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Twenty years ago, preparing to give a lecture at a conference meant embarking on a logistical expedition. My suitcase was packed not with clothes but with boxes of Kodachrome slides, each one labeled and numbered. Preparing a single slide could take hours. Photographs had to be scanned or re-photographed. Text had to be shot onto diazotype film. Then came the anxious wait for slide processing, hoping the lab didn’t scratch or miscut a frame. There was no margin for error and

Thylacoleo carniflex (The Marsupial Lion) Australia’s ancient landscapes once trembled beneath the footsteps of giants. Towering kangaroos, rhinoceros-sized wombats, massive flightless birds, and the crocodilian Quinkana  filled the continent’s plains and forests. Among these colossal herbivores and reptiles prowled one of the most formidable predators ever to evolve on Earth. Thylacoleo carnifex, the Marsupial Lion . A Lion in Name, but Not in Lineage Despite its name, Thyla

The Australian Club  in Sydney was founded in 1838 as a private gentlemen’s club, located at 165 Macquarie Street in the center of Sydney, overlooking The Royal Botanical Gardens and Sydney Harbour. It is the oldest gentlemen’s club in the southern hemisphere. Early on, the Club  provided a space for Sydney’s elites to meet, dine, stay, and network. Merchants, lawyers, bankers, and those with social standing. 1838–1840:  After being founded in 1838, the Australian Club was f

On 15 October 2025, the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) released its provisional decision  in the veterinary market investigation. Among 21 proposed remedies: mandatory publication of price lists , clearer ownership disclosure , itemized bills , a cap on prescription-writing fees  (proposed at £16), and support for a national price-comparison service . Final decisions are slated by March 2026 , with staged implementation thereafter. The Upside: Why publishing vet pri

We always think there’s so much time. Time to call a friend. Time to visit a parent. Time to send the message, make the trip, finish the project. We imagine the future as a long stretch of open road, waiting patiently for us to arrive. And then, something happens. It might be a phone call in the middle of the night, a doctor’s appointment that changes everything, or simply the realization that someone we meant to see has quietly slipped out of our orbit. The world doesn’t alw

For centuries, humans have drawn a sharp line between instinct  and consciousness . René Descartes, in the seventeenth century, argued that animals were mere automatons. Biological machines responding mechanically to stimuli. Only humans, he insisted, possessed souls capable of thought and language. That view, deeply embedded in Western philosophy, still echoes in the language of science today. When a dog feels pain, we often speak of responses to stimuli . When a human does,

He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. Albert Einstein Every so often something stops us in our tracks. A whale rises through the waves. A bird lifts into a cloudless sky. And for that moment, we are weightless. Our breath caught somewhere between disbelief and gratitude. That is awe . And the questions that follow. Why? How? What else might be true? That’s wonder . Together, they are the twin forces

In the swirl of history’s great catastrophes, the story of Sir Nicholas Winton stands out. Not for spectacle, but for quiet courage, meticulous organization, and deep compassion. Born in London on 19 May 1909, Sir NIcholas carried out one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in the lead-up to World War II. An operation that remained largely unknown for decades. Background Nicholas George Winton was born to German-Jewish parents who had emigrated to Britain. The family

The weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field , known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) , is highly significant because it offers insights into the behavior of Earth’s core dynamics , space-weather vulnerability , and satellite safety . What is the weak spot? The SAA is a vast region over the South Atlantic Ocean  where Earth’s magnetic field is significantly weaker than elsewhere. This anomaly was first detected in the late 1950s  when satellites noticed unusually high radiation

Children come into the world curious, fearless, and gloriously unaware of limits. They don’t know what they don’t know. And that’s exactly what makes them such natural learners, explorers, and storytellers. Curiosity Before Confidence Watch a child pick up a feather, chase a shadow, or ask why the moon follows the car. They’re not embarrassed by what they don’t understand. They’re enchanted by it. Every day is a question waiting for an answer. Or better yet, a mystery waiting

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born on October 5, 1958, in New York City, and grew up in the Bronx. From a young age, he was fascinated by astronomy. At 9 years old, a visit to the Hayden Planetarium ignited a lifelong passion for the stars. He built his own telescope, read astronomy books, and even gave public lectures while still a teenager. He attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he was editor in chief of the school’s science journal and captain of the wrestling team.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)  released its long-awaited report this week (15 October 2025) on the UK veterinary industry. The report calls for price transparency, ownership disclosure, and fairer access to prescription medicines. The findings make strong headlines:   Vets must publish prices , Corporate ownership under scrutiny , Consumers could save hundreds . But amid the flurry of attention to pricing and transparency, one issue slipped through the cracks: T

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)   in the United Kingdom released its long-awaited report on the veterinary sector today (15 October 2025), and it’s already making headlines. The key takeaway? Vets should be required to: Publish their prices Disclose their corporate affiliations, and Make it easier for pet owners to compare costs and access cheaper medicines online. On the surface, that sounds entirely reasonable. Transparency is good for any profession.But beneath

There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over a grandfather’s heart. It’s not the quiet of a Sunday morning or the hush of a sleeping house. It’s the stillness that comes when you ask, “Would you like to go for a walk?”and the answer is a distracted, “Maybe later, Grandpa,” without eyes ever lifting from a glowing screen. The Promise of a Walk Grandpa pictured these walks. Hands held. Sticks in hand. Pockets filled with rocks. Leaves that had   to be treasures. He imag

As a veterinarian, educator, and author, I’ve often reflected on how we define the moral boundaries of our relationship with animals. In...

It’s a quiet autumn evening. You’re watching TV when a shadow scuttles across the rug. A large house spider, Tegenaria domestica , on the...

It slips into our sentences almost unnoticed. “She was, like, exhausted.” “And I was, like, what just happened?” We hear it everywhere....

Every morning on my walk, I pick up trash. Not out of compulsion, but out of quiet disbelief. The worst offenders, and the most...

This week, the world lost one of its most luminous champions for wildlife, nature, and hope. Dr. Jane Goodall, pioneering primatologist,...

I wrote this third part of this series because Carl Sagan’s legacy isn’t only about the tools of skepticism or the politics of science....