The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century was responsible for more than just technological breakthroughs and the novels of Charles Dickens. It also caused a major spike in crime rates, as people moved from the countryside into the cities looking ... Read More
TV scientists have it so much easier than the ones working cases in the real world. They have unlimited budgets to buy all the shiniest new toys. They dress in designer clothes that never seem to get dirty, despite the ... Read More
This morning I had the pleasure of visiting Shatford Memorial Elementary, where I got to share my love of domestic foxes with the grade 3/4 and grade 5/6 classes. We rocked out to “What Does the Fox Say?” and ... Read More
Tech Support and I watched Fed Up recently. It was a lot like the first time we watched Super Size Me ten years ago – two hours of horror and outrage at the way food is processed, packaged, and marketed… and ... Read More
Turns out that there’s a difference between cats and dogs. Shocking, I know. 😀 Dogs, much like the foxes featured in my book Fox Talk, are domesticated. They’ve undergone an evolutionary process that had such a large genetic impact on ... Read More
Wow, last week, just wow. Between getting up at odd hours to appear on TV and staying up late for writer’s meetings, not to mention the courier misplacing my books not one but several times, causing the nail-biting question of ... Read More
Big news today! 1) Amazing Feats of Civil Engineering is now available for purchase! Because it’s intended for the educational market, your local independent may not have it in stock, but you can order through Amazon and the publisher. 2) Another ... Read More
Check this out: That is actual metal, spontaneously sprouting a type of facial hair known as tin whiskers. While tin whiskers are very cool (not to mention being an awesome name for a band), their consequences are pretty serious. Because ... Read More
1) It’s a new year! Yes, yes, I recognize that by a tradition that makes no astronomical sense, we celebrate New Year’s in December. But I did 12 years of regular school, 11 years of post-secondary, and now work ... Read More
The Fuzzy Forensics book tour is going really well so far! I will have more pictures and stories to share once I’m home and have a chance to breath, but for now, you can watch me extract DNA on ... Read More
I’m about to leave on tour, so the blog with be a bit quiet for the next week or so. I’m hoping to share some photos from the road while I’m away, however – stay tuned for (sporadic) updates! ... Read More
So my soon-to-be-released book, Amazing Feats of Civil Engineering, features three major projects: the Panama Canal, the Burj Dubai, and Confederation Bridge, an 11-km span linking New Brunswick and PEI over the Northumberland Strait. I first visited PEI in ... Read More
In it’s simplest form, gene therapy involves replacing disease-causing variants of genes with healthy ones, in order to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of the condition. “Simple” in this context is extremely deceptive, however, as the process is extremely complex and ... Read More
Before I wrote Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, everything I knew about cars came from watching episodes of Top Gear. From there “who thought this was a good idea in the first place” files, I give you the Reliant Robin, ... Read More
Isn’t it pretty? I love the details of the sketches on the background. Although I do admit to being slightly perplexed at the choice of cover image, because that’s not the bridge that’s actually in the book, this one ... Read More
And it is awesome. I take no credit for this – Mary Dunford at Ashby-BP Publishing is the responsible party. http://youtu.be/lTb-VM5tw4o Check it out and if you’re so inspired, spread it around! Read More
Fox Talk has been shortlisted for the Benjamin Franklin Awards! *does a lap around the office, shrieking at top of lungs* When my publisher called to tell me, I was literally rendered speechless, something I don’t recall ever happening ... Read More
One of the most interesting pieces of research I came across while writing Living With Obesity was the Marshmallow Test. Originally conducted by Walter Mischel’s team in the 1960s, the test involved young children and a simple choice: eat ... Read More