Octopuses are smart, sneaky, and can camouflage the pants off even the best-dressed human hunter. So the question is not whether octopuses will take over the world--but how? Join me and fellow curious humans October 30 at Denver's very own Nerd Nite. There will be two other awesome short talks (about coffee and quantum physics), …
Get Your Books & Brews On With Octopus! In Greeley, CO, October 25th @ 5:30pm
Here in Colorado, we mix everything with beer. (Really good, local microbrew beer, that is.) Running? Why not. Cycling? In moderation, of course. What about books? Duh! So when the good folks in the Front Range town of Greeley asked if I would participate in their annual Books & Brews event this Saturday, October 25, I …
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When Cephalopods and Vice Presidents Collide: An Interview with Veeptopus Creator Jonathan Crow
We all love octopuses for their wondrous biological feats (changing color, using tools, generally being badasses). But another incredible thing about them is their versatility. They are becoming robots, art pieces, and, now headpieces for lesser-known political figures. As a self proclaimed history nerd, Los Angeles-based artist Jonathan Crow decided to embark on a project illustrating all …
What Better Way to Celebrate Octopus Day than By Putting Octopuses on the Heads of Vice Presidents (and Unsuspecting Authors)?
When you get a Twitter shout out from someone who draws vice presidents with octopuses on their heads, you listen. Jonathan Crow, an LA-based artist (and, apparently, genius) decided one day to start drawing the vice presidents (all of the vice presidents) with octopuses on their heads. And so was born the Veeptopus. Along the …
Octopus Talk September 16th @ the Peabody Museum
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 16th. I'll be talking octopuses at the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, Conn! Starting at 5:30pm, I'll be discussing some of the astounding things the odd octopus is teaching us about evolution and neuroscience--shedding light on our own development and intelligence. Afterward I'll answer questions and sign books. We can talk …
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Robot Octopus Takes Over The Science Times–In My First New York Times Story!
This week's New York Times's science section has a creepy glimpse of the robotic future in it: a multi-armed aquatic octopus robot. I got to see this bot on a recent trip to Italy. It admittedly currently only has four soft arms, but it can already swim, crawl, and hold tools like a champ. And the researchers have …
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A Race To Raise a Rare Social Octopus: My First National Geographic News Story
For most octopuses, mating is a dicy endeavor. Primarily because, as cannibals, a mate can also double as dinner. So when biologist Richard Ross watched two larger Pacific striped octopuses come together for the first time, sucker-to-sucker--and beak to beak--he was more than a little anxious.But these rare octopuses were just doing what they seem to …
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The “Warm-and-Fuzzy Meat Pie”: Why To Question Meat Labels from TIME–and More
From the better-late-than-never files: One of the four awesome assignments I got to do in the (crazy) two weeks before I got hitched in May. So, what do those catchy "humanely raised" and "sustainably farmed" labels really mean?Maybe not as much as you thought, according to a study that asked the USDA to dig deep in …
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Oprah & Your Bowels: 7 Tips from Yours Truly
As my fiance will tell you, I have an abnormal (scientific) interest in, let's call it, the digestive process. So when the opportunity to write about poo for Oprah.com came along, I was positively flush with gratitude. The piece, "Do You Have a Bowel Problem?" was actually a huge eye-opener. It turns out there are …
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Lyme: Why One Man Volunteered To Have Ticks Bite Him
No one likes to get bug bites. Least of all bites from bugs that can transmit life-altering infectious diseases, like Lyme disease. That's why John Gordon's friends thought he was crazy when he signed up to have dozens of ticks attach to him--for days at a time. Especially since Gordon had already suffered through a year …
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Katherine Harmon Courage 
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