A comprehensive magnetic field model named CM5 has been derived from CHAMP, Ørsted and SAC-C satellite and observatory hourly-means data from 2000 August to 2013 January using the S warm Level-2 Comprehensive Inversion (CI) algorithm. Swarm is a recently launched constellation of three satellites to map the Earth’s magnetic field. The CI technique includes several interesting fe…

Much of what is known about crocodilian nutrition and growth has come from animals propagated in captivity, but captive animals from the families Crocodilidae and Alligatoridae respond differently to similar diets. Since there are few comparative studies of crocodilian digestive physiology to help explain these differences, we investigated young Alligator mississippiensis and Crocodylus porosu…

Geomagnetic jerks are sudden changes of trend in the geomagnetic secular variation. The Earth’s mantle behaves as a filter for the jerks, causing a delayed and a smoothed signal at theEarth’s surface. Backus’ mantle filter theory relieson approximating the impulseresponse function (IRF) of the mantle by a Gaussian. The advantage of this theory is the linear relation between je…

Vertebrates coexist with microorganisms in diverse symbiotic associations that range from beneficial to detrimental to the host. Most research has aimed at deciphering the nature of the composite microbial assemblage’s genome, or microbiome, from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and skin of mammals (i.e., humans). In mammals, the GI tract’s microbiome aids digestion, enhances uptake of nutri…

Organization and development of the forebrain in crocodilians are reviewed. In juvenile Caiman crocodilus, the following features were examined: identification and classification of dorsal thalamic nuclei and their respective connections with the telencephalon, presence of local circuit neurons in the dorsal thalamic nuclei, telencephalic projections to the dorsal thalamus, and organization of …

Diverse classrooms offer distinct advantages over homogeneous classrooms, for example by providing a greater diversity of perspectives and opportunities. However, there is substantial underrepresentation of numerous groups throughout science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, from secondary schools through professional ranks and academia. In this piece I offer a critica…

Experiencing the thrill of an original scientific discovery can be transformative to students unsure about becoming a scientist, yet few courses offer authentic research experiences. Increasingly, cutting-edge discoveries require an interdisciplinary approach not offered in current departmental-based courses. Here, we describe a one-semester, learning laboratory course on organismal biomechanic…

3-D electromagnetic (EM) studies of the Earth have advanced significantly over the past decade. Despite a certain success of the 3-D EM inversions of real data sets, the quantitative assessment of the recovered models is still a challenging problem. It is known that one can gain valuable information about model uncertainties from the analysis of Hessian matrix. However, even with modern c…

Fluids—essentially meteoric water—are present everywhere in the Earth’s crust, occasionally also with pressures higher than hydrostatic due to the tectonic strain imposed on impermeable undrained layers, to the impoundment of artificial lakes or to the forced injections required by oil and gas exploration and production. Experimental evidence suggests that such fluids fl…

When pathogens invade the insect hemocoel (body cavity) they immediately confront two major forces: immune-responses and circulatory currents. The immune response is mediated by circulating and sessile hemocytes, the fat body, the midgut, and the salivary glands. These tissues drive cellular and humoral immune processes that kill pathogens via phagocytosis, melanization, lysis, encapsulation, a…