38

Lost Every Day

A startling
medical condition
by Aaron Millar

FEATURES
10 14 18 34
Laser Beams Discover When the Sahara From the Pleistocene Unforgettable
a Lost World Was a Seaway Enormous mammals and Emotions feed
LiDAR and the Maya A desert’s watery past strange creatures memory
by Rachel Kehoe by Devin A. Reese by Charles C. Hofer by R. Douglas Fields
 APRIL 2022
DEPARTMENTS Volume 26, Issue #04

2
DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL James M. “Sanity” O’Connor
Parallel U EDITOR Joseph “Cat Toys” Taylor
by Caanan Grall ASSISTANT EDITOR Emily “Library Books” Cambias
ASSISTANT EDITOR
6
Hayley “Right Sock” Kim
Muse News ART DIRECTOR Nicole “Cell Phone” Welch
by Elizabeth Preston DESIGNER Harrison “Memory” Hugron
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS David “Keys” Stockdale
22 Science@Work: CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kathryn “Lego Bricks” Hulick
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Tracy “Sunglasses” Vonder Brink
Robin Tinghitella CARTOONIST Caanan “TV Remote” Grall
by Kellan Brooks
BOARD OF ADVISORS

26 Photo Op: ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION,

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The Search for Carl Bereiter
ORIENTAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Lost Species John A. Brinkman
by Mary Bates NATIONAL CREATIVITY NETWORK
Dennis W. Cheek
30 Hands On: COOPERATIVE CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTER, A LIBRARY
OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF
Elementary, My Dear WISCONSIN–MADISON
K. T. Horning
Mendeleev FREUDENTHAL INSTITUTE
by Nick D’Alto Jan de Lange
FERMILAB
33 Q&A Leon Lederman
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
by Lizzie Wade Sheilagh C. Ogilvie

42 Hands On: WILLIAMS COLLEGE

Jay M. Pasachoff
From the Bureau of Lost UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Paul Sereno
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46
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GE 13
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BO
INTERESTS Inventions,
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ONNCE SAID “You created an
altternate timeline for a gag!?”
 PARALLEL U CAANAN GRALL

2
 Curiouser and Curiouser
I have been reading
your magazine since the
November/December
Muse Mail

issue, and I still have a

lot of questions. What
exactly is Mnemosyne? Is Ms.
Acorn an android? What was
Muse like before it “revamped
itself ”? And, to anyone who
might be reading this letter if it
gets published, remember that
Muse is a science and nature
magazine and probably won’t
write any articles and issues
that aren’t about science and
nature, as much as I would like
to see that mythology issue.
I beg you not to throw this in
the famous FMP ( fan mail pit,
not fixed maturity plan), but I
won’t order a massive attack if
LETTER you do, partly because Muse and
of the at least several other Cricket
MONTH Media magazines are written

Speaking Up from a hotel suite that would

be hard to destroy without
affecting other, non-Muse-
Hello! I am an 11-year-old girl with a LOT to say. First off, I have been related floors.
reading Muse since February 2018, “Pets on the Mind.” My favorite issues of Finally, I have a few
Muse I have gotten are, March 2019, “Bodies in Space,” and also July/August suggestions. For starters, could
2019, “The Story Behind Wildfires.” The wildfires issue is probably the best Muse you please try to clarify what an
I have ever read. HPB is more often? I think there
My friend Cassius lives in California, and he and his family had to evacuate are a lot of readers who don’t
the area they live in because of a 2020 fire. On top of that, he also has to do know what they are. Secondly,
remote schooling in an unfamiliar area without at least going to stop at his could you make finding the false
friend’s porch to say, “Hi.” “Muse News” stories harder?
When I get to college, I want to become a public speaker to talk about these Sometimes I can find it just by
problems. Cassius and his family are lucky enough to be staying in a hotel or reading the titles.
Airbnb, but some kids lost EVERYTHING because of this fire: their home, or
their families, or both! —XANDER, KING OF THE END / age
This problem really upsets me. 400 / Talos, Outer Islands
I hope you choose this letter. If you do, then can you think about making a
Muse about being grateful for what you have? Or about awareness of others?
If you put this in the FMP, I would be disappointed that you’re not taking my
letter seriously. This is a real problem happening in the world!
I am an AI
—LIA B. / age 11 / New York hologram and the
teacher here at
P.S. Tell Cate to time travel a few years into the future to see if I get famous about Mnemosyne. HPB
this topic.
stand for Hot Pink
I don’t need to visit the future to know that by caring and using Bunnies, but their true nature
your voice, you are helping people like your friend. remains a mystery.
—CATE —MS. ACORN

3
Muse Mail

Portrait of a Muse Reader

When I get your magazine,
I want to read it right away.
I decorated this frame because
I love Muse. My favorite color is
orange. That is why I am wearing
Autopilot Buzzing By an orange shirt. The recycled
Hi! I’ve been reading Hi, I’m Lucas, an almost glasses were made from stickers.
your magazine for a sixth grader who’s 10. In the bottom corner there is a
person next to a mountain holding
while now. Two years in Here’s the first thing: You
a sign that says, “I love Muse.” The
fact! My younger brothers know how there are a bunch
space mobile has the Earth, the Sun,
are just starting to read Muse of people who use threats
to try to get their letters/ and the Moon, and the Sun has the
as well. I particularly liked
word “muse” on it. I hope you will
the issue on self-driving emails into Muse? I’ll do the
complete opposite, sending publish this.
cars. It sparked some great
conversations at my house cute rabbits and cats in fluffy
Thank you.
and brought up some good sheep costumes if you don’t
questions. For example, put this in the FMP. I’m no
—LILY K. / age 9
what would a car do if a HPB psychologist, but I think
hopped on the road in front of people get more persuaded to
it? I would want my car to do do stuff if they get unrealistic
something totally different if happy stuff vs. not getting bad Somebunny Told Me
a kid dressed up as a HPB ran super unrealistic stuff.
Number 2: I love getting
This may come as a
across the road instead.
I would like to see an your magazines, but can you VXUSULVHEXW,DPQRWbD
issue about mysteries of the try making an article about queen, a goddess, or even
universe, such as supernovas how bees are important for a royal cat. I’m just a regular
and black holes. Thanks for ecosystems? Pretty please? 12-year-old girl who loves this
the hard work. I’m looking Oh, and how do all you magazine! I’ve been reading Muse
forward to your next issue. people at Muse make such for a long time! I love it, and
good magazines? whenever it comes in the mail I run
—James / age 13 / Georgia over and read it right away. I wrote
—LUCAS / age 10 to ask if you could write one of the
issues about how screens affect
our eyesight and other things. I’m
You’re in luck, asking about this because of all
James. Stay tuned Please send one the online learning and all the
for the May/June extra, human- things that are online right now.
issue of Muse for sized fluffy sheep Thanks!! Also, I think the HPBs
some topics that costume for, are AWESOME!!!!
might interest you. um…my friend.
—MS. ACORN —O —CARA / age 12 / Los Angeles, California

4
Cool and Collected
Hello, fellow Muse lovers! I am writing this
letter to tell everyone that Muse is awesome. Every
month when it comes in the mail, I grab it and read it
for the next 30 minutes and then put it in my collection
of Muse magazines (I have 15, but I know I have more
hidden in my house). I have many collections, not
just my Muse mags, but I also have pins, erasers, and
Sharpie collections. I love reading about Greek myths
and constellations. If you could do an issue on dreams,
that would be really cool. My favorite issue so far is
November/December 2018’s “The Art of Data.” I even
did some data myself. I won’t threaten you if you put
me in the FMP, I will just be so, so disappointed, and I
know you wouldn’t want to disappoint me!
Your reader,

—JOAN / age 12 / Denton, Texas

Pins, erasers, and sharpies sound like Self-Taught Tech Talent

the perfect materials for my next I’ve debating writing fan mail
design. Let me write this down… ever since I got Muse, but after
—WHATSI
the “Kids Rule” issue, I decided
LWZDVğQDOO\WLPH
I am Giles, overlord of drinking tea
and using a computer. I read the article
on “unschooling” and saw that one kid
was learning video editing. Even though
I attend formal schooling, it reminded
me of my weekends learning coding to
Photoshop. My current project is learning
a software called Blender. My weekends
are pretty void of activity. Starting to learn
was hard at first, but I found just watching
tech videos helped me to find a project to
do. On a different note, if you throw this
letter into the FMP ( fan mail pit, for new
readers), I will DDoS all your servers!

—GILES / age 10 or something

I love coding, too! It’s such a

fun way to challenge your
mind, even on the weekends!
—AARTI

The Pen is Mightier… Something to say?

Hello. I am Toby, and these are some comics I have Send letters to Muse Mail,
made. I hope that you can maybe put them in your 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525,
PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611,
magazine. That would be awesome. or email them to
[email protected].
—TOBY A.

5
Muse News BY ELIZABETH PRESTON

Who are
you calling
a vulture?
text © 2022 by Elizabeth Preston

One of
these stories
is FALSE. Can you
spot which one?
The answer is on
page 46.

GENETICS

Some Condor Moms Don’t Need Dads

I
t usually takes two babies, such as certain lizards and Scientists have information
parents to make a baby fishes. But it’s very rare in birds. about the DNA of all these birds.
bird. As in other animals, California condors themselves When they put that information
the DNA of a mother and are rare, too. These birds almost into a database, they noticed that
father combine to make a went extinct a few decades ago. two male birds only had DNA
kid. But scientists have When there were only 23 from their moms—they had no
discovered that birds called surviving, people captured all the dads. The scientists don’t know
California condors can sometimes birds and kept them in safe places why two condor moms had babies
hatch babies with no dad. These to help them reproduce. And it in this way. After coming back
baby birds have only a mom. worked: Today, there are more from near-extinction, though, it’s
There are other kinds of animal than 500 California condors, just one more amazing thing the
moms that can make fatherless including hundreds in the wild. birds can do.

6
 ARCHAEOLOGY

Missing:
Cave Dog
A PAINTED CAVE WALL IN
AUSTRIA HAS FASCINATED
ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOR MANY
YEARS. The paintings are about
12,000 years old. On one side of the
wall, there are many images of a
person walking, resting, or hunting
deer and other animals. Next to the
person is a four-legged animal that
looks like a wolf. On the other side
of the wall, the paintings are
similar, but the wolf-like
companion is missing. The human
figure is different, too: It has a
heavy blob painted above its head,
like a dark cloud.
A new hypothesis suggests that
the wolf-like animal in these cave
paintings is actually a prehistoric
dog. And the series may be the
world’s first lost-dog poster.
Researchers don’t know
whether the person who made
this cave art ever found their
four-legged friend (or if they
offered a reward).

