Have you ever looked at the shimmer of a peacock's feathers or the metallic shine of a green June beetle and thought, “I bet those bright colors help that animal blend in with its natural habitat.†No? Well, you wouldn't be alone. When artist and naturalist Abbot Thayler first proposed that iridescence could be a
Typhoid Mary – the woman still infamous in our culture for wantonly spreading typhoid fever in the early 1900's. Newspapers of the time painted her as a villain. However, Mary Mallon, the woman behind the headlines, was more the victim of the circumstances of her birth, her biology, and the culture of medical science. The
Infrastructure development is a major issue in many countries of the developing world. Countries with developing economies often suffer from a negative balance of trade and weak institutions, making lenders unwilling to lend. Governments of these countries are forced to borrow with heavy interest rates, further increasing budget deficits. This cyclical economic problem
Does serendipity exist? Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was the curator of a tiny museum in East London, South Africa, when she received a phone call from a local dockman. It was Christmas eve in 1938, and Marjorie was asked to inspect the latest catch of Captain Hendrik Goosen. As it turned out, it would be a
There is a mental health crisis in the STEM graduate community. In this series, “Mental Wellness,†we will highlight not only the mental state of graduate students all over the world, but also the likely causes for these conditions, how to know when what you're feeling is too much, and how to deal with it
The start of the 2018 hurricane season and recent presidential controversy have brought hurricanes back into the public eye. The first major hurricane of the 2018 season, Hurricane Florence, made landfall the morning of Friday, September 14th on the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas. To date, Florence has caused an estimated $38 to $50 billion
Porn is changing your brain. Even with occasional use, porn begins to physically and functionally alter your brain, decreasing its volume and normal activity. A Startling Trend: Erectile Dysfunction (ED) In the past decade, there has been a sharp increase in men suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) during partnered sex. Researchers have also found sharp
The annual upstream migration of salmons to their spring spawning habitat is fairly well-known. However, most people may not know that this behavior is common among other fish species as well, including sturgeons, American shad, and American eels. The distance that fish travel during migration can vary widely – some fish do not need to
This article is part of an opinion editorial series on topics under the umbrella of Social Insurance. Topics have been chosen based on common gaps in knowledge of Social Insurance. Part 1 of this series is on the topic of the social safety net and some groups that fall through its holes. The social safety
We've all experienced it – the feeling of having your heart broken by someone you love or experiencing pure rage at someone cutting you off in rush hour traffic. But we've also all experienced the opposite – butterflies when your crush smiles at you or the serenity of crisp fall air with falling leaves. But
Sitting at the bar of Creature Comforts, sipping on one of their many hop-forward beers, many of us never think about the ingredients that go into some of our favorite beverages. Dry-Hopped, Wet-Hopped, Mosaic, Citra, Cascade, Centennial, IBU, alpha acids, and lupulin are some of the terms you may have seen on your favorite beer
I lived in Brunswick, Georgia for three years before moving up to the University of Georgia for grad school. Every chance I got, I would make the short drive to Jekyll Island to hike around the park's maritime forests and spend time on the beach. Fittingly called Georgia's Jewel, it truly is an amazing spot.
