Palestine-Israel Conflict

UA faculty members to hold a Q&A session about the Palestine-Israel conflict: CBS 42 – May 24

Coming up later this week, three University of Alabama professors will hold a question and answer session about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s Wednesday at 5:30 at the Monarch Espresso Bar.
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English Building

Changes after George Floyd’s death: WVTM 13 – May 25

And in Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama trustees renamed Morgan Hall, named for a Confederate General and U.S. Senator, John Tyler Morgan. For now, it’s going to be called the English Building. That followed a similar pattern when school leaders chose to rename, Nott hall to Honors Hall last August.

Ancient Crustacean

A shark, eating a squid, eating a lobster, in one fossil: Gizmodo – May 26

Over 174 million years ago, a squid-like creature was chowing down on an ancient crustacean, only to find itself scooped up as a meal by a prehistoric shark. Three creatures left their mark in time in an extraordinarily well-preserved fossil in Germany. … Interpreting this fossil wasn’t a simple task. … Adiël Klompmaker, curator of paleontology at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, University of Alabama, said that soft-tissue preservation is “tricky” and remarkably rare.

Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussels invade Holt Lake in Tuscaloosa County: ABC 33/40 – May 27

(Video includes interview with Dr. Jennifer Howeth in biological sciences.) The U.S Army Corp of Engineers reports zebra mussels have been spotted at Holt Lake and other locations on the Black Warrior and Tombigbee river. It’s unknown how the mussels got there, but USACE leaders say the first sighting was in October of 2020.

Cactus Trafficking

Global cactus traffickers are cleaning out the deserts: Today Online – May 28

… “The basic functioning of the planet would effectively grind to a halt without plants, but people care more about animals,” said Dr Jared Margulies, a geographer at The University of Alabama who studies plant trafficking. “A lot of plant species are not receiving the amount of attention they would be if they had eyes and faces.”