Ask a shelter worker what’s the most difficult moment in their job. In an open-admission, municipal shelter, you’re likely to get one answer- euthanasia. When a vivid life sits in front of you with its bright, shiny eyes, ending it with your own hands is one of the toughest things for any human being. The
The next time you and your friends share some fries, impress them with some knowledge on your favorite side dish. They’ll be amazed to learn that potato is the world’s third most consumed food crop and America’s favorite vegetable (according to the US Department of Agriculture). Strangely enough though, potatoes haven’t always been a fan
If you have ever driven on a rural road, you have likely seen flowers in small patches of land on the roadside. While it is easy to write these habitat patches off as “just some on the roadside,” they actually serve as some of the last remnants of the American prairie. Before the colonization of
For the first time in two decades, stargazers across the southern United States have been dazzled by colorful, undulating waves of light in the night sky. These so-called Northern Lights are vibrant displays of the interaction between electrons and ions emitted by the Sun and the Earth’s upper atmosphere. While this interaction usually occurs closer
Fall can be a very exciting time of year for Georgia. After enduring high summer heat and humidity in the fall we welcome brisk mornings with hot coffee or tea in hand, holiday decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving, and the beautiful yellow, orange, and red colors of autumn. September and October can be an especially
It’s fourth down with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Your favorite team has the ball on their 40-yard line, with 6 yards to go for a first down. They’re down by a touchdown; it’s an obvious punting situation, so you go to grab some more wings anticipating a commercial break. “They’re going for
I remember when I fell in love with science. It was when I saw the T. Rex for the first time in Jurassic Park. This book and movie, despite their flaws in technical science, made a career in molecular biology seem easy, especially because they recreated dinosaurs. The author and director of the movie took
Shai-hulud, or the giant sandworm, exists in Dune both as a mode of transportation, a generator of spice, and a key player in the ecological niche of Arrakkis. In the book by Frank Herbert and the movie adaptation (Dune part 1 2021 and Dune part 2 2024 directed by Denis Villenueve), the sandworm plays a
We are heavily entwined with forests. The structure of your house is likely southern pine. The package you ordered in the mail is encased in wood pulp. The stuff that makes your toothpaste thick is cellulose from wood. We rely on trees as a renewable resource for our daily activities and well-being. However, our
Bunny-pocalypse Image depicting the spread of rabbits in Australia from Alves, et al. 2021 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND). In 1859, a wealthy English settler named Thomas Austin imported 24 European rabbits into Australia as game for shooting parties. This seemingly small event would soon reshape the continent. Thomas Austin was a member
To date, researchers have identified over 5,000 exoplanets in the Milky Way, a small fraction of the billions hypothesized to exist in our galaxy. Among them, researchers catalog so-called “Earth-like planets,” or planets with a similar size, structure, and distance from the Sun as Earth. While of great interest to modern astronomers, no conclusive evidence
The numbers are in, and it’s official: we are losing the fight to save the many endangered species on our planet. Despite a growing number of global voices highlighting the importance of preserving biodiversity to worldwide human health and food security, the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022 estimated we’ve lost 69% of monitored wildlife populations,
