Headless Hydras: Unlocking the secrets behind their immortality
What are hydras? Scientists often take inspiration from nature to tackle problems facing human kind. The latest case of this is a study looking at Hydra vulgaris, a marine animal that is considered immortal! The tube-shaped creatures are one to three centimeters long. They reside in freshwater, Read More...
Employment data shows the real story behind the “Great Resignation”
A record number of American workers are leaving their jobs in what has been dubbed the “Great Resignation.” While the pandemic has pushed many workers to rethink the role of work in their lives, employment research tells a more nuanced story than mainstream media. The General Social Survey Read More...
Watch conservationists release a million baby turtles into the wild
Earlier this week, conservationists released hundreds of thousands of baby turtles into a river at the Amazon border separating Bolivia and Brazil — all in an attempt to preserve the endangered species. Amazon River turtles have faced an increasing number of threats in recent years. Most of Read More...
Meet Ella Lambert, the 21-year-old student fighting period poverty
Ella Lambert, a 21-year-old student in the UK, knows what it’s like to be limited because of her period. “I’ve always struggled with period pain, like absolutely atrocious period pain which would mean that I’d have to miss out on school and cancel plans last minute,” she says. Her Read More...
These FDA-approved eyedrops offer an alternative to reading glasses
Glasses be gone! The first FDA-approved eye drops that clear up age-related blurry near vision (presbyopia) have been introduced to the market in the US, which means that the estimated 128 million Americans affected by the common condition of presbyopia now have an alternative to reading Read More...
Are microaggressions lost on you? The Micropedia is here to help
People of color and those who are part of other marginalized communities will often experience what is called microaggressions in their workplace, among friends, and in social arenas in general. Microaggressions are comments that are usually not coming from the aggressor’s intent to offend, nor Read More...
AI system can predict lightning strikes
Lightning is one of the leading causes of destructive wildfires, but its notoriously difficult-to-predict nature means that firefighters and residents rarely have an accurate prediction about where and when lightning may strike. Researchers from the University of Washington hope to use AI to better Read More...
Pittsburgh will become a dark sky city in 2022
Anyone who lives in a big city knows that stars are a rare sight due to light pollution, but that may soon change in one American metropolis. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has announced that it will become a dark sky city in 2022, joining others like Tucson and Sedona in Arizona, and Fulda in Germany in Read More...
The secrets behind the ferocity of fungi exposed
Armillaria ostoyae is one of the toughest tree-killing fungi on the planet. It assembles with black tentacle-like structures called rhizomorphs, which leach onto trees and suck out their nutrients. The reason the fungi is so hard to kill has previously baffled scientists, with farmers hacking Read More...
So what is the relationship between climate change and tornadoes?
Following devastating tornadoes in the United States this week, many are wondering, are these events fuelled by climate change? While wildfires and extreme rainfall have direct links to a changing climate, things are a bit more complex with tornadoes. Although the weather has a direct impact on Read More...