2020: Scientists discover world’s ugliest orchid and other plant species
While orchids are known as some of the most beautiful flowers in the world, scientists have discovered a new species of orchid that does not live up to its family’s reputation. In fact, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (RGB Kew) are calling it the “ugliest in the world.” Read More...
MLB to include Negro League stats to the official record book
Professional baseball leagues in the US were segregated until 1947. Although the league has come very far since Jackie Robinson became its first Black player, in many ways the sport is still reckoning with its racist past. Last week, the league took another step towards correcting its past wrongs Read More...
Study: How has the pandemic changed our relationship with nature?
During the pandemic, we have seen a resurgence of animal populations and cleaner air and water, but we have also witnessed a fundamental shift in many people’s personal relationship with nature. When the great outdoors is one of the few places you can safely have recreation, we gain a newfound Read More...
This autonomous tractor has no tailpipe emissions
A traditional diesel-powered tractor will produce approximately 14-times more emissions than an ordinary car. This fact alone makes it clear that the farming industry needs a clean alternative to the conventional tractors of today. Enter Monarch Tractor, a California-based firm that has created an Read More...
Salmon spawn in the upper Columbia River for the first time in 80 years
For several decades, Native American tribe leaders and scientists have dreamt of seeing the return of salmon in the Columbia River system. Now that dream has come true after biologists counted 36 redds (a nest in which female salmon lay their eggs) along the Sanpoil River, a tributary of the Read More...
Eco-friendly, lab-grown milk to hit store shelves by end of next year
Recently we wrote about Impossible Food’s new ambitious venture to move beyond plant-based meat and create a vegan milk alternative that tastes and looks like the real thing. Another Israeli startup has the same mission but is working to achieve it in a slightly different manner — using a Read More...
Electric cars to become cheaper than gas-powered ones by 2023
Over the next two to three years, electric cars are poised to become cheaper than their gasoline-powered counterparts, making the choice of switching to more environmentally friendly vehicles much easier. That’s the prediction of a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), which Read More...
Swapping red meat with beans and nuts can lower risk of heart disease
A new study based on 30 years of observation has found that replacing red meat with high-quality plant foods such as beans and nuts may be associated with a significantly reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The study, which was published by the BMJ, focused on 23,272 men in the US, with Read More...
The Optimist View: Best of 2020
"Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." - Fred Rogers While 2020 has felt like a long, strange “fever dream”, to quote one of our staff members, there were lots of positive solutions to be found. Whether it was advances in medicine, Read More...
Zoom will offer unlimited video chats for several holiday celebrations
In a bid to make it easier to spend time with distant friends and family on Thanksgiving, during the holiday, Zoom lifted the standard 40-minute limit on its video chats. Now the company has announced it will do the same over the upcoming festive season so people can socialize safely with their Read More...