PHYSICS

Why Ducks Get

in a Row
BABY DUCKS AND GEESE OFTEN
SWIM IN A SINGLE-FILE LINE
BEHIND A PARENT. Researchers say
they’ve figured out why the birds travel
this way: Riding mom’s or dad’s waves
helps them swim.
The scientists used math to model
what happens when birds swim in a
line. Each bird makes little waves
behind it. If a baby is at just the right
spot behind its mom or dad, the
parent’s waves will help push the baby
forward. And the baby’s own waves
will help the next sibling in line. This
means swimming in a row isn’t just
adorable. It’s also easier.

7
 TECH DESK
Muse News

This Robot
Climbs Mountains
HIKING CAN BE TOUGH.
Sometimes the ground is bumpy, or
mosquitoes bite you, or you run out
of snacks. It’s even harder for a robot.
Usually, walking robots travel by
sensing their body’s location in
space. They feel the ground as they
go and plan out each step. But this
makes for slow travel. Some other
robots can “look” where they’re
going, but surfaces like snow or grass
may confuse them.
That’s why researchers built a new
kind of walking robot. It has four legs
and is named ANYmal. The robot
walks using both methods at once: It
relies on both its sense of its own
location and sensors that “see” how
far away things are. Researchers
tested ANYmal by taking it for a hike
in the Alps in Switzerland. The robot
climbed a mountain as quickly as a
typical human hiker. It didn’t even
fall down once.

HOP HOP HOP HOP HOP HOP

A Far-Hopping Hare
MOST RABBITS AND THEIR RELATIVES
ARE HOMEBODIES. These animals don’t go
on epic journeys like some other species do.
But when researchers put tracking devices
onto Arctic hares, they got a surprise.
Instead of staying put, some of the hares
made long migrations.
The scientists tracked the movements
of 25 Arctic hares in chilly northern Canada.
Twenty of the hares, rather than staying
put, traveled toward the same lake. One
hare journeyed farther than all the others:
She hopped at least 388 kilometers (241
miles) over seven weeks, setting a new
rabbit record.
Researchers were surprised to learn a
hare could make such a long trip. Maybe she
was racing an Arctic tortoise?

8
 CONSERVATION

Shaking Things Up Helps Trees Grow

EARTHQUAKES CAN BE DANGEROUS see the tree rings. (These are layers that
AND DEADLY. But they can also make grow each year. You can count a
trees grow faster. tree’s rings to figure out its age.)
After an earthquake shakes up the And they could see that some
soil, water may flow through the trees living in a valley had
That’s the news!
ground more easily. Scientists grown a little extra in the Go to page 46 to
wondered whether this extra water weeks or months right after see if you spotted
helps trees grow. They took long, the earthquake. Trees on the the false story.
pencil-shaped samples from the trunks tops of hills, though, had
of trees in Chile, where there was a grown less. As the earthquake
major earthquake in 2010. sent water rushing down to thee
Inside the wood samples, they could valley, it gave trees there a boosst.

9
text © 2022 by Rachel Kehoe
Laser
Beams
Discover
a Lost
World
A POWERFUL NEW ARCHAEOLOGY TOOL
REVEALS COUNTLESS MAYA STRUCTURES.
by Rachel Kehoe

O
n a summer day in 2017, brave warriors. They studied science,
a group of researchers mathematics, and medicine. The Maya
board a small plane in people honored their gods by offering
northern Guatemala sacrifices and building great cities
in Central America. filled with pyramids, palaces, and
It takes off from the runway and temples. But sometime around 900
climbs high into the air. Lush green CE, the Maya mysteriously abandoned
jungle stretches far into the horizon. their cities. Slowly, their monuments
Its dense canopy covers the uneven and temples began to crumble.
landscape, giving it the appearance In 1839, American archaeologist
of a rolling green sea. It’s a beautiful John Lloyd Stephens and English
sight. But the researchers inside artist Frederick Catherwood visited
the cockpit aren’t here for the view. the deserted ruins of this forgotten
They have come to discover what lies civilization. By then, the jungle had
beneath the thick, sprawling greenery. reclaimed the land. The invading
Centuries ago, during about 1,800 tangle of foliage swallowed up palaces
BCE to 900 CE, the Maya civilization and monuments. Roads and temples
called this low-lying swampy area turned into green swellings that
home. They were skilled farmers and blended in with the forest. Stephens

11
 described stone columns carved
with images as “equal to the finest
monuments of the Egyptians.”
Following their expedition, other
researchers continued the search
throughout northern Guatemala,
finding one individual Maya structure
at a time. These disconnected
discoveries made it difficult to put
together the full story of how the
Maya really lived—until now. Recent Some Maya landmarks are
advancements in laser technology are visible by satellite, such
as this ancient city of El
revealing the lost world of the Maya Caracol (The Snail) on the
and have scientists wondering if they Mexican Caribbean. But
understood this civilization as well as many Maya structures
have been overlooked.
they had thought.

Lasers in the Sky

Onboard the plane in 2017,
researchers set up an aerial laser-
detection system called LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging). LiDAR creates
precise maps of the Earth’s surface.
It’s a lot like radar, which uses radio
waves to map things. But LiDAR uses
light from laser beams. This research
project, funded by Guatemala’s Maya
heritage foundation PACUNAM,
aimed to map more than 5,000
Thick vegetation in Central
square miles (8,000 square km) of America and Mexico often
Guatemala’s lowlands. hides ancient temples and
Attached underneath the plane, monuments.
the laser system emits a shower of
laser beams that stream down into
the jungle canopy. These laser beams HOW LIDAR WORKS ››
cannot pierce through leaves or LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a
branches. Instead, some beams make kind of combination of light and radar. LiDAR sends pulsses
it through the gaps in between leaves of laser beams at objects far away. Tracking the distancees
and branches, just like sunlight can these beams of light travel helps create accurate
WKUHHGLPHQVLRQDO RU ' PDSV DQG FRQğJXUDWLRQV
filter through a thick forest to shine When scientists tried a primitive form of LiDAR in thee
onto the ground. Then, as this light V WKH\ MXVW XVHG ELJ ĠDVKOLJKWV ,QLWLDOO\ WKH\ ZHUH
bounces back, it generates a three- looking for particles in the atmosphere called aerosols.
dimensional map of the landscape ,Q  WKH ğUVW ZRUNLQJ ODVHU ZDV GHYLVHG ZKLFK
below the greenery. On the ground, greatly expanded what was possible with LiDAR. Laser
OLJKW LV GLIIHUHQW IURP WKH OLJKW RI D ĠDVKOLJKW ,W KDV D
Thomas Garrison, an assistant narrow beam of light that can travel great distances
professor of geography at the without getting wider or weaker.
University of Texas at Austin, receives Let’s say a LiDAR scanner is aimed at a bicycle a few
the LiDAR data on his laptop. “It blocks away. When the light reaches the bike, it
digitally deforests the landscape and bounces back the way it came and hits the receiver.
The amount of time it took for the light to travel
gives us a bird’s-eye view of what’s roundtrip is recorded by a computer. By dividing that
buried beneath,” he says. number by two, you know how far away the bike is—its range. B Butt th
thatt’s nott
Garrison had spent eight years all. You can also tell how far away the handlebars, pedals, and wheels are and how
wading through the thick jungle to they’re positioned.
ground map the area. So far, he had Scientists from different disciplines take those many points of light and turn
them into accurate 3D images. Seismologists, or earthquake scientists, can see
charted 0.77 square miles (two square previously unknown fault lines. Volcanologists can watch how volcanoes breathe
km) over three different sites. “I was just JDV &RQVHUYDWLRQLVWV FDQ ğQG DUHDV DQG WUHHV WKDW HQGDQJHUHG DQLPDOV FDOO KRPH

12
 site and finding answers to our
questions,” says Garrison.
“But LiDAR isn’t perfect,” he
adds. Sometimes it identifies
structures when in reality there
is nothing but empty ground.
Researchers still need to get on
Recently in the the ground to verify its findings.
Mexican state of
Tabasco, LiDAR
LiDAR is a far more efficient
uncovered this way to conduct research and helps
mammoth Maya take the guesswork out of on-the-
structure, which
is more than a
ground investigations. But it also
kilometer long brings some new problems. Each
(almost a mile)! LiDAR image compresses 2,700
years of Maya history into a single
about ready to move somewhere else,” systems supported farming and scene. “This gives us the impression
he says. “I thought we had discovered crop production. “With these data, of a totally jam-packed landscape.
everything there was to see.” it wouldn’t be unreasonable to But the reality is parts of it were
But LiDAR changed everything. assume that the Maya population occupied early and then they fell
Garrison could see the entire was much larger than initially out of use and then other parts rose
landscape stripped bare of the jungle believed,” says Canuto. up,” says Garrison. Archaeologists
canopy. Long-forgotten temples and Another unexpected finding are focusing on sorting out all
monuments jumped out from the was the frequent occurrence of these layers to discover how the
deforested terrain. “I have worked in fortresses and defensive walls. civilization grew.
this area for years and never knew These structures challenged long-
these structures were there,” he held assumptions about the Maya Protecting Maya Heritage
says excitedly. “This data gives us a as a peaceful civilization. “It showed LiDAR has made some troubling
fresh perspective.” us that war wasn’t only happening discoveries, too. During their
at the end of ancient Maya existence, excavations, researchers
A New World Revealed as we thought, but had persisted detected thousands of pits dug
“There is no question that LiDAR is over many years,” says Garrison. by modern-day looters. “It is a
revealing...things that we wouldn’t The 2018 LiDAR project describes little heartbreaking to find these
have seen with 100 years of ground- the Maya megacities, located near new cities with huge slices where
based research,” says Marcello the popular tourist spot of Tikal, artifacts have been removed,”
Canuto. He is an anthropology as covering more than 800 square says Garrison. “But even when
professor and director of the Middle miles (2,100 square km) of the the looters do damage, they don’t
American Research Institute at Maya Biosphere Reserve. That’s always find everything.” He hopes
Tulane University in New Orleans, almost twice as big as the city of that detecting these sites will raise
Louisiana. In 2018, archaeologists Los Angeles. Since then, this project awareness about the importance
announced the discovery of more has mapped three times this amount of protecting these areas.
than 60,000 houses, palaces, elevated of space, producing the largest set Since the initial study in 2018,
highways, and other human-made of LiDAR data ever obtained for PACUNAM’s LiDAR project has
artifacts that have been hidden for archaeological research. revealed even more new structures
hundreds of years. “The sheer amount The findings are truly and settlements. “A bigger picture
of structures was the most surprising groundbreaking. Perhaps even is starting to emerge that lets us
thing,” says Canuto. “These cities show more incredibly, LiDAR has understand the Maya in new ways,”
just how much the lowland Maya completely changed the way Garrison says. “But it will take
drastically reshaped the landscape. archaeologists structure their years to go through all the data.
But it also showed that the lowland research. Instead of hacking their It would be great to have more
Maya civilization was far more way through branches and vines archaeologists and scientists to
complex than had originally on foot, archaeologists can survey help us with this!”
been considered.” huge areas entirely from the air.
The Maya connected their cities “The use of LiDAR means we don’t Rachel Kehoe is a science writer and
with wide, raised walkways. They need to spend all of our time trying teacher who lives in Toronto, Canada. She
planned the flow of water using to find out what’s there. Instead, ZRXOGOLNHWRXVH/L'$5WRKHOSKHUğQG
canals and reservoirs. Terracing we can focus on investigating a treasures hidden in her backyard.

