Topic

Environment & Climate

A collection of 22 issues

The Lethal Hitchhiker: How Freshwater Snails Fuel a Silent Pandemic

The common freshwater snail, an animal most people ignore, is an essential accomplice in a global health crisis. It serves as the host for a parasitic worm that infects millions, making the snail one of the deadliest creatures on Earth.

Medicine, Psychology & Health Science & Nature Environment & Climate

The Floating Black Paradox: Why Heat-Absorbing Spheres are Saving California's Water

It seems illogical to fight evaporation with millions of black, heat-absorbing plastic balls. But their dark color is a crucial design choice, providing the UV protection needed for longevity while blocking the sunlight that creates both algae and harmful carcinogens.

Environment & Climate Inventions & Discoveries Science & Nature

The World is Running Out of the Right Kind of Sand

Desert nations with endless dunes import billions of tons of sand to build their cities. The reason is simple but profound: their native sand is the wrong shape, sparking a destructive global scramble for the gritty foundation of our modern world.

Business & Economics Environment & Climate Technology & Innovation

The Living Fossil That Guards Modern Medicine

The horseshoe crab's brilliant blue blood, worth up to $60,000 a gallon, contains a unique compound that acts as a perfect detector for deadly bacterial toxins, making this ancient creature an unwitting gatekeeper for the safety of modern medicine.

Science & Nature Medicine Environment & Climate

That 'Fresh Laundry' Scent Is a Chemical Illusion

The chemicals that give your laundry its soft feel and lasting 'fresh scent' are potent disinfectants linked to a range of health risks and the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

Medicine, Psychology & Health Environment & Climate Science & Nature

The Airports and Oases Built Entirely on Trash

Faced with a crisis of space, nations like Japan and Singapore are not just burying waste—they are building new land from it. These offshore islands are feats of engineering that turn incinerator ash into some of the world's most valuable real estate.

Technology & Innovation Environment & Climate Geography & Places

The Bird That Conquered the World, Then Reclaimed It from Our Skyscrapers

Long before humans mapped the globe, the Peregrine Falcon had claimed nearly all of it. Its true story, however, isn't just about geography; it's about a brush with extinction and an astonishing comeback in the most unexpected of habitats: our cityscapes.

Science & Nature Environment & Climate Geography & Places

Earth's Terrestrial Galaxy: The Planet with More Trees Than Stars

It defies intuition, but our planet hosts a forest far vaster than our galaxy's sea of stars. Groundbreaking research reveals Earth is home to over 3 trillion trees, dwarfing the Milky Way's estimated 100-400 billion suns by a factor of at least seven.

Science & Nature Space & Astronomy Environment & Climate

Loading more posts...