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Hazel Sutton, 13, pauses at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge at the end of her shift monitoring tree swallow nest-boxes. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: A new teenager and her unusual bird

Hazel Sutton was eating lunch on an island at Tanana Lakes Recreation Area in Fairbanks with her family…

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On the Trails: A mallard family, juncos, and tadpoles

One evening in late May, long after most female mallards had gone off to incubate their eggs, a…

A polar bear feeds near a pile of whale bones north of Utqiaġvik. (Courtesy Photo /Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: Polar bears of the past survived warmth

In a recent paper, scientists wrote that a small population of polar bears living off Greenland and Arctic…

A newly hatched bald eagle chick is attended to by an adult. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

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On the Trails: Springtime fun and signs of new life

When spring finally came, it came in a rush. Cottonwood and alder leaves fairly leaped from the buds…

Feltleaf willow leaves emerge beneath where a moose nipped off buds during winter of 2022-2023 in Fairbanks. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: Feltleaf willows — Alaska’s most abundant tree

Imagine being a moose in late May…

A family of orcas swam along the shore (Courtesy Photo / DJ Kyser)

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On the Trails: Orcas, sand lance, and a junco

The highlight of our Berners Bay cruise…

Volunteer Educator Rosemary Walling shows a group of Montessori Borealis first through third graders images of the Earth on Friday at the Marie Drake Planetarium as part of a special presentation of the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

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A journey to the stars was the final field trip of the year

Kids treated to the story of Raven and the Box of Daylight.

Ryan Becker, a teacher at the Eagle school, takes a photo of his students as part of a continuing Yukon River ice study on May 12, 2023. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: When river breakup came to Eagle

the Yukon River’s solid sheets were breaking into smaller pieces.

A skunk cabbage inflorescence shows the pointed stigmas of the female phase and the beginning of pollen presentation for the male phase. (Mary F. Willson / For the Juneau Empire)

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On the Trails: Spring has sprung

Early avian harbingers have been joined by lots of other species…

A pair of rough-skinned newts beginning the process of mating in a local pond this spring. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

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On the Trails: Rough-skinned newts

Breaking new(t)s.

In October 2007, 1-year-old Anna Rozell admired a statue of Balto in Central Park of New York City. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: Long after run to glory, Balto lives on

Balto gives scientists insight into what makes Alaska sled dogs and other working breeds unique.

Blueberry flowers provide early-season food for bumblebees. (Courtesy Photo / Bob Armstrong)

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On the Trails: Setting the seasonal clocks

Our spring is slow in coming.

Kristen Rozell skis past grizzly bear tracks pressed into a snowmachine trail near Fairbanks on April 23, 2023. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: Bear tracks on snow a sign of the season

Melt season is a sad time for people who enjoy the magic of snow crystals bonding so well…

This December 2013 photo available under a Creative Commons license shows holly berries and leaves. A study of European holly in Spain showed that leaf browsing by mammals induces an increase of prickliness of the leaves. (Dendroica Cerulea / Flickr)

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On the Trails: Inheritance of genetic and acquired traits

Fun with phenotype phenomenon.

A model of a DNA molecule is displayed in the New York office of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research on Oct. 18, 1962. The discovery of DNA’s “twisted ladder” structure 70 years ago opened up a world of new science — and also sparked disputes over who contributed what and who deserves credit. In an opinion piece published Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in the journal Nature, two historians are suggesting that while James Watson and Francis Crick did rely on research from Rosalind Franklin and her lab without their permission — Franklin was more a collaborator than just a victim. (AP Photo / Anthony Camerano)

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Rosalind Franklin’s role in DNA discovery gets a new twist

The story dates back to the 1950s, when scientists were working out how DNA’s pieces fit together.

Emiko and Syun-Ichi Akasofu serve tea to guests at their home in Fairbanks in December 2021. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Alaska Science Forum: Aurora expert helped expand Alaska tourism

When Syun-Ichi Akasofu walks by in the building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus that bears his…

Iditarod checkpoint volunteers turned a light on in the ghost town of Ophir during the 2023 race. (Courtesy Photo / Jay Cable)

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Alaska Science Forum: Biking 1,000 miles of Iditarod trail

During a human-powered journey of that length, things will not go as planned.

This photo taken along the Rainforest Trail shows adventitious shoots on a red alder. (Mary F. Willson / For the Juneau Empire)

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On the Trails: Roots, shoots, tumors and bone spurs

Adventitious adventures.

A raven scans the horizon. Ravens are one of several animals known to gather together when resting at night. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

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Raven roosts shrouded in mystery

As the sun set and the sky dimmed, the birds kept coming.

An otter sleeps on the ice near an open channel (Courtesy Photo / Jos Bakker)

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On the Trails: Spring comes slowly

As I await more and bigger signs of spring, there have been good things to see along the…