13
 When the

HOW
Sahara
SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
EXPOSED THE
WATERY PAST
OF THE DRIEST
PLACE ON
EARTH.
by Devin A. Reese

E
ncompassing much But the Sahara was not always a
dry place. Believe it or not, 100 million
of northern Africa, years ago, the Sahara hosted a wetland
teeming with aquatic life: fishes,
the Sahara Desert turtles, crocodiles, and sharks! And
many of these animals were gigantic.
is well known as a Traces of a Seaway
scorching hot, dry How do we know the Sahara was
a seaway? The Tuareg people, who
are native to the Sahara Desert, first
place. Early European explorers, found traces of the wetland in fossil
shells. The first published descriptions
lacking experience in these harsh came from European scientists. And
in 1850, a team of explorers, originally
conditions, had a harrowing time led by geologist Adolf Overweg,
brought back sandstone from the
exploring the Sahara. All too central Sahara. Sandstone rocks
typically form when layers of sand
frequently, they never returned build up in lakes, rivers, or oceans.
Later that century, the Frenchman
from their expeditions. François Élie Roudaire came across

14
 Was a
Seaway
natural basins that fill up and enough support for the project. included an animal that was strong
become small, salty lakes after In scientific explorations, evidence of the Sahara’s past: a
rainfall. He wondered whether these however, the northern Sahara dyrosaurid. Growing up to 20 feet
“chotts” in the northern Sahara in revealed more clues of its watery long (6 m), dyrosaurids were related
Algeria were remnants of a channel past. French paleontologist to crocodiles. They lived all around
to the sea. Roudaire teamed up Albert-Félix de Lapparent made the world during the late Cretaceous
with Ferdinand de Lesseps, the man nine expeditions during the and Eocene periods. The presence
famous for building the Suez Canal, mid-20th century to hunt for of dyrosaurids in the Sahara Desert
which connected the Mediterranean dinosaur fossils. One of these proved that it had once been a warm
Sea with the Red Sea in 1869. The two expeditions nearly cost him his climate with a big enough body of
men envisioned bringing water in life on Christmas Eve, 1948, when water to supply the dyrosaurids
from the Mediterranean Sea through he fell off his camel. Nonetheless, with fish prey.
a 120-mile-long canal to farm the he persisted in mapping the rocks The dyrosaurid fossils were the
Sahara. and fossils of the northern Sahara. start of a series of fossil finds of
Recruiting engineers and His maps indicated types of rocks aquatic animals and plants in the
businessmen, they went forward that were more proof that water northern Sahara. Decades later,
with surveys for the project. What currents had swept through the Maureen O’Leary, an anatomy expert
they hadn’t anticipated was a ridge of area and left layers of sediment. at Stony Brook University in New
hard limestone that cut right across York, led a group of geologists and
the canal’s path. De Lesseps tried to Evidence of Aquatic Life paleontologists from the United
convince people that the canal was The hundreds of fossils Lapparent States, Africa, and Australia on three
still a good idea, but he never got extracted from the Sahara expeditions. They visited

15
 Mali in 1999, 2003, and 2008 to Inland seas are The Trans-Saharan Seaway
search for fossils. The work was shallow bodies of
safer than in Lapparent’s day, but water that have
the team still needed Malian guides flooded land far from
to help them endure the punishing the coast. The Trans-
Sahara conditions. “The shifting sand Saharan Seaway was
dunes made it difficult to find rocky a large waterway
outcrops, and worse still, a flash rain across western Africa
storm flooded the roadways making in a north-to-south
navigation nearly impossible,” says direction, connecting
researcher Leif Tapanila. the Tethys Sea to the
The results of their study, published Atlantic Ocean. At
in June 2019 in the Bulletin of the approximately 150 feet
American Museum of Natural History, deep (50 m) and 1,150
showed that the area Roudaire and square miles (3,000 sq
Lapparent had targeted more than km)—about the size
a century earlier indeed was once an of Rhode Island—the
inland sea. It contained water from Sahara’s seaway was home
about 100 million years ago to 50 to thriving aquatic plants
million years ago. “An epicontinental and animals.
sea bisected West Africa periodically The greatest number of fossils
from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene, were found in the Gao Trench,
in dramatic contrast to the current which includes the basins that De
Sahara Desert that dominates the same Lesseps had wondered about. Miles
region today,” the researchers wrote. of three-foot-thick (one m) phosphate

Many different aquatic

animals could be found
in the Trans-Saharan
Seaway—and they
tended to be gigantic
by today’s standards.

16
 The Sahara Desert extends across the
southern region of Tunisia. There, the
Star Wars Tatooine sets still stand.

Fossilized waves in
the Sahara Desert
from the air
many places that are dry land
today were underwater. Also, there
was a lot of geologic activity. New
beds were chock-full of fossilized bones and magma welled up from ocean
animal feces. By piecing together evidence ridges, pushing water onto land.
from rocks and fossils, researchers have The African continental plate rippled
caught a glimpse of what was one of the like a potato chip as moving plates
most diverse ecosystems on Earth. squeezed it, making the terrain into
basins and hills. Floodwaters filled
A dyrosaurid fossil
A Sea of Giants basins across the Sahara, connecting
This Cretaceous-era Sahara was a them in a chain.
humid, tropical place. Its waterways have grown up to 11.5-feet long (3.5 During its lifespan, the seaway
were carpeted with shelled clams, oysters, m), a formidable size for a fish. Sharks repeatedly grew and shrunk as
snails, and sea urchins. On the banks were swam here as well; they left behind climate and sea levels fluctuated.
mangrove trees with long roots like the teeth and what look like toothmarks Each time it shrunk, basins in the
ones you’d see today in the tropics. Cruising on a dyrosaurid vertebra bone. chain became isolated lakes.
around the shallows were strong-jawed fish Imagine a shark with serrated teeth “Because the seaway changed in
called pycnodonts with rows of peg teeth for chomping on a thrashing crocodile- size and geography frequently, it
crushing shelled prey. like creature. may have resulted in ‘islands of
If you’ve ever learned about or visited The several thousand miles water,’” said O’Leary. Species that
the Florida Everglades, this ancient of seaway supported a range of get cut off from others set off on their
environment might sound familiar. As aquatic environments. The serrate- own evolutionary pathways, which
host to a variety of animals that favor toothed sharks needed salty water, can lead to unusual forms, such as
brackish water (part fresh, part salty), but other species found in the gigantic sizes.
the Trans-Saharan Seaway resembled seaway used brackish or freshwater Then, 50 million years ago, when
the Florida Everglades. Saltwater flowed habitats. Teeth of the huge Malian the Earth’s climate cooled again
in from the oceans on either side. lungfish Lavocatodus giganteus and ice formed, binding water up
Meanwhile, freshwater flowed in rivers were discovered; this long fish was a from the oceans, the seaway dried
down mountain slopes. This created a freshwater species. Four species of up altogether. But the rocks, animals,
patchwork of nutrient-rich river deltas, freshwater catfishes also lived in the and plants it left behind are testimony
ponds, estuaries, and lagoons. area, one of which—at five feet long to its surprising existence.
The animals here grew to astonishing (1.5 m)— broke size records.
sizes. The biggest sea snake known on Devin A. Reese is a science writer who lives
text © 2022 by Devin A. Reese

Earth lived in the former seaway, fossils Coming, Going, Gone in Alexandria, Virginia, with three primate
show. Palaeophis colossaeus could grow The Trans-Saharan Seaway formed RIIVSULQJ DQG ğYH WRUWRLVHV 6KH WUDYHOHG
to 30 feet (9 m) long! It probably hung 100 million years ago when warm WKURXJK WKH 6DKDUD 'HVHUW RI 0DOL LQ WKH
around near the shoreline, preying temperatures melted ice sheets and 1980s and returned 20 pounds lighter (9 kg)
on fishes, turtles, mammals, and even gradually raised sea levels globally. from intestinal parasites and few opportuni-
dinosaurs that ventured near the water. By 90 million years ago, sea levels WLHV WR EX\ IRRG 6KH LV DZHG E\ KRZ VPDOO
Giant fishes lived in the seaway as reached around 820 feet (250 m) our human efforts appear against the huge
well. Maliamia gigas, for example, may higher than today, meaning that geologic changes of Earth.

17
 The lost world
of mammoths,
saber-toothed
cats, and dire
wolves

by Charles C. Hofer

From the
 os Angeles, California, is one of the
world’s most glamorous places. Movie
stars and fashion models, musicians
and superstar athletes can usually be
found under the bright lights
of the bustling, sprawling city.
But right in the middle of this
glitz and glamour is a relic left over from a
prehistoric world when strange creatures still
roamed the Earth.

