Sid Perkins

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

All Stories by Sid Perkins

  1. Earth

    Deep-sea gear takes wild ride on lava

    When a set of instruments monitoring an underwater volcano got trapped in an eruption in early 1998, the scientists who had deployed the sensors ended up with more data than they bargained for.

  2. Paleontology

    A Ticklish Debate

    Paleontologists engaged in a contentious debate about the origins of feathers often reach interpretations that are poles apart, and they defend their views with fervor.

  3. Ecosystems

    Marine plankton put nitrogen in a fix

    New genetic analyses of tropical marine microorganisms hint that some species are converting significant amounts of atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients, helping to fortify the base of the ocean's food pyramid.

  4. Paleontology

    Study picks new site for dinosaur nostrils

    A new analysis of fossils and living animals suggests that most dinosaurs' nostrils occurred at locations toward the tip of their snout rather than farther up on their face, a concept that may change scientists' views of the animals' physiology and behavior.

  5. Paleontology

    For past climate clues, ask a stalag-mite

    Mites fossilized in cave formations in the American Southwest show that at times during the past 3,200 years the climate there was much wetter and cooler.

  6. Earth

    Atlantic coast may be in for a pounding

    The above-average number and strength of hurricanes in the North Atlantic during the past 6 years may signal the beginning of a threatening weather trend for the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America.

  7. Earth

    New type of hydrothermal vent looms large

    The discovery of a new type of hydrothermal vent system on an undersea mountain in the Atlantic Ocean suggests that submarine hydrothermal activity may be much more widespread than previously thought.

  8. Earth

    The Silence of the Bams

    If a nuclear explosion were set off in a cavity of the right size and shape, even a moderate-sized nuclear bomb might appear at long distances to be no bigger than a routine explosion used in mining.

  9. Earth

    Atlanta leaves big chemical footprint

    A new analysis of water quality downstream of Atlanta shows that some pollutants from the city are still detectable in the river more than 500 kilometers away.

  10. Earth

    Amazon forest could disappear, soon

    A new model that includes a forest's effect on regional climate shows that the Amazon rainforest could disappear in the next three decades, much more rapidly than previously expected.

  11. Earth

    Is Nessie merely a bad case of the shakes?

    An Italian scientist makes the controversial suggestion that the original source of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, as well as blame for many of the modern encounters with the supposed beast, may be seismic activity beneath the lake.

  12. Paleontology

    Sahara yields second-largest dinosaur

    Excavations near an Egyptian oasis have unearthed the fossils of an animal that probably ranks as the second-most-massive dinosaur known.