November 2016

Where have all the songbirds gone?

I love nothing more than waking on a summer's day to the sound of bird songs outside my window. If you read my last post on bird language, this should be no surprise. The piercing sirens of mated cardinal pairs, the churring of chickadees, the sweet murmurs of cedar waxwings—all of these are music to

Pipe Dreams

Let's face it, we all love our oil. In fact, “addicted” may be a more appropriate word than “love.” The stuff practically runs through our veins alongside the caffeine and nicotine. We use oil, directly or indirectly, every single day. It heats our homes. It fuels our cars. It is our consumer lifeblood. To the

The United Nations Declares War on Superbugs

With the constant news of terror attacks, devastating civil wars, or even just political debates, our world seems irreconcilably divided. So when there is a problem so large that 193 countries agree to fight it together, you know it must be bad. The giant problem the UN General Assembly addressed this year at a High-Level

Why are Eggplants so Controversial? A Look at the New GM Crop in Bangladesh

Mohammed Hafizur Rahmen is a Bangladeshi eggplant farmer who owns a single acre north of the country's capital Dhaka. Until recently, he spent two days a week every growing season spraying his crops with a toxic pesticide to ward off the “fruit and shoot borer”, a caterpillar-like pest that decimates crops throughout Asia. Despite frequent

Dancing and Humans: Our Historical Mating Call

LET’S DANCE! *cue Footloose music* Now it doesn't take a genius to realize that Michael Jackson was an incredible dancer and probably the best there ever was. While his music is timeless and loved by many, people are immensely captivated by his amazing dance moves like the famous moonwalk! Now I personally am no Chris

What is Quantum Mechanics?

What comes to mind when you think about the word “physics?” You probably see yourself sitting in your high school or college Intro Physics course trying to memorize what seemed to be pointless equations and relationships between variables. For example, the good ole' F=ma. Many of us know these basic physical principles referred to as

Can we SCIENCE! our way out of climate change?

Climate change is happening. What should we do about it? With climate change, we can expect serious consequences, including destruction of coastal communities by sea level rise, increased frequency of deadly heat waves, and worsening of crop-decimating draughts. Many of us have been hearing the same story for years: we need to cut carbon emissions

H(omm)ing in on Happiness: How Meditation Changes the Brain

Chances are that in the past couple of years, you've noticed more and more references to meditation. That guy who works in the office next to yours? He practices. So does the girl who lives down the street. Heck, even my mom is meditating! Ask someone who meditates and he or she is likely to

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