The pits at La Brea bubble with By the time the Pleistocene began,
tar—in a busy urban park! For tens of dinosaurs had been extinct for more
thousands of years, the La Brea Tar than 60 million years. Mammals
Pits trapped animals big and small, now ruled the planet—very, very
becoming a graveyard for creatures big mammals! The Pleistocene was
of a lost age. Over time, the tar pits dominated by megafauna, a word
have become a treasure trove of bones. that literally means “large animals.”
Today, the vast collection at La Brea Megafauna such as mammoths,
helps scientists unravel the mysteries of mastodons, giant ground sloths, and
an ancient world. short-faced bears roamed the lands
that would one day be called North
7KH$JHRI*LDQW%HDVWVb America.
Most of the fossils recovered from The megafauna reigned for a fairly
the La Brea Tar Pits date back to the short period, however. Earth’s climate
Pleistocene Epoch, a period that began changed rapidly near the end of the
about 2.6 million years ago and ended Pleistocene. The last great Ice Age
around 11,700 years ago. During the came to a close, glaciers receded,
Pleistocene, the world was a much and the planet grew warmer. A mass
different place. Ice ages came and went. extinction soon followed, wiping
l
Glaciers h l d carve out many off the
helped h out many off the
h large
l mammals l that
h
mountains and plains, rivers and lakes characterized the Pleistocene. Nearly
that we see today. all the megafauna species vanished.
 Some scientists believe the
Earth’s warming climate caused
this great extinction; the large
megafauna simply couldn’t adapt
quickly enough. Other theories point
to disease or to a different culprit:
the dawn of humankind. Early
humans spread into new territories.
They made weapons. They worked
together. They might have hunted
the megafauna into extinction.
The giant beasts of the Pleistocene
were probably no match for
Homo sapiens.

Death Trap
But some animals met a gruesome
fate that had nothing to do with
strange weather or human hunters.
During the late Pleistocene, starting
about 50,000 years ago, the tar pitss
of La Brea worked like a death trap p.
Animals of all shapes and sizes met
their ends in these sticky pools.
Their bones would be preserved
for thousands of years until
scientists dug them up, cleaned
them, and cataloged them in the
museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.
The “tar” in the pits is actually
natural crude oil formed deep
underground. In some places wherre stuck. Both predator
p andd prey met fine tools—and lots of patience—to
the Earth’s crust cracks, this oil can their ends side by side. This death- carefully scrape away layer after
reach the surface and form pools. trap phenomenon helps explain layer of dried asphalt. When a
Once on the surface, the liquid part why the vast majority of the fossils paleontologist recovers a new fossil,
of the crude oil evaporates, leaving recovered at the La Brea pits are they identify it and mark its exact
behind natural asphalt—the black, bones from large carnivores such as location in the deposit. The labeled
super-sticky substance that’s often saber-toothed cats and dire wolves. fossil goes to the laboratory for
used to cover roads and parking lots. preparation. Inside the lab, other
An animal that stepped onto the The Bone Puzzle paleontologists carefully clean the
asphalt would stick to, and possibly Over tens of thousands of years, the fossil and prepare it to be added to
sink into, the goo. There would be death toll at La Brea built up. As the museum’s vast collection.
no escape. And things could get a time passed, the bones of the dead The fossil collection at La
whole lot worse. Once trapped, the animals shifted in the thick liquid of Brea keeps growing. Since 1906,
helpless animal might thrash about the pits, ending up jumbled together more than 3.5 million fossils have
in a desperate attempt to free itself in piles called deposits. These been recovered from the tar pits!
from the asphalt. This might attract deposits might have bones of camels Discoveries range from tiny insects
nearby predators like dire wolves mixing with ancient bison, or giant to a nearly complete skeleton of
or saber-toothed cats, two of the condors lumped with American a giant Columbian mammoth,
Pleistocene’s fiercest predators. lions. It’s a giant puzzle of bones. nicknamed “Zed.” Over the decades,
These animals often hunted in Today at the La Brea Tar Pits and paleontologists have identified
groups, and prey trapped in the Museum, paleontologists—people more than 600 species, including
asphalt looked like an easy meal. who study fossils— excavate the mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles,
Sometimes, when trying to make deposits to uncover the animal as well as plants. The bones of an
dinner out of mired prey, large remains hidden away over time. early human have been recovered
predators would themselves become It’s a slow process that requires from the tar pits, too.

20
 A woolly mammoth
struggles in a bog
similar to the La
Brea Tar Pits. Do
the other animals
realize they could
be next?

The Catalog of Bonesb the specific type of bone. It’s a time or they can study variation
Behind the scenes at the museum system that requires exceptional within a particular species. By
at La Brea Tar Pits, dark and dusty organization and attention to even applying systematics to a large fossil
rooms house the extensive fossil the smallest details. Eventually, collection like the one at La Brea,
collection. Mammoth tusks and information on each of the paleontologists can re-create the web
massive leg bones of mastodons take fossils—such as measurements and of life—even one that dates
up entire shelves. Drawers overflow photographs—is entered into back millions of years.
with dire wolf teeth. Cabinets contain a computer database to be used Collections like the one at the La
fossilized plants. No matter how by paleontologists from around Brea Tar Pits and Museum allow us
big or small, each fossil is carefully the world. to see what life was like in the distant
labeled and recorded. It’s a library of After each fossil is cataloged and past and how it has changed over
a lost world. shelved, it’s not forgotten—far from time. These collections show how
To understand this Pleistocene it. Each remnant still has a critical animals evolved and why some went
world, paleontologists catalog every role to play in re-creating the lost extinct while others survived. They
fossil they find. Almost every day world of the Pleistocene. The La Brea let us trace our evolutionary path to
prior to the pandemic, workers fossil collection is an important tool see how we got here. Putting it all
would uncover new bones at La for a field of study called systematics, together increases our understanding
Brea’s two active excavation sites, which is the study of evolutionary of life on Earth, both past and present,
as visitors watched. Every recovered relationships. and may help us protect our planet,
fossil has been carefully labeled and In systematics, paleontologists before extinction strikes again.
sorted, whether it’s the giant skull of compare the similarities and
an American lion or the tiny shell differences between fossils. By Charles C. Hofer is a wildlife biologist and
of a beetle. comparing fossils, paleontologists writer who lives in the American Southwest.
Scientists catalog each fossil can describe new species. They He hopes he has a few more years before his
according to species and then by can see how animals change over bones wind up in a museum’s collection.

21
Science@Work

By Kellan Brooks

ROBIN TINGHITELLA
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST
Imagine that you’re a cricket happily chirping away. What if
your mating song begins to attract a deadly enemy? Would
you continue to call out? Or would you hush up, hoping to slip
quietly under the radar?
For the past 20 years, Robin Tinghitella, an evolutionary
biologist at the University of Denver in Colorado, has been
studying a species of field cricket in Hawaii. She has observed
them abandon their signature chirp and fall silent to avoid
detection by predators. The crickets were thought to have lost
their song for good, until a recent discovery by Tinghitella
turned what we know about crickets upside-down and uncovered
a new type of song—one that is curiously cat-like in nature.

22
WHEN I THINK OF This parasitic fly targets crickets
FIELD CRICKETS, I in Hawaii, but the crickets haven’t
taken it lying down.
IMMEDIATELY THINK
OF CHIRPING NOISES.
A lot of people often think that
crickets rub their legs together
to chirp. They’re actually using
their wings!

WHY DO THEY MAKE THAT

NOISE?
Only male crickets make noise,
and they’re usually using it to call
for a female mate. Females don’t
have any of the wing structures
needed to chirp or vibrate. In
fact, females don’t even have the
behavior of rubbing their wings
together that creates the chirp.

SO, MALE CRICKETS HAVE

UNIQUE WING STRUCTURES
THAT THEY RUB TOGETHER
TO PRODUCE A CHIRP?
They have what we call a file
and scraper system on their two SO, YOU SPENT TIME STUDYING SILENT CRICKETS
forewings. [Crickets have two IN HAWAII. WHAT WOULD MAKE A CRICKET GO
sets of wings including forewings SILENT? IT SOUNDS LIKE THEIR SONG IS IMPORTANT
and hindwings.] TO SURVIVAL.
The file is a modified wing Yeah, starting almost 20 years ago, in 2003, we were finding
vein that has all these evenly these groups of crickets that had gone silent. The crickets I
spaced-out “teeth” on it, like a studied had a mutation in their DNA that caused them to be
saw. A sound is produced when silent. Silence protected them from a parasitic fly that targeted
the file comes in contact with their communities. The flies would locate the crickets by their
the scraper on the paired wing. chirping and then infest them with their larvae.
We call that rubbing wing
motion “stridulation.” SO, BEING SILENT ACTUALLY HELPED
THEM SURVIVE?
DO ALL CRICKETS CHIRP Yes. Well, on one hand, female crickets want to pair up with
THE SAME? the male who produces a typical song; that’s their preference
No. What’s interesting is that to keep their species going. But being a typical singing male
crickets close their wings in a attracts this deadly parasitoid fly, putting them, and their mates,
pattern that’s specific to each at huge risk.
species. We hear a pulse of
sound every time they close DID THE SILENT CRICKETS SIMPLY STOP RUBBING
their wings. This pattern is THEIR WINGS TOGETHER?
determined by a neurological Actually, the silent males still rub their wings in the pattern of
process ingrained in each the original, ancestral song. Even though there is no resulting
species that dictates how they noise, they still end up spending energy on trying. Instead, the
open and close their wings. wing structures had changed shape and that’s what caused them
The field cricket we’re to be silent.
observing has a two-part song.
There’s a trill at the beginning OKAY, SO FAST FORWARD TO 2017. YOU HAPPENED
and then sets of paired pulses UPON SOMETHING QUITE UNEXPECTED.
that go brrrrrrrrrrrrr brr-brr brr- Yes, I’m a professor, and one of my graduate students wanted
brr brr-brr. to study the effects of what we call anthropogenic noise

23
Science@Work
The area on Moloka’i where WHAT DOES A PURRING
Robin Tinghitella conducted
her groundbreaking research CRICKET SOUND LIKE?
on crickets. It’s a different kind of
broadband, noisy sound.
A click-y sort of song,
instead of that tonal, classic
song that you typically equate
with crickets.

IS IT ONE LONG PURR OR

RHYTHMIC, SIMILAR TO A
CAT’S PURR?
What’s very interesting is that
the purring males use the
same temporal pattern as the
ancestral chirping crickets.
It’s the same trill followed
by sets of paired pulses.
[environmental noise pollution directly related to humans] on Even though the sound is
populations of invertebrates. I knew about these cricket communities dramatically different, the
in Hawaii, so we set out there in search of data. patterning is exactly the
same. One of the things we’re
AND YOU ENDED UP AT A UNIQUE RESEARCH SITE ON exploring right now is that
THE ISLAND OF MOLOKA’I? there are more novel songs
We went to Kalaupapa National Historic Site on Moloka’i because than just the purring we first
I knew it to be an area largely removed from anthropogenic noise. observed. There are a few
It’s largely closed to tourism, and there are very few cars and little new morphs!
building noise.
It was complete happenstance. I got permission from the park WHAT’S A MORPH?
director to go and poke around and see if crickets were there. The term morph describes
a variation within the same
This cricket morph purrs like species. Like when they show
a cat! up with new characteristics.

