So when I saw news today that Milton Levine had died, “the co-creator of ant farms,”  I felt sad.

Even though I had never pondered who had invented ant farms prior to this moment in my life, it takes a certain amount of imagination to think that ants could make cool pets– if only given the right confines to live in the rooms of children.

That imagination proved to be well appreciated: according to The Los Angeles Times, Milton’s company sold over 20 million ant farms in his lifetime.

Milton once said that “Humanity can learn a lot from the ant… [and] I found out their most amazing feat yet. They put three kids through college.”

So farewell Milton Levine! Genius of educational toys! Rest in peace.

P.S. I once wrote about how some people think ants can help predict earthquakes. It’s a cool story– and it includes proof of my quest for a glow-in-the-dark ant farm. Read it.

Wilifredo Rivera, who is the head of the University’s Center for Energy Investigation, told Mexican news source Milenio.com that while other countries like Germany and Japan have developed solar air conditioning systems based on their countries needs, he and his colleagues have now designed a machine specifically intended for the climate of Mexico—and as a bonus, it’s easy to maintain. It has only a few moving parts and Rivera says that “the only thing that’s necessary is to keep the set of panels clean to best capture solar radiation.”

Continue reading on Greenopolis (link)

The Aequorea Victoria species of jellyfish has already helped provide one major scientific breakthrough. Will it lead to another?

A Wisconsin based biotechnology company claims that one of their clinical studies has shown that a protein extracted from a unique species of bioluminescent jellyfish helps improve the memories of Alzheimers patients.

Using a randomized controlled trial, Quincy Bioscience reports interim results indicating that participants who took an experimental drug with the jellyfish protein tested 14% higher on cognitive tests than those who received a placebo.

Continue reading on Greenopolis (link)

Before I provide more commentary about my map and a precise list of the most biodiverse states, I first should explain that “biodiversity” is a term that has no 100% agreed upon scientific definition.

Click here to continue reading on Ecopolitology and view the map.

When Sean Aronson began telling people that he was filming a short documentary about great white sharks, he received two typical responses.

“There were always those people who were excited– the shark fanatics. They live and breathe sharks. But there were also a lot of people who sighed and asked, ‘what can be said that hasn’t already been said?’ It’s kind of like celebrity news. You have people who can’t get enough of Brad and Angelina and then you have people that are just completely turned off from it. White sharks have gained that kind of notoriety.”

Now that his film has been released, Aronson thinks he has added something valuable and new to “what has been said” about great whites.

Continue reading on The Huffington Post

I particularly love the voices of the ants. It seems to me like a good representation of what they would actually sound like if they spoke.

As something of an aside, I’ve had ants on the brain a lot recently. Last summer ants invaded our apartment. Despite our constant efforts and many battles won, we never won the war. Now as the summer begins anew in Peru they are back for a sequel. Someone told us the best strategy was just to coexist with them. I’m not sure I agree but ants are definitely fun to watch and ponder.

One of our Peruvian friends is an expert on Amazon ants, and has told us that she keeps several pet colonies in her bedroom, much to the chagrin of her family. I think I need to write about her. Seems like it would be short story gold.