Katlyn Taylor’s life has bumped into practically every phylum of the Animal Kingdom. Ask her how she got into science, and she’ll spin a narrative that spans sea lemons, orphaned chickens, 4-H rabbits, endangered Asian elephants, gray whale migration, sea lion pups, the genetics of microbacterial phages and the coloration of sea stars.
What runs through the life of author Norman McLean is a river. In the life of Elliott Finn, it’s a plant.
When manatees and alligators are members of your backyard ecosystem, it’s like living with a ready-made science project. Justin Conner took full advantage of the biodiversity bursting in and around the Florida canal that linked his childhood home to the ocean. There were peacock bass and cichlids to hook. There were frogs and toads to collect. There were black racers and corn snakes to stalk beneath the dense, tropical foliage.
Minhazur Sarker has one lofty goal with his research: promoting healthy, less destructive aging processes. But though the lights are on in the long room lined with rows of countertops, at this early hour no one is hunched over in the chairs, taking notes or observing experiments.
When you play fetch with a killer whale, it makes an impression. When you play fetch with a killer whale and you’re only 7 years old, it can change your life. For Renee Albertson, the change was a long time in the making.
A mountaineer, a world traveler, an athlete and a Chinese scholar pursue answers to climate change questions.