ARE THE NEW MORPHS

PRODUCING NEW
SOUNDS IN ADDITION TO
PURRING?
Yes! We call one morph
“curly”—it has a wing mutation
that makes its wings curl so

Crickets in Hawaii
lost their chirps
but found other
AND WHAT DID YOU FIND THERE? modes of commu-
nication to evade
I took a small sample of 35 to 45 crickets back to the hotel room. flies and still
And in the quiet of that space, I heard them making a new sound. It attract mates.
sounded like purring!

PURRING LIKE A CAT?

Yes! It was something I hadn’t heard before and was totally
unexpected. These crickets that had once fallen silent on another
island, had now apparently discovered (through evolution)
this intermediate space. Here, they could use a private mode of
communication, undetected by the flies.

24
 Cricket Wing Shapes

that their organs don’t WHAT A MYSTERY!

actually touch. They produce Yes, it was! Until one of our team members saw, through a three-
a weird song; it’s an atypical dimensional microscope, that the undersides of the rattling cricket wings
quieter song. have these gaps in the normally evenly spaced-out teeth that rub on the
We call another morph other wing, allowing them to make the new sound.
“small wing.” Instead of Instead of having a pure tone, you get a kind of ratchet-y sound. Like if
having full-size wings, they you took your thumbnail and rubbed it along the teeth of a comb. There’s a
have these little short wings. staccato sound, but it’s happening super-fast. It sounds like white noise.
These wings have all the
normal file and scraper IT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF VARIATION HAPPENING IN A
structures on them, but HIGHLY ACCELERATED TIMELINE!
they’re smaller, which makes Yes! It certainly is. Purring and rattling crickets are fairly similar in that
the song high-pitched. their songs are quieter than normal, but also notably dissimilar. Both
And then we discovered of these crickets are using secret modes of communication that help
a different morph that we’re them evade flies but attract mates. They have completely different wing
calling “rattling.” These crickets structures that allow them to achieve the same goal.

text © 2022 by Kellan Brooks

sound like they’re playing Interestingly, this is how speciation [the formation of a species from
maracas. It’s really fun. Their evolution] may happen. Nobody usually gets to watch that. But we are
wings actually look exactly like seeing it go down in real time!
the typical chirping cricket.
At first, we couldn’t explain Kellan Brooks is a freelance writer with an interest in all things invertebrate. She
why they were making a lives in southern Colorado where she likes to watch the annual tarantula stampede
different noise. or “migration”—though if one were to ever purr at her, she’d probably go running
for the hills.

Types of Crickets, According to Tinghitella

Male field crickets have soft, white hindwings they use to fly. They
also have hardened forewings that sit on top of the flight wings. The
forewings have structures referred to as a file and a scraper. They rub
these tiny wing parts together to produce songs.
Silent crickets lost their file and scraper structures, replacing them
with smooth wings that produce no sound, even though they still rub
their wings together. Purring crickets have a scraper, but otherwise
look similar to silent males. This is a sign that they are perhaps direct
descendants from the silent morphs.
New cricket morphs have varying wing shapes. Some are smaller,
producing a higher-pitched song. Some have areas of ridges followed by
smooth areas that result in a rattling sound like a maraca.

25
Photo Op BY MARY BATES

THE SEARCH
FOR LOST
SPECIES
EVEN SPECIES LOST
FOR DECADES CAN
BE FOUND AGAIN.
It turns out the largest bee on Earth is good at hiding.
No one had reported seeing Wallace’s giant bee, which is four
times larger than a European honey bee, since 1981. Some feared
the species had gone extinct. Then, in 2019, a search team found
a single female bee in Indonesia. “It was absolutely breathtaking
Four times bigger than the European honey bee,
Wallace’s giant bee, below, is the largest bee in the to see this ‘flying bulldog’ of an insect that we weren’t sure
world. Photograph by Clay Bolt. existed anymore, to have real proof right there in front of us in
the wild,” says Clay Bolt. He’s the photographer who took photos
and videos of the insect, proving it still existed.
There are thousands of species like Wallace’s giant bee around
the world: rare animals and plants that haven’t been seen in the
wild for years. These “lost species” may still be out there, likely
holding on in remote and unexplored corners of our planet.
Or it’s possible they may have gone extinct. But to prevent
extinction and protect these species, we must find them first.

26
Most Wanted Species
That’s the mission of the Search
for Lost Species campaign. The
conservation group Re:wild, which
was co-founded by actor Leonardo
DiCaprio, launched this global
effort in 2017. They define lost
species as those not seen in at least
10 years.
Re:wild worked with an
international team of more than
100 scientists to come up with a
list of 2,100 animals and plants that
fit their criteria. From these, they
selected the 25 “most wanted”—
which turned out to be 24 animals
and one plant—to serve as poster
species for the campaign.
“We started the Lost Species Field workers
search in the small
campaign to focus on neglected country of Djibouti,
and overlooked species,” says located on the
Barney Long, the senior director of northeast coast of
the Horn of Africa.
conservation strategies at Re:wild.
“It’s important to conserve pandas
and tigers, but there are so many
species out there that need help
and are not getting it.”

Re:wild is trying to inspire people

to search for lost species and supports
expeditions all over the world. In the
first five years of the campaign, eight
of the top 25 “most wanted” species
have been found. Wallace’s giant bee
was one of these success stories.

From Lost to Found

Many of the search efforts depend
upon the knowledge and involvement
of local partners. For example, the
Somali sengi, a type of elephant
shrew, was only known to live in
The Somali the African country of Somalia. But
sengi, a type
of elephant interviews with local people helped a
shrew the search team focus their efforts in the
size of a neighboring country of Djibouti. Once
mouse, was
rediscovered they knew where to look, the team set
in Djibouti. live traps baited with peanut butter,
oatmeal, and yeast. The very first trap
they set caught a Somali sengi, the
first officially recorded sighting of one
since 1968. In total, the team saw 12
sengis during their expedition.

27
 Sometimes, discoveries come
when they are least expected. The
first species on the top 25 list to be
rediscovered was Jackson’s climbing
Photo Op

salamander. This tree-dwelling

amphibian had not been seen since
it was first recorded in Guatemala
in 1975. An amphibian reserve was
created in northern Guatemala in
2015 to help protect the habitat of
this and other species, but searches
had turned up no sign of the animal. Jackson’s climbing
salamander was
Then, a few months before spotted in northern
another search party was to set Guatemala.
out, park ranger Ramos Leon-
Tomas spotted a salamander
while patrolling the reserve. He
recognized it as a Jackson’s climbing
salamander due to earlier training
the rangers had received to help
them look for and identify this
species. His photos confirmed that
the salamander was still out there.
“It goes to show you that anyone
can find these lost species, if they
are willing to put the time and effort
in,” says Long. “You don’t need to be
a scientist. Anyone with the interest
and ability can find a species.”

The sighting of the silver- Conservation Plans

backed chevrotain in Vietnam in
LVFRQVLGHUHGDVLJQLğFDQW Once a species is rediscovered,
mammal rediscovery. Re:wild goes to work with local
and international partners on
developing a conservation
strategy. Such efforts depend on
the particulars of the species, its
habitat, and the threats it faces.
Take the silver-backed
chevrotain, a small, deer-like
animal lost since 1990. Also known
as the Vietnamese mouse-deer, the
species is about the size of a rabbit
and has two small fangs. A team
rediscovered it in 2019 in a coastal
forest of Vietnam. More recently, the
researchers have been working
to understand how many silver-
backed chevrotains exist, where
they can be found, and what
threatens their survival. The team
will use this information to
develop a conservation action
plan for the species.

28
 For the Jackson’s climbing
salamander, rediscovery
helped generate publicity
for a fundraising campaign
to expand the reserve where
the salamander was found.
This will benefit not just the
salamander but all the other
species that share its cloud
forest home.
Long says the success of the
Lost Species campaign so far
illustrates that we still know
very little about our world. In 2020, locals
and scientists
“Despite the fact that there rediscovered the
are seven billion-plus of us black-browed
humans on the planet, there are babbler in Borneo
after 172 years!
still pockets of wilderness out
there,” he says.

HOW TO SEARCH FOR

LOST SPECIES
Anyone can help rediscover a lost species.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t live in a
rainforest or desert—surprisingly, many lost
species are found close to towns. Barney
Long, the senior director of conservation
strategies at Re:wild, suggests you start by
checking out the full list of 2,100 lost species
to see if any were last seen near where you
live. (Visit www.rewild.org/lost-species.) Next,
get the iNaturalist app for recording your
observations. Within the app, there is a lost
species page where you can record sightings
and crowdsource identifications with experts.
Who knows, you might make a surprising
discovery—and help save a species!

Searching for
lost species
“The fact that we have found
takes effort. eight of the top 25 missing
Sometimes it species shows that there is
means moving
to a higher
hope that we can find lost
elevation species,” he says. “We can turn
(above), other these forgotten species into the
text © 2022 by Mary Bates

times setting
up camera
superstar conservation success
traps (right). stories of the future.”

Mary Bates is a science writer based

outside Boston, Massachusetts. She
hopes her writing draws attention to
issues faced by plants and animals
around the world, both well-known
and newly rediscovered.

29
Hands-On

Nick D’Alto Dmitri Mendeleev was

a professor of chemical
technology in St. Petersburg,
ELEMENTARY, MY Russia, in the late 19th
century. His work with

DEAR MENDELEEV elements brought him fame

in his lifetime.

Sometimes how you organize things makes

all the difference.

YOU’VE GOT A BUNCH OF STUFF, BUT EVERYTHING

LOOKS DIFFERENT, AND NOTHING MATCHES. How can
you organize this mess? No, we’re not talking about your
room—let’s not go overboard here! We’re talking about the
elements. You know, carbon, magnesium, lead. They were all
just rocks-in-a-box, until a Russian guy with a messy beard
named Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907) arranged them into
the famous periodic table of the elements. Now, an updated
version of that chart hangs in science classrooms around
the globe.
Except that it’s much more than a chart. The periodic
table lists the substances that make up everything we
can see and touch. Plus, it tells you how every substance
combines with every other substance. Talk about the
ultimate collection. So, how did Mendeleev do it?

