Snow crystals—better known as snowflakes—are intricate, delicate, tiny miracles of beauty. Their very existence seems unlikely, yet incomprehensible numbers of them fall every year to iteratively...
We are used to getting warnings. The bisphenol A in canned foods will do you in. So will artificial sweeteners. Sugar too. Those yoga pants you wear? They may be rubbing those nasty perfluoroalkyl...
Fairy tales about the origin of zebra stripes are abundant. Some blame sunlight filtered through tree leaves for tanning the zebras hide, others claim the dark lines are scorch marks, acquired...
A magnitude 9.1 earthquake occurred just off the northeast coast of Japan on March 11th, 2011, at 14:46 local time. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, like all nuclear power plants in Japan...
There are more than 3000 species of snakes on Earth, ranging from the Barbados threadsnake at roughly 10 cm long (about the same as a deck of cards) to the reticulated python at around 6 m in...
Slugs, in all their slimy glory, aren’t usually associated with food. But banana slugs (genus Ariolimax) are named after their colour, not their taste. As tempting as it sounds, don’t try to lick...
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a species of jewel beetle native to eastern Asia. In 2002, the beetle was detected for the first time in North America. First in Michigan, then Ontario, although tree...
If you are scared of chemical terminology, you may think you are in for a bumpy ride. But fear not, you do not need a degree in chemistry to follow this discussion. Buckle up, and let’s go.
Eons ago in a remote village in China, a promising young lad was studying for the almighty civil service registry exam. His parents were too poor to afford an oil-burning lamp so that he could read...
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