Jaime Chambers
Ames, United States
now: staff writer @TheCrashCourse | previously: @AAASMassMedia '21 @ScienceNews | always: in cahoots with @ferenjamin | she/her
Articles by Jaime Chambers
What to eat in menopause according to a nutrition expert
To help cut through the noise we asked Accredited Practising Dietitian Jaime Rose Chambers to share her expert advice on the best foods to add to your plate during menopause. Here are her top tips. These little wonder seeds are packed with phytoestrogens (plant oestrogens) that mimic what oestrogen does in our body.
Marine biologist shares new study as sea lions suffer fatal disease
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) - Stranded sick sea lions have been suffering from the fatal disease known as domoic acid poisoning, and now according to Marine Biologist Dr. Lyall Bellquist, these sea lion deaths are a symptom of a greater problem facing the local ocean in the San Diego area. "Extreme environmental events as a symptom of climate change are increasing and intensifying," Bellquist said.
Does your natural history museum need a makeover?
At first glance, it’s a simple scene. Six adult bison and a calf mill around a stream. But if you look closer, the plot thickens. Beside a well-worn path to the stream sits a bison skull. This herd has clearly been dropping by for some time. And they’re playing a key role in the ecosystem. Scattered birds feast on bugs kicked up by the bison. Peer into the trees on the scene’s far right, and you might even spot what only one bison has noticed. Two wolves lurk, eyeing their next meal.
‘Life as We Made It’: Evolutionary biologist illuminates how humans have tinkered with evolution over thousands of years
The GLP Needs Your Help It is easier than ever for advocacy groups to spread disinformation on pressing science issues, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. No, vaccines are not harmful. Yes, the use of biotechnology, GMOs or gene editing to develop antigens for treatments including vaccines are part of the solution. To inform the public about what’s really going on, we present the facts and challenge those who don't. We can’t do this work without your help.
In blazing heat, some plants open leaf pores - and risk death
In sizzling heat waves, a new study finds, some parched plants especially feel the burn. Blazing heat widens tiny pores in their leaves, drying them faster. These plants could be most at risk as the climate changes. Stomata (Stow-MAH-tuh) are microscopic vents on plants’ stems and leaves. They look like tiny mouths that open and close with light and temperature changes. You can think of them as a plant’s way of breathing and cooling. When open, stomata take in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen.
Explainer: What is an invasive species?
Feral pigs. Green iguanas. Red imported fire ants. Asian carp. Your pet cat. All of these critters have one thing in common. They’re troublemaking intruders, coming to a native habitat near you. Scientists call them invasive species. When organisms relocate to places where they aren’t native, they are called introduced species. Usually, introduced species don’t cause major issues. They don’t survive, or they are “basically good citizens” that don’t do damage, says Judith Weis. Weis is a marine biologist.
‘Life as We Made It’ charts the past and future of genetic tinkering Original
Life as We Made It Beth Shapiro Basic Books, $30 With genetic engineering, humans have recently unleashed a surreal fantasia: pigs that excrete less environment-polluting phosphorus, ducklings hatched from chicken eggs, beagles that glow ruby red under ultraviolet light. Biotechnology poses unprecedented power and potential — but also follows a course thousands of years in the making. In Life as We Made It, evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro pieces together a palimpsest of human tinkering.
Ancient human visitors complicate the Falkland Islands wolf’s origin story
The enigmatic, now-extinct Falkland Islands wolf had human visitors on the remote archipelago up to 1,070 years ago. The find suggests that Indigenous people could have originally brought the foxlike creature, also known as a warrah, to the islands. Scientists have debated how the islands’ only land mammal journeyed to the region: by a long-ago land bridge or with people. But little evidence of a human presence before Europeans arrived in 1690 had been found.
Racism lurks in many plant and animal names. That’s now changing.
With lemon and black feathers, Scott’s oriole flashes about the desert like a flame. But this bird’s name has a violent history that Stephen Hampton can’t forget. Hampton is a birder and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. He often saw Scott’s orioles when he lived in California. Now that he lives outside the bird’s range, “I’m kind of relieved,” he says. The bird was named after Winfield Scott, a U.S. military commander in the 1800s.
