I’ve just learned of a city of 80,000 people that is safe, quiet and full of open space. What’s the secret? They banned cars. The city is Pontevedra in northwest Spain. Its transformation was the brainchild of its mayor since 1999, Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores: “Before I became mayor 14,000 cars passed along this street
Have you ever pushed a button and wondered if anything really happened? You may be onto something. There are 1000 “Walk” buttons at intersections in New York City, but only about 100 are actually functional. Pushing the “door close” button in an elevator probably doesn’t make the door close any faster. And if you’ve ever
One trend I’m following with great interest is the move toward a cashless society. This would certainly be a significant change with, as usual, many unintended consequences. For example, one of the most common replies to panhandling is “I don’t have change.” Today that might not be just an excuse. So is this cashless trend
You have probably heard of the United Nations’ World Happiness Report and how the Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark, score so well every year. If you’ve ever been curious about how Denmark ranks so highly, and if they have something we should try to copy, I’d like to recommend a podcast that explores this very issue.
We all know elephants are special animals, and that they have great brainpower. But we’re only now beginning to appreciate how unique they are. Neurobiologist Paul Manger at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa began modern study of the elephant brain when he obtained permission in 2009 to preserve the brains of three
If you are interested in scientific research and have some time, but no training, don’t worry, you can still contribute. That’s why zooniverse.org ( https://www.zooniverse.org/ ) was founded — “the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.” Scientific research may sound glamorous, but there is a lot of routine work analyzing data. This is
Having habits can either be good or bad. A good habit helps get you through your daily routine. But a bad habit can hold you back, and even endanger your health. If you’re like most people, that can be a struggle. If you always find yourself losing, could science offer some solutions? Science does offer
When faced with a major decision, like marriage or a career change, how do you go about it? The time-tested, logical way is to make a list of pros and cons. That can work well, but is there a better, more scientific way of decision-making? See if these ideas help — One approach is to
I grew up on a sheep and chicken farm, so naturally there were lots of smells. One of the most interesting was what I sensed before a rain. It was if I could actually smell the rain coming. Was it just me? No, according to the article “Why You Can Smell Rain” by Tim Logan
The end of summer may be a bit late to think about this, but have you ever wondered why plants don’t get sunburned? Actually, they’ve already thought of that. Plants can make their own sunscreen to protect from harmful solar radiation and yet not interfere with photosynthesis. Specifically, in 2011 a team of scientists reported