How a little-known clergyman studying worms by candlelight in the 1700s inspired Charles Darwin – but didn’t get the credit he deserved

My passion for earthworms and ecology led me to continuing Darwin’s experiments in his own ‘back garden’

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
April 16, 2024 ~22 min

The secret world of earthworms: meet the tiger worm and the nightcrawler

And why earthworms are careful to select a mate of the same size as themselves.

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
April 16, 2024 ~8 min


Why does this worm have such giant eyes?

Scientists have discovered a bristle worm with such sharp-seeing eyes that they measure up to the vision of mammals and octopuses.

Kristian Bjørn-Hansen-U. Copenhagen • futurity
April 12, 2024 ~8 min

The ‘worm moon’ once marked the spring return of earthworms – until global warming kicked in

The last full moon of winter can illuminate earthworms in newly-thawed soil.

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
March 26, 2024 ~6 min

What is a ‘worm moon’ and does it still mark the start of spring?

The last full moon of winter can illuminate earthworms in newly-thawed soil.

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
March 26, 2024 ~6 min

We designed wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses − they could be used for search and rescue one day

Robots often have a hard time navigating through debris, but robots designed based on worms and snakes could move around obstacles faster, thanks to an idea called mechanical intelligence.

Christopher Pierce, Postdoctoral Scholar in Robotics, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Feb. 14, 2024 ~8 min

Earthworms are our friends – but they will make the climate crisis worse if we're not careful

Thawing permafrost in the far north is an inviting prospect for invertebrate burrowers.

Kevin Richard Butt, Reader in Ecology, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
Nov. 13, 2023 ~7 min

Doctors Remove Live Worm from Australian Woman’s Brain

VOA Learning English • voa
Aug. 29, 2023 ~4 min


Scientists’ favorite books for nonscientists

Black holes, warming seas, new treatments for disease. Understanding the context — not to mention the technical jargon — can be a challenge.

Clea Simon • harvard
Aug. 1, 2023 ~9 min

Parasitic infections hit the health of low-income Black communities where states have neglected sewage systems

Though many Americans believe that parasitic infections exist in poorer countries, research shows that the problem exists in the US and has a higher impact in communities of color.

Theresa E. Gildner, Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis • conversation
May 19, 2023 ~8 min

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