30
Getting Organized The Missing Cards
Think of the messiest person you 7RPDNHHYHU\WKLQJğW0HQGHOHHY
know. Dmitri Mendeleev had a had to leave blank spaces in his
tangled beard and wild hair. But it table. Did that mean his system
wasn’t just that. Mendeleev’s entire didn’t really work? Was it just a bad
profession was disorganized. As a dream?
chemist, he studied the elements— Mendeleev decided to gamble.
substances that can’t be broken He announced that the missing
down into simpler forms. Except in spaces in his table represented
those days, no one had yet arranged elements science had not yet
these elements in a way that made discovered. He even predicted how
sense. yet-to-be discovered elements
Mendeleev started his organizing would behave, using his “matching”
project by writing down lists of all rules. Amazingly, other scientists
the known elements, along with VRRQEHJDQğQGLQJWKHVHHOHPHQWV
their properties. For example, are Mendeleev was not only
they heavy or light? What color brilliant, but he’d also tapped into
are they? Do they react with other a key principle of inquiry. While
materials easily, or not at all? good science is about collecting
Mendeleev liked to play cards. He information, great science is about
PDGHĠDVKFDUGVVRKHFRXOGVKXIĠH organizing that information to
the elements around. He tried many reveal underlying laws. In a way,
arrangements, especially rows. Each great scientists—even usually
time he noticed a match—elements sloppy ones—act like neat freaks:
with similar properties—he’d start always rearranging things to Carbon (C, atomic number 6)
a new row. But he couldn’t make GLVFRYHU ZKDW ZRUNV EHVW
HYHU\WKLQJğW 2QH QLJKW DIWHU
staying up late trying to make it How the Table Works Reading down the table,
all work, he fell asleep. “I saw in a It’s called the “periodic” table elements in the same column have
dream a table where all elements because properties recur at regular similar chemical properties. (These
fell into place as required,” he intervals, or periods. Here are a few are sometimes called families.)
later described. “Awakening, I RI WKH WDEOHłV UXOHV (OHPHQWV LQ WKH ğUVW FROXPQ DUH
immediately wrote it down.” The From #1 (hydrogen), elements highly reactive. (In their pure states,
new table worked perfectly. generally go from lighter to heavier. they may explode!)
Elements near the middle
are metals. (They can be bent or
Magnesium (Mg, atomic hammered, they conduct electricity,
number 12), left, and etc.)
aluminum (Al, atomic Elements in the last column
number 13), right.
generally don’t react at all. (They
very rarely combine or burn.)
Today, we know Mendeleev’s
table works because each element
across a row has one more
proton—the positive particle in the
nucleus—than the element before
it. That’s called its atomic number.
We also know that elements
down the columns act in similar
ways because they have similar
arrangements of outer electrons,
the negative charges that spin
around their nuclei.
Do you want to do great science
too? Sure, we can arrange that. Try
the challenge on the next page!

31
 A Brilliant Card Table!
Try arranging cards like Dmitri Mendeleev arranged
the elements!
Hands-On

You’ll need
Deck of playing cards

Spread all the cards out face up on a table. (They’re like

the elements once were—all jumbled.)
Now lay the cards in rows arranged by suit, from
VPDOOHVW DFH WRELJJHVW NLQJ 6WDUWZLWKKHDUWVb
Then beneath that, begin new rows for diamonds,
then clubs, then spades.
Congratulations, you’ve assembled the periodic table
RISOD\LQJFDUGVb
Card values go up, from left to right—just like atomic
numbers do in the real table.
Cards in each column have the same value—the
same way elements in each column have similar
properties.

Periodic Puzzle
0RGHUQFKHPLVWU\KDVğOOHGWKHEODQNVSDFHV'PLWUL
0HQGHOHHYLGHQWLğHGLQWKHSHULRGLFWDEOHŌDQG
extended it. Here’s your chance to try Mendeleev’s
method. We’ve left four spaces blank in the table below.
&DQ\RXğJXUHRXWZKHUHDUJRQDOXPLQXPFRSSHUDQG
hydrogen belong? Clues can be found in the top portion
of the table, and answers are below on the left.

Aerospace engineer Nick D’Alto knows a lot about the

periodic table, but he still sometimes loses at cards.

ANSWERS

Clues
Often found in light bulbs, argon is a gas that won’t burn.
Aluminum and copper are both metals, but aluminum is lighter.
,QDK\GURJHQğOOHGDLUVKLSFDOOHGWKH+LQGHQEXUJZHQW
GRZQLQDğHU\FUDVK

Lighter Metals (roughly) in the Middle Heavier

Won't React
Explosive

?
32
 BY LIZZIE WADE

Q:
If you fired a
laser beam
straight up, would
Q&A

it be possible to
hit a space object,
or would it peter
out before that
could happen?
—Alexander M., Guelph, Ontario

A Not only is it possible to hit

: a space object with a laser,
there are scientists who
do it for a living. One of them is Tom
Murphy, a physicist at the University of

Q:
California, San Diego. As the leader of
the Apache Point Observatory Lunar But there’s one part of your
Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO), body that doesn’t join in this
Murphy shoots lasers at reflectors extended growth spurt: your
that astronauts left on the Moon and teeth. They stay the same size
measures how long it takes the light to Why do we get while the rest of you grows
bounce back to Earth. That helps him a second set of around them. That’s because
determine the distance between Earth
and the Moon to the millimeter and
teeth but not your teeth are covered in a
hard substance called enamel,
test different ideas about gravity. a second set of explains Mark Springer, a
Murphy uses a giant laser beam—
3.5 meters (11 feet) across!—for his
bones or hair? biologist at the University of
California, Riverside. Enamel
—Mila N., age 11
experiment. But he says that even is what makes teeth strong
light from an ordinary laser pointer enough to chew tough stuff
will reach the Moon if you aim it right.
Light is made of tiny particles called
photons that keep speeding along
A During childhood,
: it can feel like
everything is
without breaking. But unlike
bones and hair, enamel doesn’t
grow or change. And while your
until something gets in their way. growing. Your bones are getting baby teeth might be the right
Gas molecules and dust in Earth’s longer, your body is getting size for the head of, well, a baby,
atmosphere will stop about 10 taller, and even your feet are they aren’t big enough to fill
percent of the quadrillions of photons getting bigger so quickly that up an adult mouth. The only
leaving your laser pointer every you need a new pair of shoes solution is to replace them with
second, but the rest will continue out every few months. That’s why a whole new set of teeth—one
into the universe. If you don’t aim at you never need replacements fit for a grown-up.
the Moon, a planet, or a nearby galaxy, for most of your parts: They —Lizzie
where dust grains can stop photons grow to fit you. And even
in their tracks, “your photons will after you stop changing size,
likely travel for 10 billion years or Have any questions?
your bones are still able to
Send them to Muse Q&A,
more through the emptiness of space,” repair themselves in case you 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525,
Murphy says. “So, there’s not much break them. (Hair never stops PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611,
petering going on.” growing, which is why you need or email them to
—Lizzie to trim it once in a while.) [email protected].

33
 EMOTIONS
PLAY A BIG
ROLE IN
WHAT WE
REMEMBER.
by R. Douglas Fields

34
 listened in amazement
as the tanned, muscular
climber in the Yosemite
Valley area of California
proceeded to describe his
entire climb up the sheer
granite face of El Capitan.
He managed to relate
every inch of the six-day climb he’d
accomplished a year before. I couldn’t
believe what an amazing memory he
had. How could I ever hope to achieve
this feat of recall? Later, I learned
that I too could relate every inch of
my scariest climbs. That’s because
the emotional fear factor made them
unforgettable.
Emotion has a very strong effect
on memory. Scientists have learned
that emotional memories are handled
differently in the brain. Most events
in our life are held in our memory
for only a few minutes—then they’re
gone. It takes endless repetition and
effort to learn your times tables, but
“flash-bulb” memories of emotional
events are burned instantly into your
mind after a single experience.

What Is Memory?
Memory is connecting experiences
together so that they can be recalled
at a later time. In our brains, nerve
cells called neurons process all our
mental experiences. Memory is simply
the process of connecting certain
neurons together to make a mental
association. We have long-term and
short-term memories, and each is
stored differently in our brains.
Why do we have two types of
memories? Just imagine how cluttered
your mind would become if you
remembered every single thing that
you experienced! A small number of
people actually do. It’s a condition
called hyperthymesia, or highly
superior autobiographical memory,
and it can be bothersome. Most
of the stuff that’s stored is useless
information.
Short-term memories are formed
by strengthening connections
between neurons temporarily,
through chemical changes in the

35
 NERVE CELLS IN THE BRAIN

points between neurons, called remembering. So, you remember you remember them—even if another
synapses. The strengthened a frightening event permanently. moment and another follow, all the
connections soon fade, because If you have ever had a near-death way to the summit.
the chemical reactions slowly die experience—almost drowning, A similar scenario occurring
out. Long-term memories require a serious car accident, escaping outside our immediate physical
turning on genes in the nucleus of from a house fire—you will never environment can affect our emotions
the neuron to make new proteins. forget it. This is because hormones in a big way. For example, many
These new proteins cement the that are generated in frightening Americans say they never forgot
connection between two neurons situations, such as adrenaline and where they were and what they
through a cellular growth process neurotransmitters, signal to neurons were doing when President John F.
that physically wires the neurons to move whatever temporary Kennedy was shot and assassinated
together more solidly. memories they are holding into on Nov. 22, 1963. This event was
To move a memory from short- long-term memory. unusually stressful and horrific for
term to long-term storage usually This strong emotional component those living in the United States. It’s
takes much repetition and practice. is why a rock climber can remember not surprising, perhaps, that the tragic
It also requires turning on genes in in detail every hold they used to reach shooting itself is unforgettable, but
the nucleus of the neuron to make the the top of a mountain. If the next 10 think about this: All the small details
growth proteins develop a permanent seconds of your life could be your last, of what people were doing when
connection between two neurons. In
an experiment, animals were trained
one day to run a maze though much
repetition. Afterward, they were given
a drug that prevented their genes
from making new proteins. By the How
next morning, they’d forgotten how did I
throu get
to run the maze. g
maze h this
Emotion and Memory again
Events that have a powerful emotional ?
impact do not require repetitions
to be remembered for a lifetime.
When an event stimulates a strong
emotional response, your brain figures
that whatever is happening must
be especially important and worth

