Do you know silica, the tetrahedra of silicon and oxygen constituting the crystals of New Agers and the desiccant in a box of new shoes? It's no mere mundane mineral. As chemically reacting silicate rocks, silica set off the chain of events known as the origin of life. As biomineralized opal, it is the cell wall, skeleton, spicules, and scales of organisms ornamenting numerous lobes of the tree of life. Cryptocrystalline silica made into stone tools helped drive the evolution of our hands ...

Since 1985, scientists have been documenting a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico each year. The hypoxic zone, an area of low dissolved oxygen that cannot s- port marine life, generally manifests itself in the spring. Since marine species either die or ee the hypoxic zone, the spread of hypoxia reduces the available habitat for marine species, which are important for the ecosystem as well as commercial and recreational shing in the Gulf. Since 2001, the hypoxic zone has averaged 2 1 16,500...

Advanced Placement Classroom: Macbeth is a teacher-friendly resource for using one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies in the Advanced Placement classroom. Students will examine the play critically and analytically to understand aspects such as the nature of villainy and the history of the events that inspired the play. An extended section provides teachers with information on societal implications that impacted the play's creation, including witchcraft and The Gunpowder Plot. Tea...

Humanity is deeply committed to living along the world’s shores, but a catastrophic storm like Sandy—which took hundreds of lives and caused many billions of dollars in damages—shines a bright light at how costly and vulnerable life on a shoreline can be. Taking Chances offers a wide-ranging exploration of the diverse challenges of Sandy and asks if this massive event will really change how coastal living and development is managed.Bringing together leading researchers—inc...

For a moment, the world stood still……but our people were forced to stand alone.And in the midst of this darkness, one Colorado group decided to use art to heal broken hearts.As mandatory stay-at-home orders continued, it became clear that the Coronavirus pandemic would not surrender anytime soon. Feelings of trepidation and sadness spread like wildfire, and our people grew weary and afraid.That's when the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Color...

Today’s film scholars draw from a dizzying range of theoretical perspectives—they’re just as likely to cite philosopher Gilles Deleuze as they are to quote classic film theorist André Bazin. To students first encountering them, these theoretical lenses for viewing film can seem exhilarating, but also overwhelming.Thinking in the Dark introduces readers to twenty-one key theorists whose work has made a great impact on film scholarship today, including Rudolf Arnheim, Sergei...

Adam Helios is a bully magnet without many friends. When he starts hearing a voice that claims to come from the stars, he fears he’s losing his mind, so he withdraws even further. On the way home from a meeting at the school, he and his parents are involved in a horrible car crash. With his skull cracked open, Adam’s consciousness is abducted by the alien who has been speaking to him for months.After surviving the wreck with only minor scratches, Camille Helios must deal with her g...

Labels traditionally ascribed to women—mother, angel of the house, whore, or bitch—suggest character traits that do not encompass the complexities of women’s identities or empower women’s public speaking. Rethinking Ethos: A Feminist Ecological Approach to Rhetoric redefines the concept of ethos—classically thought of as character or credibility—as ecological and feminist, negotiated and renegotiated, and implicated in shifting power dynamics. Building on previous feminist and rhe...

Although the author of this play is now famous for writing the most cliché opening line in literature – “It was a dark and stormy night…” (from his 1830 novel, "Paul Clifford" ), this melodrama by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton was at one time one of the most popular dramas of its day. This story of romance and deception thrilled Victorian audiences. In the 1840’s, the show served as a starring vehicle for the great William Macready and the incomparable Helene Faucit. The plot of “Lady of Lyons’...