Ancient DNA reveals the long-sought homeland of modern horses
Share: About 4200 years ago, a few herders on the western Eurasian steppe got a brand-new mount. They were experienced at herding wild horses for food, but their new steeds had a calmer disposition and a stronger back, making the horses easier to train and ride, perhaps for the first time. The new model galloped across Eurasia within a few centuries, triggering major shifts in Bronze Age human cultures.
Well-known wildflower turns out to be a secret meat-eater
Gleaming, gluey, deathtrap hairs have just betrayed the secret identity of a well-known wildflower. It’s a carnivore. This species of false asphodel looks like a harmless, white-petaled flower. But Triantha occidentalis has special, sticky hairs on its flowering stem. The plant uses its hairs to snare and digest insects. Scientists have known about the plant since the 1800s. But its taste for meat went undetected — until now.
There’s a new word for birds stealing animal hair: kleptotrichy
Some tiny birds called titmice take bold risks to gather a beakful of hair for their nests. They dive-bomb cats. They land on dozing predators’ backs. They even pluck strands of hair directly from people’s heads. Now, there’s a term for the unusual behavior: kleptotrichy (Klep-TAH-trik-ee). The word “kleptotrichy” comes from the Greek words for “to steal” and “hair.” The behavior has rarely been described by scientists.
Let’s talk - Century of Science
Summary Pick your favorite quote about the power of words and there’s probably some truth to it. “Choose your words wisely.” “Good words are worth much, and cost little.” “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.” How we talk about the world can certainly shape how we think about it. From how we define “planet” to what we consider “sound science,” words can influence the questions scientists ask and the conclusions they draw (as well as how much trust they put in those conclusions).
Racism lurks in names given to plants and animals. That’s starting to change Original
With lemon and black plumage, the Scott’s oriole flashes in the desert like a flame. But the bird’s name holds a violent history that Stephen Hampton can’t forget. He used to see the orioles often, living in California. Now that he lives outside the bird’s range, “I’m kind of relieved,” he says. Hampton is a birder and registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Just another wildflower? Botanists discover false asphodel is secret carnivore.
Gleaming, gluey, deathtrap hairs have betrayed the secret identity of a well-known wildflower: It’s a carnivore. A species of false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis) uses enzyme-secreting hairs on its flowering stem to snare and digest insects, researchers report in the Aug. 17 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists have known about T. occidentalis since the 19th century, but its taste for meat has gone undetected until now.
A well-known wildflower turns out to be a secret carnivore
Gleaming, gluey, deathtrap hairs have betrayed the secret identity of a well-known wildflower: It’s a carnivore. A species of false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis) uses enzyme-secreting hairs on its flowering stem to snare and digest insects, researchers report in the Aug. 17 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists have known about T. occidentalis since the 19th century, but its taste for meat has gone undetected until now.
Scientists have a new word for birds stealing animal hair
Some tiny birds take bold risks to gather a beakful of hair for their nests. Titmice have been spotted dive-bombing cats, alighting on dozing predators’ backs and plucking strands of hair from people’s heads. Now, there’s a term for the unusual behavior: kleptotrichy. Derived from the Greek words for “to steal” and “hair,” kleptotrichy has rarely been described by scientists, but dozens of YouTube videos capture the behavior, researchers report online July 27 in Ecology.
How torchlight, lamps and fire illuminated Stone Age cave art
As a geologist who studies Stone Age cave art, Iñaki Intxaurbe is used to making treks underground in a headlamp and boots. But the first time he navigated a cave the way humans thousands of years ago would have — barefoot while holding a torch — he learned two things. “The first sensation is that the ground is very wet and cold,” he says. The second: If something chases you, it will be hard to run. “You are not going to see what is in front of you,” he notes.
Here’s how sea otters stay warm without blubber or a large body
A sea otter’s secret to staying warm isn’t in thick stores of blubber. It’s in its muscles. Otters burn calories at a rate three times as fast as predicted for a creature their size. The rate at which their bodies use energy (calories) is set by their metabolism. That’s the rate at which their cells and tissues work. Leaks in the energy-generating parts of their muscle cells help explain what’s going on. Researchers shared this new discovery July 9 in Science.