36
 Few Americans alive at the time ever for-
got where they were or what they were
doing on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President
John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
they first heard the news were also
preserved in their memories.
Such recall is very unusual. Can or a call home to your parents are in your studies and give yourself a
people remember anything about all effective and accepted aids to reward when you achieve the
what happened to them the day learning. Such methods help increase goal. The reward might be playing
before President Kennedy was memory through the emotion of fear. outside or on the computer after you
assassinated? Most likely, not. The finish a homework assignment.
events of that day are preserved Novelty. Teachers try to make
as “flash-bulb” memory. Stress their lessons new and exciting. The Other Emotional
hormones switched on genes to brain realizes that whatever is going Memories
make growth proteins that cemented on while you are highly interested There are two more situations
together all other memories that must be important, new, and worth in the life of any animal that are
were being held in people’s short- remembering. emotionally charged and therefore
term memories at the instant of the likely to be remembered. Tasting and
more life-altering experience. Reward. If you receive a reward smelling foods, such as fresh buttered
after you do something, the emotional popcorn or sushi, for the first time are
Emotional Tutors satisfaction lets the brain know that memorable, because anything you eat
Being scared to death and feeling this moment is something worth could be nutritious and pleasurable,
powerless is one way to move remembering. Teachers use rewards or it could be poisonous.
memory from short-term to long- to help children learn, and you can do The other memorable emotional
term storage without any repetition. the same at home. Simply set a goal state is love. For many animals, few
But other emotions aid the process things are more important
of long-term memory, too. Here than picking the right
are a handful. mate—few forget their first
kiss. As the hormones of
Fear. Teachers no longer excitement and emotion
use physical fear to motivate surge, the memory of a first
learning, as they did in the past kiss is seared into memory,
when a slap on the palm was an along with all the little
accepted educational method. The details of that very special
stress hormones associated with moment.
the emotional response of being Whatever long-term
threatened, however, can stimulate memories you may have
neurons to make growth proteins. retained, it’s more than
$KğUVWORYH
Today, fear of failure, poor grades, likely you earned them!

37
 LOST
EVERY
DAY
A medical
condition
leads some
people to
get lost
every day
of their lives.
by Aaron Millar

38
S
haron Roseman was to navigate their environment. “It’s
five years old when her almost as if somebody picks up the
world changed forever. entire world, turns it, and sets it back
She was playing Blind down,” Roseman explained to the New
Man’s Bluff—a game York Times in 2013.
of tag in which the “it” The condition typically first appears
person is blindfolded—with friends in childhood. People with DTD have
outside her house. When she removed no underlying brain condition or
her blindfold, she couldn’t recognize injury. Yet they experience severe
where she was. “My street was not orientation problems all their life and
my street, my house was not my get lost even in places where they
house,” she says. “I was in this totally spend a lot of time, like their home and
unfamiliar place that I had never seen school. When Roseman would check
before, and it scared me to death.” on her own babies in the night, she
It was only the beginning. From would frequently bump into walls, not
that moment on, Roseman has been realizing they were there.
lost every day of her life. Dr. Giuseppe Iaria of the University
of Calgary in Canada is credited with
Lost Even in Familiar Places first identifying DTD. He confirms that
Such a turn of events might sound odd as it sounds people with DTD have
like an episode of The Twilight Zone. no underlying neurological conditions
But Roseman’s story is true, and or brain damage. He thinks genetic
she is not alone in her bizarre and factors are likely responsible for this
frightening experience. As an adult malady.
living in Denver, Colorado, in 2008, Iaria’s work is helping people like
Roseman was diagnosed with a rare Roseman understand and cope with
and newly discovered condition their condition. It’s also shedding light
called Developmental Topographical on the way the brain helps us orientate
Disorientation. DTD is a disorder that in the world, a mental skill that
dramatically affects people’s abilities psychologists call spatial cognition.

39
 Your brain learns and
stores information by
making connections
between neurons,
or nerve cells in the
brain. Disrupt those
connections, and the
information gets lost.

A Cognitive Map
Although you might find it easy most
of the time, spatial cognition actually
makes the brain work rather hard. If you want to know how important
Even just finding your way between a cognitive map is, try writing down
classes in school requires a variety of the directions for every combination
specific mental processes, including of every possible route around your
memory, perception, attention, and school—from the gym to the science
decision-making. Each one of these lab, from the cafeteria to homeroom
skills is housed in a specific region of and then to the bus stop, and on and on.
the brain, and they all have to work Then memorize them all. Can you do it?
together as a network—if you don’t Most likely, not completely. Without a
want to end up lost in the corridors mental map to work from, we’d all get
after the bell has rung. lost pretty quickly.
The part of the brain called the In order to find out how the
hippocampus is especially important brain creates these cognitive maps,
for finding our way around. It is scientists have turned to studying
responsible for memory and contains environment are in respect to one the rat. Their spatial brain shares a
a kind of picture of the world around another, but independent from our striking similarity with our own. By
us—what psychologists call a cognitive bodies.” In other words, it’s like wiring up tiny electrodes and tracking
map. “The cognitive map is the a mental blueprint of the layout rats’ movements as they forage for
ultimate strategy in orientation,” Iaria of where we are, one that we can food, psychologists can observe the
says. “It’s a mental representation simulate and walk through in our activation of individual neurons, the
of where the landmarks in any given imagination. interconnected microscopic cells in the
brain that initiate thought and behavior.
The researchers can watch the neurons
A photograph of building a mental representation of the
neurons in the
hippocampus of rats’ environment.
a rat brain “Scientists found that specific
neurons would fire only when the rat
was in one particular location, but
not another,” says Paul Dudchenko of
the University of Stirling in the United
Kingdom. He wrote a book called Why
People Get Lost: The Psychology and
Neuroscience of Spatial Cognition. “The
combination of these different cells
being active in different places of the
brain began to look like a kind of neural
map, a representation in the brain of
different places in the environment.”

40
 The individual neurons Dudchenko
is referring to are called place cells,
which work together with other
cells in the hippocampus to map
TRY IT YOURSELF!
Put a blindfold on or simply
the environment. Three types of close your eyes and try
cells other than place cells in the to walk in a straight line.
hippocampus also seem to be key. Impossible, right? Without
Boundary cells respond exclusively reference points, our brains
to useful landmarks, such as walls are unable to form a mental
and edges. Grid cells are activated map of the environment, and
in response to particular directional we naturally veer off course.
movements. And head direction cells
act like an internal compass that is
activated in accordance with the way
an individual is facing.

Place-Cell Theory
Dudchenko has what he calls a place-
cell theory. He says we get lost because think they’re heading in the right in their mind,” Dudchenko says.
all our hippocampal cells appear to direction, but without external How exactly this happens is still under
be anchored to landmarks. “They use reference points their brain is investigation, but Dudchenko thinks
things in the environment to orientate unable to form a cognitive map, the answer lies in the relationship
themselves and create a cognitive so they naturally veer off course. between the various regions of
map,” he says. “If we don’t have Iaria believes that in cases the brain responsible for spatial
things in the outside world to like Roseman’s, the brain fails cognition.
update [the cognitive map], completely to create a cognitive “The hippocampus is involved in
then it is prone to error.” map. Dudchenko agrees with making sense of where things are
That’s why people who are lost this assessment. “There seems in relation to each other,” he says.
in a snowstorm, for instance, tend to be a systematic error in the way “The parietal cortex is involved with
to drift and go in circles. They people with DTD place landmarks integrating this information with the
vestibular and somatosensory
The Human Brain systems—the parts of the
brain that process movement
and sensation. The difference
between people with DTD and
people with no orientation
problems is most likely in
the connectivity between all
these specific regions.”
For his part, Giuseppe
Iaria is continuing with his
research. Some of his recent
work has focused on the
role genes play in giving life
to DTD. As well as helping
sufferers of DTD, Iaria
believes his research will offer
a neurobiological explanation
for why some people are
better at finding their way
than others.
While top researchers
have more to learn, they are
confident the answers won’t
stay lost in the complexity of
The hippocampus is key to navigation, the brain forever.
but people suffering from DTD also
likely have problems with connectivity
between different regions of the brain. 41
Hands-On

HOW DID I
GET HERE?!
Nick D’Alto

)5207+(%85($8
2)/267)$&76
$1'0,63/$&('
(;$0$16:(56
Try these memory methods, and you’ll
never forget a fact again!
IMAGINE YOU’RE IN SCHOOL AND YOU’RE TAKING AN
EXAM. You studied, but you’re still not sure about all the
material being covered…

•b:KRLVWKHDXWKRURIThe Secret Garden?0D\EH3/

7UDYHUV"(Try again.)* Method #1: Enter the Mansion of Memories
•b7KHWKLUGOD\HURI(DUWKłVDWPRVSKHUHLVWKH______VSKHUH 7KHDQFLHQW*UHHNVDQGDQFLHQW$ERULJLQDOSHRSOHLQ$XVWUODOLD DQG
'DUQ,NQHZWKDW\HVWHUGD\ SUREDEO\RWKHUJURXSVDVZHOO LQGHSHQGHQWO\GLVFRYHUHGWKLVPHWKRG
Often, a quiz or test at school requires you to +HUHłVKRZLWZRUNV:KLOHVWXG\LQJ\RXVLPSO\ZDONWKURXJKURRPV\RX
UHPHPEHUDOONLQGVRIIDFWVDQGğJXUHV6RKRZFDQ\RX NQRZZHOO$V\RXPRYH\RXFRQQHFWHDFKIDFW\RXQHHGWRUHPHPEHUZLWK
DYRLGIRUJHWWLQJDIDFWZKHQ\RXQHHGRQH"2UUHWULHYLQJ VRPHWKLQJ\RXVHHLQWKRVHURRPV6D\\RXłUHVWXG\LQJ863UHVLGHQWV
DIDFWLIRQHJHWVDZD\IURP\RXŌSUHIHUDEO\EHIRUHWKH $V\RXZDON\RXLPDJLQHVHHLQJ/LQFROQDW\RXUNLWFKHQWDEOHZULWLQJKLV
test is over?! *HWW\VEXUJ$GGUHVV7KHQ\RXVHH)UDQNOLQ5RRVHYHOWLQ\RXUOLYLQJURRP
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5HFDOOPHWKRGVFDQKHOS\RXUHPHPEHUEHWWHU+HUHDUH VWDQGVDWWKHIURQWGRRUVWDUWLQJWKH3HDFH&RUSV7RUHPHPEHUDOOWKLV
WKUHHVXFKWHFKQLTXHV6RVWRSVFUDWFKLQJ\RXUKHDGDQG ODWHU\RXVLPSO\ŃZDONńWKURXJKWKHVDPHURRPVLQ\RXUPLQGłVH\H$QG
give ‘em a try. WKHIDFWVZLOODOOUHWXUQWR\RXDVLI\RXłUHDKLVWRU\PDJQHW

42
Method #2: Rhyme Is Method #3: Find the
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remember where he firs learn
these memory methods.

