The Science of Everything and Giant Isopods

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COSMOS magazine touts itself as the providing the "Science of Everything". The last issue (21) seems to deliver with articles on space elevators, Greenland's ice sheet, Pioneer, artificial intelligence, marine protected areas, California ground squirrel, scientific ballooning, and more. On page 26 and 27 is my favorite article...but I might be biased since I wrote it.

The editor of COSMOS approached me a few months ago about putting together a piece on my experience as a deep-sea explorer and the novelty of deep-sea organisms. I couldn't pass up the oppurtunity to discuss my two favorite topics: body size evolution and the deep sea. The bad news is the hand model in the picture holding a giant isopod is Kevin. The good news is that photograph was done by the very talented Linda Zelnio which more than makes up for Kevin's ugly hand.

If you want to see the article a teaser is below. For the whole thing you will have to head to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble and grab one.

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The hand really makes the isopod in my opinion. By the way Linda is available for all your science photographic needs, or children and family pictures... with giant isopods.

The pic's too small for me to comment on the aesthetic quality of Kevin's mitt but I like the way it hints at a human - isopod chimaera. The man with Bathynomus for hands.

I shouldn't have had that last cup of coffee.

Actually I am a bald headed robot sent from the future to...[fill in the blank]