A Catastrophic Molt

A Catastrophic Molt

The elephant seals are back at California’s Año Nuevo State Park. But this is not their famous January breeding season, replete with cute newborn seals and brutal fights between males. Nope, this time they’re here to molt. The seals spend their month on land laying...
Squid: Science ambassadors

Squid: Science ambassadors

Marine biologist Bill Gilly wasn’t prepared for the greeting he received from St. Andrew’s Episcopal school in 2008. He’d come to the Saratoga, Calif. school to teach a special lesson on the Humboldt squid, complete with a dissection. Gilly approached the school and...
How to land on an asteroid

How to land on an asteroid

In the future, scientists want to be able to send spacecraft to study asteroids such as the one that will approach the Earth on Friday. A concept for these landers may look familiar to anyone who grew up in the 1970s. Egg-shaped and weighted at the bottom, the...
Be Prepared

Be Prepared

I am a newbie to the Pacific Coast, but I am no stranger to living on a fault. As a kid in Utah I stuffed emergency kits with my parents and dove under my desk during earthquake drills at school. When you live in earthquake country, it pays to be prepared. An...