Cosmic filaments may have the biggest spin in outer space
Moons do it. Stars do it. Even whole galaxies do it. Now, two teams of scientists say the universe’s largest known structures do it, too. Cosmic filaments spin. These huge threads stretch hundreds of millions of light-years in space and twirl like giant corkscrews. Cosmic filaments are dense, skinny strands of dark matter and galaxies. They hold most of the universe’s mass. You can think of filaments as the threads connecting the cosmic web.
Dogs tune into people in ways even human-raised wolves don’t
Wiggles and wobbles and a powerful pull toward people — that’s what 8-week-old puppies are made of. From an early age, dogs outpace wolves at engaging with and interpreting cues from humans, even if the dogs have had less exposure to people, researchers report online July 12 in Current Biology. The result suggests that domestication has reworked dogs’ brains to make the pooches innately drawn to people — and perhaps to intuit human gestures.
Sea otters stay warm thanks to leaky mitochondria in their muscles
Sea otters’ secret to staying warm isn’t in thick stores of blubber. It’s in their muscles. Leaks in the energy-generating parts of muscle cells help otters maintain a resting metabolism three times as fast as predicted for a creature their size, researchers report in the July 9 Science. The find shows how otters meet the challenge of staying warm at sea — and could apply to other marine mammals, too.
How wielding lamps and torches shed new light on Stone Age cave art
As a geologist who studies Stone Age cave art, Iñaki Intxaurbe is used to making subterranean treks in a headlamp and boots. But the first time he navigated a cave the way humans thousands of years ago would have — barefoot while holding a torch — he learned two things. “The first sensation is that the ground is very wet and cold,” says Intxaurbe, of the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, Spain. The second: If something chases you, it will be hard to run.
Ancient human bones reveal the oldest known strain of the plague
The oldest known strain of the plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis has been found lurking in the bones and teeth of a man buried thousands of years ago in what is now Latvia. Genetic analysis suggests the Y. pestis strain that infected the man emerged around 7,100 years ago, researchers report online June 29 in Cell Reports. It usurps the previous record-holder, found in a 5,000-year-old Scandinavian mass grave associated with a possible plague epidemic (SN: 12/6/18).
Chinese mountain cats swap DNA with domestic cats, but aren’t their ancestors
Wild Chinese mountain cats aren’t the ancestors of domestic cats, but the two types of felines still swap genes. The wildcats’ DNA is inscribed on the genes of some pet cats living on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, but the mixing of genetic material extends back only a couple dozen generations, researchers report online June 23 in Science Advances.
Cosmic filaments may be the biggest spinning objects in space
Moons do it, stars do it, even whole galaxies do it. Now, two teams of scientists say cosmic filaments do it, too. These tendrils stretching hundreds of millions of light-years spin, twirling like giant corkscrews. Cosmic filaments are the universe’s largest known structures and contain most of the universe’s mass (SN: 1/20/14). These dense, slender strands of dark matter and galaxies connect the cosmic web, channeling matter toward galaxy clusters at each strand’s end (SN: 7/5/12).
A widely studied lab plant has revealed a previously unknown organ
A common lab plant that’s been poked and put under microscopes for decades may seem unlikely to keep secrets. But in widely studied Arabidopsis thaliana, scientists have identified the “cantil” — a newly reported plant organ named for its cantilever-like way of branching off of the main stem. The structure appears in only some A. thaliana and only under certain conditions, researchers report online June 15 in Development.
Cross-Cultural Analysis of Multiple Hypotheses
Introduction The individual [Saami in Norway] performs some of his most important activities...if not alone, then at least seldom in concert. At no time in an individual's life will he steadily be in the company of one other, be it mother, friend, mate, or child...The exceptional indelible relationship is between a person and his dog companion. (Anderson 1978: 60–61) Texts, as above, scattered throughout the ethnographic record, offer rich data for examining dog-human coevolution.
