How to understand boredom and use it to your advantage
While COVID-19 is keeping healthcare and essential workers busy, it might be a rather different situation for you. Once you’ve sat on the couch for a few days straight, after redecorating the house and watching all of the series that exist, of course, you might be wondering: what’s next? This Read More...
Critically endangered turtles hatch in record numbers in Philippine village
Hawksbill sea turtles are a critically endangered species of sea turtle, with its population declining by as much as 80 percent in the past decade. In the Philippines, this turtle species is among the most trafficked on the black market due to its sought-after shells. Recently, however, Read More...
London is going all-in on car-free zones
Following in the footsteps of leaders in Milan and New York City who are heeding global calls to #BuildBackBetter from the coronavirus pandemic, London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday unveiled plans to create "one of the largest car-free zones in any capital city in the world" to improve local Read More...
Got back pains? Here’s how to ergonomically improve your workspace
Working from home is great for cutting down on your commute time, but your makeshift work station might not be doing your posture any favors. If you’re experiencing back, neck, or shoulder pain from your impromptu couch or kitchen table desk, here are some tips for improving your alignment for a Read More...
Detroit Mower Gang: These volunteers compete to maintain city’s old parks
As small budgets and bureaucracy leave playgrounds and parks uncared for in Detroit, a group of twenty-five volunteers known as the Detroit Mower Gang is taking matters into their own hands. This past weekend, volunteer lawnmowers competed for a championship belt awarded to the person who cuts Read More...
Afghanistan’s all-girl robotics team is making ventilators using car parts
With Afghanistan in great need of ventilators to treat COVID 19 patients, a team of Afghan teenage girls has stepped up to build ventilators from used car parts. The girls are members of the all-girls robotics team, named the Afghan Dreamers, whom you might remember from 2017. That’s when they Read More...
EU commission drafts pollinator-protecting pesticide regulations
Agricultural pesticides pose a serious threat to pollinator populations, including bees. To save these species, The European Commission is seeking to halve the use of pesticides by 2030. The potential new rules to decrease pesticides include especially reducing the use of chemical and Read More...
Rare blue calamintha bee spotted for first time in four years
Until this past March, the blue Calamintha bee had not been seen for four years and was thought to be extinct. But recently, a researcher with a keen eye spotted the blue bee while installing bee condos in Central Florida's Lake Wales Ridge area. Its sighting is a beacon of hope for Read More...
New implant allows the blind to “see” shapes and letters
A team of scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston has developed a brain implant that allows both blind and sighted participants to “see” the shape of letters. As detailed in a new paper published in the journal Cell, the device works by skipping the eye and relaying visual Read More...
Training AI is carbon-intensive. MIT researchers are changing that
The different ways artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to improve our lives is vast, but one thing we often overlook is the environmental cost that comes with AI. After all, running a training model to improve AI requires a whole lot of energy. For that reason, researchers at Massachusetts Read More...