What is the "motherhood penalty" and how can we get rid of it?
When discussing the gender pay gap, the idea that women take more time off after the birth of the child tends to come up. But what’s left out of the conversation is the way that women who become mothers, regardless of whether they take time off or not, are paid differently than men who become Read More...
Study: Learning a new language boosts our ability to pick up more
While learning another language can be an incredibly difficult undertaking, it's easier for some than others. In fact, a recent study shows that the more languages you can speak, the easier it is for you to pick up another one — with the results providing some of the first neurological evidence Read More...
The Optimist View: Keen on Kelp
“The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.” - Jacques Yves Cousteau On a sunny Saturday morning, I drive about 30 minutes north of my home in Santa Barbara to an area called Refugio Beach. Aptly Read More...
New York doctors complete first successful trachea transplant
Sonia Sein, a 56-year-old woman from New York is the recipient of the world’s first complete surgical windpipe transplant. The procedure was performed by Dr. Eric Genden, a surgeon at Mount Sinai and researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine, who has been researching trachea repair and treatment Read More...
Patagonia wants to bring breadfruit to your local grocery store
While chances are that your local grocery store doesn’t have breadfruit in the produce aisle, that may soon change thanks to Patagonia Provisions, a division of the outdoor apparel company, which wants to help make the food system more sustainable and cut carbon emissions from the atmosphere. As Read More...
How to propagate your houseplants this spring
If you’ve got a thriving houseplant collection and want to see your indoor jungle expand even further, propagating your plants is a great way to grow and share your leafy friends. Spring is the perfect time to split your plants, so today we share a guide to the different ways to Read More...
Otters are making a promising comeback in Alberta
Once thriving in southern Alberta, Canada, otters were nearly wiped out as a result of hunting and habitat destruction. Fortunately, the carnivores are now making an encouraging comeback in the region. As reported by naturalist Brian Keating, there has been an increasing number of otter sightings Read More...
Volvo announces 6-month parental leave for all employees
Professional policy changes like recognizing care work and supporting equal pay are critical steps for promoting gender equality in the workplace. Another influential policy is generous parental leave for all parents. Volvo recognizes the value of parental leave and has announced that it will offer Read More...
Solar concentrators provide fast and reliable solar light
With a population of 5.6 million people, the small island nation of Singapore has roughly the same density as New York City. In a country where space is of the essence, researchers from Nanyang Technological University have developed a compact solar concentrator to illuminate the island’s Read More...
There's something fishy about this biodegradable plastic
It’s no secret that plastic is not a friend to our environment. Commonly used types of plastic, like polyurethane, are made from non-renewable crude oil and will take hundreds of years to break down once thrown out. The problem is that humans use plastic for a variety of things, so much so that Read More...