Beyond Bones

Mars remains in the west at dusk.  Although now considerably dimmer than in July (and gradually fading), Mars still outshines all of the stars in its vicinity. Venus is now fully established as the ‘morning star’.  Face east-southeast at dawn and look for the brightest thing there, outshining the stars and all other planets. Jupiter […]

In honor of Texas independence day, I thought I’d reveal a little known fact about the legendary history of our state. Most people know that Texas was once its own country. Between 1836 and 1845 we were the Republic of Texas. But most people don’t know that we were never supposed to be our own […]

Everyone loves crayfish, or crawfish as most people I know call them. The delicious little swamp bug tantalizes the taste buds of millions of Americans every year. What most connoisseurs don’t know, however, is that the creatures we’re putting in our mouths are closely related to the pests we squash at fist sight. Recent genetic […]

In a year full of bad headlines involving insects (insects populations declining globally, National Butterfly Center, one of America’s richest butterfly habitats threatened by Trump’s wall, Western migratory monarch population drops by 87%), one ray of light stands out, giving us a shimmer of hope: The Mexican migratory monarch population is seeing it’s highest numbers […]

With today being Go Texan day, I thought it would be a good time to highlight a few iconic symbols of Texas that actually have their origins outside the Lone Star State. So let’s jump right into the list: 1. Stetson Hats Nothing says Texan like a Stetson, right? Well interestingly the invention of the […]

For millenia humanity has been haunted by one burning question: What’s the deal with all these lefties? Answers to this question have varied over the years. In the middle ages popular explanations for south paw-ism included demonic possession and witchcraft. In the 19th century left handedness was associated with ignorance and laziness. Even today some […]

Texas has a weird and eclectic history filled with more iconoclastic characters than you can shake a stick at, but in honor of President’s Day I thought I’d put the spotlight on a particularly important character in the grand performance of Texas history: John Tyler. I know what you’re thinking. John who? And that statement […]

Surprisingly enough, Houston has more green space than most other cities in North America. With that green space comes wildlife. But how much do we know about the animals we share our city with? Today’s edition of Beyond Bones will attempt to fill at least some of the gaps in our knowledge on that subject. […]

By Scott Solomon Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution in the middle of the 19th century. Are his ideas still relevant today? Remarkably, even though Darwin’s insights on evolution were based on little more than observations and the results of simple experiments he conducted in his home, his insights have largely withstood the test […]

It’s February and we’re finally past the most miserable phase of Houston’s trademark cold and soggy winter. Every once in a while we’re getting those perfect golden days of sun and warm (but not too warm) weather and many of us are already looking forward to enjoying the outdoors. With that in mind I thought […]