Scientists are using funhouse images of faraway galaxies to learn how dark matter shaped the cosmos we see today.
There were many really big moments in science this year. From finding a long, long sought subatomic particle to pushing the limits of extraterrestrial exploration to righting an ethical wrong, science took some big steps in 2012. While they may not all be discoveries exactly, they all will have a major, lasting impact on science…
Netherlands director Walther Grotenhuis, in his first independent documentary, focuses on the worldwide journey some foods experience to get to your local supermarket. In doing so, he addresses a fundamental flaw in uncontrolled agricultural expansion—the environmental impacts that over-cultivated crops and foods cause to the local ecosystems. Author Metanexus Editors
Developing nations are facing growing health and environmental risks from increased exposure to mercury, according to a UN report. It says a growth in small-scale mining and coal burning are the main reasons for the rise in emissions. As a result of rapid industrialization, South-East Asia is the largest regional emitter and accounts for almost…
Honey bees drones actually have a large spectrum of personalities. Scientists found that some are homebodies, some are explorers, and no matter what they are, we can change them. The defining trait of personality is a consistent response to similar stimuli in different contexts. Honey bees hives are filled with self-sacrificing drones, but certain bees,…
In the book Theoretical Morphology, George McGhee examines why living things look the way they do. He explores the space of the potential shapes of organisms, or their morphology, and compares that to what we find in Nature, finding that the actual morphologies are often a subset of those potential shapes, due to chance and…
One of the many reasons why people fail to acknowledge the seriousness of greenhouse gas emissions is that they’re invisible. You can’t see carbon dioxide piling up on the street; you can only see the disasters that happen in the wake of climate change. A project from Carbon Visuals and the Environmental Defense Fund imbues…