Sid Perkins

Sid Perkins is a freelance science writer based in Crossville, Tenn.

All Stories by Sid Perkins

  1. Earth

    City Heat: Urban areas’ warmth affects plant growth

    Satellite observations of eastern North America show that plants in and around urban areas bud earlier in the spring and retain their foliage later in the fall than do plants in nearby rural settings.

  2. Archaeology

    Mexican murals store magnetic data

    Tiny magnetic particles in the pigments of some Mexican murals recorded the direction of Earth's magnetic field when the paint dried.

  3. Earth

    Warmer climate, decreased rice yield

    Agricultural data gathered over a dozen years at a Philippines rice paddy suggest that climate changes brought about by global warming could significantly diminish rice yields.

  4. Paleontology

    Neck Bones on the Menu: Fossil vertebrae show species interaction

    Three fossil neck bones from an ancient flying reptile—one of them with the broken tip of a tooth embedded in it—indicate that the winged creatures occasionally fell victim to meat eaters.

  5. Earth

    New database describes all the marbles

    Analyses of the isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in hundreds of samples of Greek marble may help researchers identify the quarries that supplied the stone for some of Europe's most famous statues and architecture.

  6. Earth

    Dead Heat

    New studies suggest that adverse health effects related to global warming aren't just a theoretical concern for the distant future.

  7. Earth

    Long dry spell

    Falling reservoir levels in the western United States are just one symptom that the region is suffering through a drought that may be the worst to strike in the past 500 years.

  8. Paleontology

    Calling all orthodontists. . .

    Researchers have unearthed fossils of a theropod dinosaur whose front teeth grew almost directly forward, which sets it apart from all other related species.

  9. Paleontology

    Allosaurus as a Jurassic headbanger

    The skull of the carnivorous dinosaur Allosaurus fragilis can resist levels of stress much higher than those expected from chewing, which may provide insight into the animal's method of attacking its prey.

  10. Paleontology

    The last ice age wasn’t totally icy

    Radiocarbon dating of fossils taken from caves on islands along Alaska's southeastern coast suggest that at least a portion of the area remained ice-free during the last ice age.

  11. Paleontology

    Did ancient wildfire end in barbecue?

    Small pieces of large bones and petrified wood that show distinct signs of being burned may be evidence of a 74-million-year-old wildfire in central Wyoming.

  12. Lamprey cyborg sees the light and responds

    Researchers have paired the brain of a sea lamprey with a small robot that can detect and move around in response to light.