Minda Berbeco

I’m lucky, I don’t have allergies. Or I rarely have allergies. Or really the things that I’m allergic to, I rarely find myself around. It turns out I am allergic to some things. Like penicillin. But how often do I accidentally maim myself, get sepsis and require antibiotics? Rarely. I’m also allergic to wheat. No … Read more

I have a problem. Well, several problems. According to the Internet, anyway. Whenever I log on to Facebook, turn on Pandora or try to read the Washington Post online, I’m inundated with advertisements for overweight, depressed and self-injurious people. I’m not kidding; reading an article on climate change got me an ad for “big girl” … Read more

Normally, each week I start my blog with an amusing anecdote seemingly unrelated to anything scientific in order to lure you in to the extraordinary world of climate change science. I wrote about aliens in order to talk about invasive species, I wrote about Valley girls in order to talk about Bengal tigers and sea … Read more

Working in science education, I get exposed to all sorts of myths and conspiracies regarding modern science. Mermaids are real, because we just don’t know that they’re not (thanks Animal Planet); AIDS is simply the result of malnutrition (phew, that makes things waaay easier); and climate change is caused by new order aliens who are … Read more

Working at the Paleontology museum, I am often inundated with children; screaming, excited, growling (at the T-Rex) children who are thrilled at the very thought of the giant chickens we call dinosaurs. Chasing after them are exhausted smart-phone wielding parents who intermittently demand that their child either touch nothing or pose for a picture. This … Read more

Growing up in New England you become very comfortable being surrounded by untraditional families and relationships. Brady-bunch-style blended families, with step-s half-s and semi-s are a dime a dozen. I’ve known more than one person who has accidentally dated a double-step-brother (step-parents step-child from previous marriage) and had to ask….is that legal? Turns out it … Read more

Through my work in the sciences, I’ve found myself in some pretty cool places. Researching urban trees in Cuba (a clipboard in one hand, a cigar in the other), machete-ing my way through a tropical rainforest while being hunted by wild pigs, sipping lattes for hours and hours and hours and hours while writing all … Read more

Being a nomadic academic, I’ve found social media sites to be incredibly useful for keeping up with all the folks who would have been lost to migration, following the global tidal flows of scientific funding. Friends who’ve disappeared into the Australian outback or the corn fields of Indiana, remain close in my heart and in … Read more

When I was growing up, I hated April fool’s day. I was the youngest of three, which meant that every joke would be at my expense and I was never quite old enough to exact adequate revenge. Every year I ended up covered in shaving cream, doused with water and sitting on whoopee cushions. Hot … Read more