Two New Books

Cro-Magnon, by Brian Fagan

Beyond the Body Farm, by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

A Conversation With Emily on the Book Rosalind Franklin, Dark Lady of DNA

Q: Is there a book or event that has intrigued you recently?
Emily:  The book Rosalind Franklin,the Dark Lady of DNA

Q: What is it about this book that intrigues you?

E: She was really the person who discovered the structure of DNA, but she never got credit for it. For example, when she discovered it, she put it to the side. There was a conflict between her and the men. She left for another college and while she was packing, her assistant took the structure and showed it to the other scientists. They were astounded. They used and perfected this model, and later won an award for it.

Q: How do you feel about that!

E: It was frustrating because she worked so long and hard on it, and was never formally recognized for it. Later on they discovered Rosalind took the photograph.

Q: What about Rosalind's life inspires you?

E: The one thing that inspires me is the fact that she never gave up and kept pushing on toward what she desired to achieve... no matter what other people said.

Q: Are there times when you've had to apply that to your life?

E: Not yet.

Q: Has the story of Rosalind Franklin inspired you to do things that you would not if you had not read about her?

E: I've been inspired to work harder at my school work and achieve good grades.

Q: Little steps?

E: Yep!

Q: Would you recommend this book to others? Why or why not?

E: I would recommend it because it shows another side of the DNA story, and is a very interesting read.

Q: Are there times you have wanted to give up on the book?

E: Yes. I encouraged myself to keep reading with the help of my mom and by telling myself that I would be a better person by finishing the book. Also, I would know another side of the DNA controversy.

Q: In what ways are YOU like Rosalind?

E: I would say the characteristics I share with Rosalind are.... I'm quieter like she is...

Q: Do you think you are more introverted?

E: Yeah, a little introverted. We both enjoy studying science. It intrigues us. And we enjoy the outdoors, like mountains. We both know lots of people, which for me is my parents, friends, and acquaintances...they've all been good relationships. But Rosalind, later in life, a lot of the people she knew were obviously men at the time she lived. They looked down on her because she was a woman and they believed men are superior to ladies.

Q: How do your friends look at you?

E: I think all my relationships with my friends are good!

Q: What is your favorite part of the book?

E: Hmmm.... That's kind of hard! It has to be a huge chunk where they talk about Rosalind's different scientific explorations. One was when she was studying a virus- a plant virus- and it was interesting because I'd never heard of plant viruses. Plus her team was mostly guys and they liked her. She was in a place where she was 'accepted'.

Q: Is there anything else you want to share with us about yourself or the book?

E: I think that's about it... for now!

Q: Some day you'll be an accomplished scientist and we'll interview you again.

[Big smiles!]

Dirt Under Your Fingernails?

OK, so if you look closely, this is a promo for a gardening website. But we know a few other careers that involve dirt under the fingernails...

Mystery Marine Mollusk

Dickson Mounds is currently in possession of an extensive Type Collection- a group of items from local archaeological sites- that was in desperate need of resorting. We pulled sizeable drawers from an entire wall of shelves that was twenty feet long by four feet high. The drawers were supposed to be carefully sorted by item type, but instead were extremely jumbled- replicas in the bone drawer, bones in the rock drawer, pottery and stone tools with the replicas, etc. We started by sorting by type. Anything bone went into one pile, anything shell went into another. In a third pile, we had rock items, and in a fourth was pottery. In the end, one item was left unsorted. It looked like a 6 inch potato bug with its plates pulled off. For many weeks we puzzled over what it could be. Finally, Team Paleo brought it to our geology professor, who told us it was a Chiton- a shelled mollusc with a big foot that suctioned onto rocks.

The chiton shell (above) mising its 'scales'.
One of the scales remains, detached, below.

Chiton shell - belonging to a marine mollusk- much like a snail,
 but appears more like a 'potato bug' or woodlouse.

Enjoy this entry at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton

or google "Chiton Mollusca" for fantastic images of this beautiful creature.