The blindsnake, a small subsurface burrower, is not often seen, but when it is many mistake it for a worm.¹ Researchers have constructed an evolutionary history for these creatures, partly from biological data and partly from evolutionary assumptions.

On February 27, Chile experienced an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the fifth-largest recorded quake since seismographs were implemented. Charles Darwin experienced a similar quake in the same area on February 20, 1835. The conclusions he drew then provide an interesting contrast to what is now known about earth’s geologic activity.

The Great Rift Valley extends some 4,000 miles southward from Syria north of Israel, through the Gulf of Aqaba, through Ethiopia, and all the way to Mozambique in southeast Africa. It harbors a giant fault, which has been under investigation as a model for sea floor spreading. A recent geologic event rent a gaping crack through the desert of Ethiopia, causing safety concerns for locals.

Volcanic activity in 2005 accompanied the formation of a deep, wide rift in Ethiopia on part of the 4,000-mile-long north-to-south trending Great Rift Valley fault. Studies show that the injection of mantle material that “unzipped” the earth along the fault operated the same way as similar material does in less-accessible undersea rifts.

Fungi are single or multi-celled organisms that break down organic materials, such as rotting wood, in order to absorb their nutrients. Neither plant nor animal, they range from mushrooms to single-celled yeast.