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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Oceanographic Center Professor Launches New TV Series on Nature, Nov. 16
NSU Oceanographic Center Professor Charles Messing, Ph.D.
Please join NSU Oceanographic Center Professor Charles Messing, Ph.D., and friends for the premier of the two pilot episodes of Messing with Nature, a half-hour television series that will redefine nature/wildlife programming.
Imagine Alton Brown (Good Eats) hosting Planet Earth with a bit of Monty Python thrown in. In the first episode, your host investigates whether current nature programming (“man-eating sharks, poisonous snakes and spiders, etc.”) accurately reflects biodiversity, and how scientists go about describing new species. The second episode, The Maltese Aquifer, puts a new twist on an old film noir to explain Florida’s fossil and geological history. Understanding the natural world, how its many parts link together, and how they change over time is a critical step toward making sound decisions about conserving and using natural resources. Future episodes will tell stories about living things and their histories, from bacteria to whales; how and where they live, and how we know about them.
Messing has been studying a wide range of living creatures for 40 years. Though his research has focused on marine creatures—from the Bahamas to Papua New Guinea, and from the shoreline to the seas’ greatest depths, he has also taught university courses such as The Diversity of Life, The Age of Dinosaurs, Invertebrate Zoology, Introductory Biology, and Historical Geology.
The premier will take place at the Cinema Paradiso, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov.16. Admission is free. The theatre is located in the heart of downtown Ft. Lauderdale at 503 SE 6th St., on the south side of the New River, one block east of the Broward County Courthouse. For more information, please call Messing at 954-262-8311.