It's fall, which means lots of good things: football on tv, college basketball just around the corner, apple cider donuts (mmm.... donuts...), and the leaves turning colors. One of the real highlights of living in New England is the spectacular foliage. Sadly, it tends to bring out the leaf-peepers, people from down toward New York or Boston, who drive around at about six miles per hour looking at the trees, but the trees are certainly worth a look.
Ever wonder why it is that the trees do that? So have a lot of scientists. Carl Zimmer has a round-up of their findings. Short answer: "Beats us."
The leaves sure do look cool, though.
More like this
Why is it that you can buy apple cider all year round, but apple cider donuts are treated as a seasonal item, and only in stores for a week and a half in October?
Visiting Princeton, the American home to Albert Einstein, I'm reminded of one of my favorite "paradoxes" of special relativity. And, even more so, one of my favorite versions of this paradox which, when I first heard it, it blew my mind. What paradox is this of which I speak?
I am going through the latest mathematical model papers on the spread of influenza on the air travel network and another on antiviral resistance, both published last week in PLoS Medicine. It's taking me a while. They are not instant reads and I am busy at work.
People are asking me: Is the recent spate of tornadoes caused by global warming? The usual answer to that question is that you can't answer the question because a tornado is not caused by climate ... it is cause by weather ...
Leafers!!!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_Weapons