Life

ASHEVILLE, NC. June 12, 2018 –  Bee City USA began as a spark from one person and has grown into a nationwide network of communities large and small dedicated to promoting and protecting pollinators. This remarkable volunteer conservation initiative is joining forces with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation to ensure it can continue to […]

Adam Bargteil, University of Maryland, Baltimore County June 8, 2018 – With 25 years of hindsight, “Jurassic Park” marks a pivotal point in the history of visual effects in film. It came 11 years after 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” debuted computer-generated imagery for a visual effect with a particle system developed […]

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2018  –  News reports suggest that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration will pull the plug on “Every Kid in A Park” — a popular program that encourages children and their families to get outside and enjoy America’s parks. Launched in September 2015, the program grants fourth graders […]

May 29, 2018 – For those who don’t live in the South, summertime in Georgia may bring thoughts of front porches and sweet tea. But for those who live below the Mason-Dixon Line, there is one inescapable constant each summer: the heat. The intense heat and humidity in the southeastern U.S. is hard not only […]

May 29, 2018 – For thousands of years people have used cannabis for recreational, ritualistic and medicinal purposes. In the modern era, the latter property excites a lot of people, and there is no shortage of wild claims about the supposed medical benefits of the plant. Of all the claims, perhaps the most bold is […]

LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2018 – Today, the Sierra Club announced the completion of its latest documentary, Reinventing Power: America’s Renewable Energy Boom, which takes the viewer across the country to hear directly from the people making our clean energy future achievable. These individuals are working to rebuild what’s broken, rethink what’s possible, and revitalize […]

May 17, 2018 – I know it may be hard to convince you, but let me try: Don’t kill the next spider you see in your home. Why? Because spiders are an important part of nature and our indoor ecosystem – as well as being fellow organisms in their own right. People like to think […]

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2018 — Making cheese is an ancient exercise in preserving the nutritional value of milk. And it’s also pretty tasty. With help from the St. James Cheese Company in New Orleans, Reactions explains how milk becomes cheese, why microbes make it taste better, and why cheese is yellow: Reactions is a video […]

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2018 — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released a powerful new video featuring a survivor of the harmful and abusive practice of so-called “conversion therapy” — HRC Youth Ambassador Alex Cooper. Twelve states plus the District of Columbia […]

May 16, 2018 – Grilling season is right around the corner and grill gurus everywhere are preparing for many family parties and barbecues. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) encourages grillers to pay attention to safety during the spring and summer months when home fires involving grilling incidents occur most often. In 2011 – 2015, […]

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. May 16, 2018 – iCivics, the education nonprofit founded by Sandra Day O’Connor, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, home of FactCheck.org and Annenberg Classroom, announced today that they are partnering to create an educational game that teaches news literacy and the precepts of journalistic standards. The game, to be released during the […]

May 14, 2018 – A Chihuahua with a large, open wound dead in her cage. Underweight dogs with their ribs and hip bones showing. A Nebraska breeder who euthanized dogs just because they had burrs stuck in their fur and he didn’t think they were worth the trouble of grooming. An Ohio breeder who left […]

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2018 — Melatonin is a widely used supplement. Many people turn to the hormone hoping it will improve their sleep, but do claims of its efficacy have any merit? Clinical evidence suggests that the benefits of melatonin are modest, and it may not help everyone. And there’s little to stop supplement makers […]

May 10, 2018 – City officials, elected leaders and community advocates can now access new research and analysis about cutting edge interventions to address homelessness thanks to the groundbreaking research of Seattle University School of Law students. They have just published reports and key findings about a range of homelessness issues and interventions as part […]

Kathryn Jezer-Morton, Concordia University May 3, 2018 – Lately I can’t log onto Facebook without being asked to consider my own motivations for using the site. As a researcher who focuses on online communities, I’m accustomed to this running meta-narrative about what it is I’m actually doing online — but usually, that narrative plays inside […]

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2018 — Normally, something blowing up in your face is bad. But in the event of a vehicle accident, and in conjunction with a seatbelt, one particular explosion could very well save your life. It’s the chemical reaction that inflates your airbags. In this episode of Reactions, learn about the past and […]

May 1, 2018 – Scientists often transform astronomy data in a way that allows for interpretation with visual plots such as color-coded graphs. UC Santa Barbara postdoctoral fellow Greg Salvesen went in a different direction. He decided to instead map raw data to sound to make the excitement of astronomy — a traditionally visual science — accessible […]

Lorraine Dowler, Pennsylvania State University April 26, 2018 – Five women graduated from New York City’s Fire Academy on April 18, bringing the number of women serving in the Fire Department of New York to 72 – the highest in its history. The FDNY’s 2018 graduating class also includes the first son to follow his […]

April 23, 2018 – Mushrooms are often considered only for their culinary use because they are packed with flavor-enhancers and have gourmet appeal. That is probably why they are the second most popular pizza topping, next to pepperoni. In the past, food scientists like me often praised mushrooms as healthy because of what they don’t […]