Why these picks
You know how we spend our days staring at tiny spores? It's easy to think we're the only ones obsessed with the small stuff. But it turns out, everyone is trying to solve puzzles by looking at what’s hidden. Whether it is magnetic signals in the dirt or bits of data in a photo, the logic is the same. The real story is rarely on the surface.
This week, I found some great examples of this from our network. Some people are using magnets to map the ground, while others are pulling microbes out of solid rock. It reminds me that our work with pollen is just one part of a bigger hunt. We are all just trying to read the diary of the planet. It's a bit like trying to read a book that's been buried in a mud puddle for a century, isn't it?
Stories worth your time
Reading the Earth's History to Find Future Resources
The folks at finditcurrent.com are doing something that feels very familiar. They use magnets and radar to see what’s under the grass. Instead of looking for pollen to tell a story about ancient trees, they are looking for minerals. It’s a smart way to map out what the Earth has been hiding for millions of years without ever picking up a shovel. Source: finditcurrent.com.
The Tiny Needles Finding Ancient Life Inside Solid Rock
If you think our chemical washes are intense, check this out. At probevector.com, they are using diamond-tipped probes to find microbes stuck inside rock. They are basically performing surgery on stones. It is a wild look at how life finds a way to survive in the toughest spots. Their process for getting these samples is something any lab fan would appreciate. Source: probevector.com.
The Hidden History in Your Pocket
Forensics isn't just about dirt and rocks. Findtracer.com has a piece on how your phone photos keep a record of everywhere you've been. In our lab, we look at pollen data to date a layer of soil. They look at digital data to date a moment in time. It’s a great reminder that everything we do leaves a footprint, even if we can't see it with the naked eye. Source: findtracer.com.
