Inner Nature: Shapes of animal bodies
By Vidya Rajan, Columnist, The Times
The study of animal form and function is both illuminating and fascinating, panning from simple to complex forms. The morphing started 750-odd million years ago. At this time, the Earth was not young by any means! It was already about 3.5 billion years old (80% of its age today, which is about 4.3 billion years old) and populated by cyanobacterial mats, and single-celled...
Inner Nature: The incredibly resilient tardigrade
By Vidya Rajan, Columnist, The Times
In the annals of the ecosystem’s version of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not is a long list of organisms that are considered over-performers: tough, enduring and even thriving in environmentally adverse conditions. Most endure in state known as cryptobiosis (also called anabiosis), which means “mysterious or enigmatic” and refers to the difficulty in telling if...
Don’t Retire, ReFire: A season of change
By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times
As the light of the day gets shorter and the air brings a chill, we think of the change in the season, something we anticipate, prepare for and expect, without fail.
However, we are entering an extraordinarily different kind of season, which will wrap up an extraordinarily different year. It’s the season of change.
In this change, I am not talking about...
Inner Nature: Animal Development: Evolution of Body Plans
By Vidya Rajan, Columnist, The Times
To observe a graceful animal in motion is a beautiful thing.
This is even more so for those justly celebrated for their mastery of movement, such as a hummingbird hovering over a flower, or a human thundering to a heart-stopping sub-10 second 100 meter Olympic run. The seeming perfection of form is an illusion – all forms are in development, with each generation...
