We’re all subjects in a massive experiment. Humans have created about 80,000 synthetic industrial compounds — including plastics, the flame retardants that cover our sofas, and pesticides. These compounds have structures that are not commonly seen in nature and present a risk to our health. Everybody on the planet is exposed. It’s important to understand what these substances … Read more
The iron in our blood, the silicon in your computer, the oxygen that we breath – all of those elements were synthesized inside a star. UC Santa Cruz astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz walks us through the process from a star’s beginning to its death.
UC Riverside researchers have discovered what could be a new species of hummingbird in the Bahamas. The Bahama Woodstar comprises of two subspecies: Calliphlox evelynae evelynae, found throughout the islands of the Bahamas and Calliphlox evelynae lyrura (“lyrura” for lyre-tailed, refers to the forked tail of males that resembles a classical lyre harp). This lovely … Read more
According to some surveys, 90 percent of all information in businesses today is retained on paper, even though the bulk of this printed paper is discarded after just one use. First developed in China in about the year A.D. 150, paper has many uses, the most common being for writing and printing upon. Indeed, the … Read more
Scientists have long known that volcanoes cool the atmosphere because of the sulfur dioxide that is expelled during eruptions. Droplets of sulfuric acid that form when the gas combines with oxygen in the upper atmosphere can persist for many months, reflecting sunlight away from Earth and lowering temperatures at the surface and in the lower … Read more
Are some people genetically predisposed to stay happily married? Researchers at UC Berkeley have found a major clue in our DNA. Robert Levenson and his team have found a link between relationship fulfillment and a gene variant — known as the “short allele” — of the serotonin transporter gene. The gene is involved in the … Read more