In 1890 a group of sixty European immigrants arrived in New York City on a boat. Lacking shelter, they made their home in Central Park for a time. It was tough going at first as they struggled to adapt to their strange new surroundings. New York was unlike anything they had ever experienced. Everything was different: the towering skyscrapers in all directions, the sounds, the smells, the food. They stuck with it, though, and in a few years time they managed to carve out a niche for themselves. Their offspring were even more successful, assimilating seamlessly into their parents’ newfound home. Over the course of several generations their numbers swelled and they fanned out across the country, thriving nearly everywhere they went. Full Article »
Sam Wotipka
Scope Correspondentswotipka@mit.edu
Starlings Need Not Apply
by Sam WotipkaScope Correspondent
posted May 27, 2014 at 4:50 pm
The Elemental Factories of the Night Sky
by Sam WotipkaScope Correspondent
posted March 13, 2014 at 10:52 am
From our humble vantage point on the surface of the earth, the starry night sky seems a peaceful, unchanging realm. In reality, though, the universe is fraught with chaos and disorder, as matter busily changes from one form to the next. The stars that appear to look silently down upon us are actually high-powered factories that operate round the clock, churning out elements—the chemical foundation of the universe. Full Article »
The Fine-tuning of Fruit
by Sam WotipkaScope Correspondent
posted November 4, 2013 at 3:38 pm
With a little genetic tweaking, the temperamental cherry tree in your backyard could really start bearing fruit. Armed with recent advances in plant genomics, botanists are gaining the power to tell plants how to grow.
Humans have been modifying plants for their own ends since the advent of agriculture. By picking out plants with desirable qualities like extra sweet fruit or resistance to frost and then crossing them, plant breeders have crafted nearly every fruit and vegetable we eat today. The produce section of any modern American grocery store serves as a kind of trophy case for this approach.
The catch is that traditional plant breeding is generally a slow, tedious and frequently haphazard process. Crosses often don’t turn out as expected, and a fruit tree, for instance, can take years before producing.
That’s beginning to change. Breeders can increasingly target the specific traits they want to alter. Dramatically increasing a plant’s yield can be as simple as hitting a genetic switch. Full Article »
Connecticut River May Soon Flow Freely Again
by Sam WotipkaScope Correspondent
posted October 10, 2013 at 11:17 am
The Connecticut River, among the most extensively dammed rivers in the United States, may soon be flowing at a more natural pace again.
A recently developed computer model could help dam managers coordinate the holding and releasing of water between the river’s 54 largest dams in an effort to balance human and natural needs.
It is the latest development in the emerging field of data-driven natural resource management, work made possible by recent advances in computing power.
Historically, the Connecticut River roared freely through New England’s wooded valleys. Teeming with fish, the river’s waters often overflowed its winding banks when snowmelt and rainfall combined during spring months.
Colonists began taming the 410-mile-long river soon after arriving from England. First, the forested valleys alongside the riverbanks were clearcut and converted into farmland. Starting in the 19th century, dams were added to prevent seasonal flooding, and to provide drinking water and hydropower to nearby towns.
Today there are over one thousand dams on the Connecticut and its tributaries. Full Article »
