What is the best way to keep the climate from changing? Transition from fossil fuels as quickly as possible? Go to more plant-based foods and eliminate cattle? Plant more trees? Limit population growth? Any action we take can have serious repercussions and must be carefully considered. And one of the best ways to evaluate an
I’m going to say something that goes against every instinct you have — don’t kill that spider. I know how some people feel about bugs in general, and spiders in particular. They’re creepy (lots of legs and fangs) and can be pests. Many people are downright afraid of them; fear of spiders is arachnophobia (in
Putting rovers on Mars is exciting, but we must not forget our home planet has never been completely explored. This is especially true of the oceans, which cover about 70 percent of Earth’s surface, yet are still relatively uninvestigated. I was reminded of this while reading that the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) released its annual
Consider the ubiquity of plastics. If present trends continue, we will be producing a billion tons a year by 2050. And since 1950, we’ve produced more than 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic in total. It gets worse. By 2015, three quarters of those 8 billion+ metric tons were discarded, and only 9% has been recycled.
If you don’t like your body, how would you like to regenerate a new one? It can be done, at least in slugs. Researchers have discovered two species of Japanese sea slugs that can shed their bodies and regrow new ones within three weeks. I can understand why some humans would want to regrow their
Do you remember seeing the original Star Wars (now officially Episode IV: A New Hope), which was first released in 1977? Do you recall two suns in the sky over the planet Tatooine? How weird was that? Actually, not weird at all. Our mono-star solar system seems to be more the exception than the rule.
I’ve been reading about this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 11-14. As with everything else these days, this edition was virtual, on-line only, but some interesting products were still showcased. It seems the trend toward robotics is continuing. I suppose it’s our lazy side that stimulates our fascination with robots. It’s nice to dream
If you are afraid of spiders (technically that’s arachnophobia), you may want to stop reading now. There’s a lot to be afraid of. As of July 2019, at least 48,200 spider species and 120 spider families have been recorded. They come in a large range of sizes, from a body length of less than 0.015 inches, to tarantulas with body lengths
Mother Nature has this way of deflating our egos. Not only has a lowly virus been totally dominating our lives recently, but I’ve just read the most indestructible animal on Earth is an almost-as-lowly eight-legged segmented micro-animal named a tardigrade. Also more affectionately known as a water bear, tardigrades can survive for up to 30
In this holiday season, our thoughts invariably turn to our families. But astronomers have a much broader definition of family. While the rest of us are researching ancestral histories back through terrestrial years, astronomers are building a family tree on a much broader scale: the origin of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. We are
