Frehsée, Nicole. “The New Nature Walk.” O, The Oprah Magazine June 2014: 92. Print. In her article, Frehsée spotlights the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing” in English. The term refers to silent, sensory-focused walks through the woods, engaging with nature in the absence of electronics. Shinrin-yoku originated in the 1980s, but it’s gaining extensive […]
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RocketHub
Olson, Mike. “Let’s Crowdfund Science.” Wired Dec. 2013: 56. Print. With the help of the internet, now researchers have more options for funding their projects than ever before. Launched in 2010, the website RocketHub was founded by Brian Meece, Jed Cohen, and Vladimir Vukicevic and serves that exact purpose. It adapts Kickstarter’s existing model to apply to scientific […]
Internet Balloons
Detwiler, Jacqueline. “Carrying the Internet in Balloons.” Hemispheres Magazine September 2013: 61. Print. Engineers at the Google X lab are working to spread internet accessibility via balloon. Made out of polyethylene plastic, the massive 39 x 49 foot constructions aim to service areas like rural Africa and South America where internet access is scarce. The balloons travel the […]
Climate Contrarians
Mann, Michael E. “Climate Contrarians Cook Up New ‘Controversy.’” Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc., 18 May 2014. Web. 7 Sept. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-e-mann/climate-contrarians_b_5347614.html In April 2014, a Swedish scientist named Lennart Bengtsson joined the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s (GWPF) Academic Advisory Council. GWPF refuses to believe in climate change and advocates against trying to find solutions. As a result of this union, the scientific […]
France pays workers to cycle
De Clercq, Geert. “France experiments with paying people to cycle to work.” planetark.org. Planet Ark, 3 June 2014. Web. 9 June 2014. http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/71641 France has started a six month trial period of paying select employees (roughly 10,000 people) to bike to work. The employees are paid 25 euro cents (34 US cents) per kilometer biked to work. […]
Lionfish App
Iacurci, Jenna. “FWC Unveils Tracking App for Invasive Florida Lionfish.” natureworldnews.com. Nature World News, 29 May 2014. Web. 8 June 2014. http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/7297/20140529/fwc-unveils-tracking-app-for-invasive-florida-lionfish.htm The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) developed a lionfish tracking app for smartphones in order to collect data about lionfish population size and whereabouts. The Florida lionfish is an invasive species that has no […]
Robots reading humans
“Softbank unveils ‘human-like’ robot Pepper.” bbc.com. BBC, 5 June 2014. Web. 8 June 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27709828 This article talks about a Japanese robot designed to interact with humans and understand their emotional responses. The robot is built with an “emotional engine” and a cloud-based artificial intelligence system that enables them to comprehend human’s emotions, allowing them to react […]
Stem Cell Burgers
Winter, Lisa. “Will Stem Cell Burgers Go Mainstream?” iflscience.com. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 2 June 2013. http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/will-stem-cell-burgers-go-mainstream “Schmeat,” a lab-grown meat product, is currently being developed in an attempt to reduce the harmful effects livestock creates on the environment. This product is different from vegetable-based meat substitute because it is made from actual animal stem cells. […]
Vertical Trains
Kermeliotis, Teo. “Catch a train from the sky! How vertical travel could transform your commute.” cnn.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 2 May 2014. Web. 17 May 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/02/tech/catch-a-train-from-the-sky/index.html?iid=article_sidebar This article talks about the potential development of vertical trains that could be built within major cities in order to effectively utilize space within large metropolitan areas. […]
Replicating the Human Brain
AlphaGalileo Foundation. “Human Brain Could Be Replicated In 10 Years, Researcher Predicts.” sciencedaily.com. ScienceDaily, 4 September 2009. Web. 16 May 2014. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090904071908.htm This source claims that within ten years (approximately 2019) a model of the human brain may be replicated and used as an educational research tool in order to better understand the complexities of […]