Tim's blog

Have you ever heard someone talk about "Light Pollution" before? It doesn't mean that lights are putting out harmful chemicals into the air, but rather that modern lights block much of the night sky from being visible to us down here on the ground. 

Lights at night can impact both the biology and ecology of species in the wild. Some examples include:

• the disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings by beachfront lighting
• nesting choices and breeding success of birds
• behavioral and physiological changes in salamanders
• disturbances of nocturnal animals
• altered natural light regimes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

There's an organization dedicated to documenting the trend of increased light pollution around the world. GLOBEatNight.org works hard via their website to have everyday visitors document visible stars at their locations. It's even possible for regular Joes like you and me to submit data! How cool is that?!

No, not really. If this were a tabloid, that might be the headline. Since this is a science-related blog, the more appropriate headline would be "Scientists Find Sharks Adapting To Climate Change Off Australian Coast." Whew, better.

This bad boy may not look out of the ordinary to us, but to researchers in Australia, it's evolution in action. With the melting icecaps, the tropical waters around Australia are cooling down. The Australian black-tip shark can only live in warm tropical waters. However, the common black-tip shark can live in cooler waters. Introducing: offspring.

Jawbone, a company known for creating portable speakers and wireless mics has created what they are calling a revolution in health: The UP Wristband. 

This wristband, in conjunction with an App accessible by iPhone, iPad, or iTouch, is capable of monitoring what you eat, when you ate it, whether it makes you feel full, how you are sleeping (gives you a sleep score), as well as your activity level during the day (think pedometer and GPS).

What do you think? Would this force you to keep better track of your nutrition? Is the ability to track your "quality of sleep" bunk science? Check out their website and see for yourself!

Does the type of shoe a player wears on the field or court make a difference in his/her ability to play the game? For years, Nike and Reebok have been saying their basketball shoes allow you to run longer, jump higher, etc. But where's the research?

Nike has recently designed some fancy new shoes for a soccer player, Christiano Ronaldo, that they say has an effect on the ability of other players to defend him. According to Nike, the shoes mimic an optical illusion that makes the shoes look different from alternate angles. This matters because many defenders look at a players feet to determine his path and where he might take the soccer ball.

Look at the design below-do you think this can improve one's ability to get through defenders?

Introducing the Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona. About 50,000 years ago, this area was struck by an iron meteorite and scientists have been studying this area to gain valuable information about crater formation. Scientists and researchers examine the impact and debris field to determine things like composition, trajectory, and from that data scientists are making projections about craters on other planets.