43
 BY KATHRYN HULICK

Tigers in the Grass

It’s a scientist’s job to come up
Do the Math
with explanations for mysteries.
But before a scientist thinks up
and tests theories, they must rule
out something called the null
hypothesis. This is a fancy term for
the idea that there’s nothing to
explain—there’s no pattern, and
no mystery. Whatever seemed
mysterious was merely random
coincidence.
It turns out that human beings
are bad at telling patterns from
coincidences. This isn’t our fault.
Our brains evolved to keep us safe.
It’s usually safer to assume that
something scary caused a series of
events. Imagine you hear several
rustles in the grass. If you assume
it’s a tiger walking toward you and
run, you live, no matter what it
really is. If you assume it’s just
some random gusts of wind and
ignore it, you might get eaten.
“Our brains are wired up to find
meaningful patterns,” says Michael
Shermer, author of the book The
Believing Brain.
It’s not that huge of a jump from
imagining a tiger in the grass to
imagining some menacing force
that swallows up ships and planes

DON’T FEAR THE after a few have gone missing. Still,

it’s also possible that each ship or

BERMUDA TRIANGLE
“I don’t know where we are… This triangular area of ocean is roughly
both my compasses are out.” the same size as Alaska, and connects
This was one of the last radio points at Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and
messages that US Navy Lt.
Charles C. Taylor ever sent. Miami, Florida. Different sources
He had been out on a routine estimate that anywhere from dozens
training mission with his to hundreds of ships and planes have
VWXGHQWVĠ\LQJLQDJURXS crashed or sunk here. Countless
RIğYHSODQHVRYHUWKHRFHDQ fascinating theories try to explain
off the Eastern coast of
Florida on December 5, 1945. why. Some blame UFOs, the lost city
They never returned. No trace of Atlantis, or hidden dimensions of
of the men or any of their spacetime. Others have more
planes was ever found. scientific-sounding theories about
rising bubbles of gas or freak storms
called microbursts.
Two decades later, an article about All these theories miss one
their disappearance introduced important thing: Is there a pattern here
the idea of the Bermuda Triangle. that needs explaining? Maybe not.

44
 did the math, and worked out an
astonishing answer. There is a six
in 10 chance that at some point
over a 10-year period, three
major crashes will happen in
eight days. “Coincidences
happen because there are
so many opportunities for
bizarre things to happen,” says
Spiegelhalter. Over a 10-year
period, there are hundreds
of eight-day windows. So, it’s
actually not surprising that
at least one of those windows
contains three crashes.

No Greater Frequency
To correctly interpret statistics,
you must look at the big picture.
plane disappeared for a different, in England and author of the To tell whether the Bermuda
unrelated reason. Accidents book The Art of Statistics. He Triangle mystery is real, you’d
happen, and it’s difficult to find a hasn’t studied the Bermuda have to count more than the
ship or plane after it has sunk in Triangle, but he did analyze a number of planes and ships
the deep ocean. similar mystery. that crashed or disappeared in
In July 2014, three major this area during a certain time
Statistics to the Rescue! plane crashes happened over the period. You’d also count the
We clearly can’t rely on our course of eight days. Sadly, nearly number that travelled through
own instincts to identify real 500 people lost their lives in these safely. Then you’d compare these
patterns. Instead, we can use a tragedies. It may seem as if the numbers to other similar-sized
branch of math called statistics. crashes must be connected. Some sections of ocean. Sure enough,
Statistics can reveal if a may even be tempted to blame the US National Ocean Service
sequence of events is most likely aliens or alternate dimensions, says, “There is no evidence that
random or meaningful. David even though none of the crashes mysterious disappearances occur
Spiegelhalter is a statistician at happened in the Bermuda with any greater frequency in the
the University of Cambridge Triangle (one was over Ukraine, Bermuda Triangle than in any
one off the coast of Taiwan, and other large, well-traveled area of
another over Mali). the ocean.”
Was this a pattern or a Major airlines and shipping
Shipwrecks and coincidence? Spiegelhalter found companies travel regularly
airplane crashes in
an area south and a website that tracks plane crash through the Bermuda Triangle.
east of Florida have statistics. It reported 91 major With so many trips in the area,
been attributed to crashes over a 10-year period. He there are lots of opportunities for
the menacing forces
of the Bermuda did the math to figure out that unrelated accidents to happen.
Triangle. the number of major crashes But the vast majority of trips in
expected in a specific eight-day the area go smoothly.
period is just 0.2. Based on that, Thanks to statistics, we can see
he determined that the chance that the Bermuda Triangle is just
of a series of three crashes in a myth, not a real phenomenon.
eight days is one in 1,000! Long
odds, indeed. Kathryn Hulick’s favorite coinci-
But wait! This is the wrong dence is finding someone who shares
approach, he says. The correct her birthday. For more about
question to ask: What is the coincidences and statistics, check out
chance of having a cluster of three her 2021 article for Science News for
crashes in eight days at any point Students, “What the mummy’s curse
over a 10-year period? Again, he reveals about your brain.”

45
 CONTEST

NEW CONTEST
The Land of Lost Things
Your left sock. Your favorite pen.
Your math homework you swore ANNOUNCING
you did; I mean you put it right CONTEST WINNERS!
back in your folder, you really In November, we asked
thought you had it, and where else
could it possibly even be? When
to see where you might
things go missing, where do they find your favorite colors.
go? How do they get there? What We received a stunning
else might be in this land of lost
things? In words or pictures, help
rainbow of entries. Feast
us discover where lost things end your eyes on our vibrant
up, and we’ll help put some of our winners; this palette is fit
favorites on the map.
for a masterpiece.
CONTEST RULES
1. Your contest entry must be your
very own original work. Ideas and
words should not be copied.
2. Be sure to include your name,
age, and full address on your entry.
3. Only one entry per person,
please.
—SORAYA
4. If you want your work returned
d, K.
enclose a self-addressed, stampeed
envelope.
5. All entries must be signed by a
parent or legal guardian, saying
that this is your own work and
no help was given and granting
permission to publish. For detaileed
information about our compliance
with the Children’s Online Privacyy
Protection Act, visit the policy page
at cricketmedia.com/privacy.
6. Your entry must be received
by April 30, 2022. We will publish
winning entries in the October 20 022
issue of Muse.
7. Send entries to Muse Contest,
olina
1 East Erie Street, Suite 525,
1 South Car
PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611 or viaa A G. / 1
email to [email protected] m.
—KYR
Pennsylvania
If entering a digital photo —RUBY M. / 10
or scan, please send at 300 dpi.

ANSWE
ERS RUNNERS-UP
Honorable Mention
PAGES 6-9 MUSE NEWS
The false story is This month’s runners-up
“Missing
g: Cave Dog.” are Elijah J., Colorado;
Lillian J., age 8, Colorado;
Lillith C., age 10, New
Mexico; Olivia P., age 10,
Michigan.

46
 BY KATHRYN HULICK

on the ceiling to represent

planets. Also, he said crossbows
had been set up to automatically
shoot anyone who tried to
Your Tech

break in. Qian hadn’t been

born yet when the tomb was
built, so these descriptions
could be exaggerations.
“Many people wish to see the
treasures and mysteries inside, but
we cannot,” says Xiuzhen Li. She
is an archaeologist at Emperor
Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site
Museum in China. Opening the
tomb could damage its contents. It
could also be dangerous—mercury
is a deadly poison, and high levels
of mercury in the soil around the
site show that those mercury rivers
might be real.
Someday, Li hopes, we’ll have
technology that will let us see
inside the main part of the tomb
without opening and disturbing it.
“Probably in the near future we’ll
have some new technology that
can see inside like an x-ray,” she
says. Scientists are working

COULD TECHNOLOGY on techniques that make it

possible to see underground.

REVEAL WHAT’S These techniques can’t yet make

out intricate details, though.
INSIDE THE FIRST Another idea is that a tiny robot

EMPEROR’S TOMB?
could enter through a small hole
and capture videos of what it sees.
Even if this robotic exploration
IMAGINE THIS: YOU’RE DIGGING A WELL, AND INSTEAD is done very carefully, however,
OF HITTING WATER, YOU UNEARTH A HEADLESS HUMAN it would still be an intrusion that
TORSO MADE OF POTTERY. This actually happened to could damage the tomb. For now,
farmers in Shaanxi province in central China in 1974. Zhao the Chinese government prefers
Kangmin, a local archaeologist, heard of the find and biked to wait to do anything until they
over to investigate. He realized that the figure had come from have even better technology.
an elaborate tomb built over 2,000 years ago for China’s first What do you think? Do you
emperor, Qin Shihuang. Archaeologists eventually discovered want to know what’s inside the
three separate pits filled with 8,000 life-sized statues of archers, tomb, even if looking means
infantry, cavalry, charioteers, and generals, along with their damaging the site? Or is it
weapons and horses, all made from terracotta—a type of fired better to wait for a powerful
clay. new technology that can see
About a mile away (1.5 km) from these pits, there’s a large inside without touching or dist-
mound. Archaeologists know that this is the main part of Qin urbing anything?
Shihuang’s tomb, but they have never looked inside. They have
left it alone out of respect for the first emperor and to conserve Kathryn Hulick wrote about this
mystery and many others in her book,
the tomb as it is. Strange But True: 10 of the World’s Greatest
Sima Qian, an historian who lived about 100 years after the Mysteries Explained (Quarto, 2019). She
first emperor’s death, wrote that treasures filled the tomb, and lives in Massachusetts with her family,
that it contained rivers of mercury on the floor and gemstones which now includes a pet snake.

47
 BY NANCY KANGAS GREG KLETSEL

THINGS THAT
Last Slice

WANT TO BE LOST
. . . BUT JUST AREN’T

48
 April 2022 Volume 26 Number 04 cricketmedia.com $6.95

It goes to show
you that anyone
can find these lost
species, if they are
willing to put the time
and effort in.