Biological Invasion: Attack of the Killer Weeds!
Ask a Scientist - Axis Cafe
Humans are now moving around the world at a fantastic rate, carrying plants and bugs and diseases which have been trapped on separate continents for millions of years. The organisms we transport are changing our world - Sudden Oak Death and other pathogens are eliminating forests, human pandemics are shaking national economies, and invasive plants are homogenizing natural communities.There are striking parallels between these biological invasions and the 19th-century human disease outbreaks which spurred the science of epidemiology. Thankfully, solutions to our invasion crisis are as clear and simple as those early public health solutions.Daniel Gluesenkamp delivers an overview of this exciting stage in Earth's evolution, reviews solutions to this challenge, and presents examples of recent efforts to clean up our act.
