social networking, facilitated by Facebook, Twitter and those ubiquitous smart phones, a large segment of our society has bec...

Frigid Sunshine at Eagle Bluffs

As we arrived at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area this morning, a large flock of snow geese passed overhead, shimmering in the bright morning ...

From Snow to Snows

As we left the snowy landscape of Metro Denver yesterday morning, a full moon gleamed above the Front Range. Once past the Palmer Divide, t...

Flying with Pterosaurs

Since heavy snow still covers most of the Front Range trails, we opted for a visit to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science today. Long...

Snow on Snow

Leaving a nearly snowless winter in Missouri, we arrived at our Littleton farm and found it adorned with more than 15 inches of white powder...

High Plains Upslope

On my frequent travels between Missouri and Colorado, I have often noticed that, following a snowstorm, the Wakeeney, Kansas, area receives ...

Human Hybridism

While evangelicals will surely stick to their Adam and Eve story, DNA technology has greatly advanced our understanding of evolution and, in...

A Spring Storm in Mid Winter

Here in central Missouri, we awoke to clear skies and temperatures in the low 40s (F), with light southeast winds. But to the west, a wall ...

Natural History of Elephants

Sixty million years ago (MYA), a common ancestor gave rise to three orders: Sirenia (represented today by manatees and dugongs), Hyracoidea ...

Nature & Government

While I am a social liberal, I am a fiscal conservative and I actually agree with many Republicans that our government is bloated and ineffi...