Bringing stories to life through “The Art of the Interview”
By Jaime Chambers Interviews aren’t just about getting the facts; they’re about eliciting the colorful, human side of a story. Often, that comes in the form of a vivid quote or an apt analogy. But sometimes, it’s a tiny robotic bee pulled out of a backpack. “He was like, ‘Oh yeah, we go everywhere together,” said Sarah McQuate, University of Washington News, recounting her interview with the creator of the first wireless robotic insect.
'Hyper urban' coyote genomes are growing apart from their city and rural cousins
Massive / Source photo: USFWS Humans’ built environment has consequences even for creatures that seem to thrive in cities August 4, 2020 Imagine a coyote, rangy and resilient. Is she ambling through a canyon dotted with sagebrush — or loping in an urban alley lined with dumpsters? In recent decades, the latter has become a more common sight. As cities expand, coyotes move right in. Rather than shrinking from the big-city lights, they rummage for opportunities.
When wolves solve problems, their bond matters more than their smarts
Two wolves press their noses against a fence, scenting a tray of food on the other side. A rope dangles within their reach — a clue to the puzzle. If only one wolf pulls the rope, it comes loose and no one gets the food. But if they tug together, the snack will be theirs. This might seem like a test of plain-old smarts. Put two good problem-solvers together, and they can figure it out.
Dogs appear to navigate using Earth's magnetic field
Following the harassment of Christian Cooper in Central Park in May 2020, Black birders created #BlackBirdersWeek to celebrate Black nature enthusiasts and highlight their belonging in outdoor spaces. Since then, dozens of campaigns have emerged to amplify and appreciate Black academics, scientists, and naturalists. Next up is #BlackInMarineScienceWeek, running from November 29th to December 5th.
Ancient DNA Reveals Bronze Age Bias for Male Horses
(Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP) Myths about horses and gender abound. Many equestrians, for example, say they prefer “predictable” geldings over “moody” mares, despite no real difference in their behavior while ridden. Now, a new study suggests our biased views of horses may have ancient origins.
Ancient DNA reveals a Bronze Age bias for male horses
Bronze Age equestrians, like the Assyrian warriors illustrated here, may have preferred stallions over mares. lunstream/Alamy Stock Photo By Jaime ChambersJul. 2, 2020 , 2:05 PM Myths about horses and gender abound. Many equestrians, for example, say they prefer “predictable” geldings over “moody” mares, despite no real difference in their behavior while ridden. Now, a new study suggests our biased views of horses may have ancient origins.
Ancient dog bones tell us what was on the menu for both dogs and humans
FILE - This July 24, 2006 file photo shows a gray wolf at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn. (AP Photo/Dawn Villella, file) (AP) What dogs ate can reveal clues about 12,000 year old lifestyles Jaime Chambers September 7, 2019 3:59PM (UTC) This story originally appeared on Massive Science, an editorial partner site that publishes science stories by scientists. Subscribe to their newsletter to get even more science sent straight to you.
Ancient dog bones tell us what was on the menu for both dogs and humans
What dogs ate can reveal clues about 12,000 year old lifestyles September 2, 2019 If you’ve ever slipped your Labrador a handful of popcorn, or found that she helped herself to the trash while you were away, you know the human-dog relationship is strongly connected with food. Those wary eyes at Neolithic campsites had much in common with the wistful ones following every bite of your dinner.
What happens when you bring a chicken to the Andes?
Get new Lab Notes sent to your inbox Submit a note Submit your own Lab Note Share an interesting science story or tell a short one of your own This past Wednesday, Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that he will no longer participate in "manels," or speaking panels with only male participants. Ending the #manel begins at the top.
Being a "dog person" may be in your genes
As the summer field work season draws closer, I thought I’d offer a few entirely unscientific tips for doing healthy and successful field work. Whether the upcoming field season is your first or tenth, you might be feeling pretty nervous and unprepared. That's normal! I've been in your shoes many times - so here are my top five pieces of advice to ease your mind, in no particular order: 1. Know what you should overpack and know what you can skimp on.
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