Forensic Science

Colossal Squid May Be Microwaved

Remember the news of the very large, appropriately named Colossal Squid just captured? Here’s an update, via news services, which are reporting, in part: Scientists at New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, have taken possession of the beast that took fishermen two hours to land after it was netted by chance in Antarctic waters last month and was frozen soon afterward to preserve it. Expert Steve O’Shea said the squid had weighed in at 1,089 pounds and measured 33 feet long — heavier but shorter than initial estimates of 990 lbs and 39 feet. It appears to be by [...]

Laughing At Ghosts In Maine Woods

John Richardson followed up his earlier article on the eastern panther survey with a short column on March 24, 2007, entitled “Seeing ‘ghosts’ in the Maine woods.” Today’s commentary has the classic framework of beginning and ending paragraphs, which in typical journalistic style, are used to bring balance into the tone of the article: For an animal that’s supposed to be extinct in the eastern United States, mountain lions have sure been getting around the Maine woods….So if you think you’ve seen a mountain lion, you aren’t crazy. You may not even be wrong. And you certainly are not alone.John [...]

Update: Mohawk Mystery Photos

While the DNA samples are being tested, here is an update to my earlier posting,