Companies have produced more than 7 billion tons of plastic since production first started to ramp up in the 1950s. Unfortunately, all manner of plastics, such as helmets, single-use bottles, bottle caps, windsurf boards and even Christmas trees, have been finding their way into waterways and, from there, into the ocean, since the beginning. Up […]
What has been able to save many lives by detecting land mines and explosives quickly and safely? The explosives-sniffing African giant pouched rat. One in particular, named Magawa, was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal in September 2020 for bravery, an honor that acknowledges animals’ devotion to duty. Magawa was born in 2013 and died of […]
How can you improve your immune system to better resist diseases and infection? Follow this effective, simple and evidence-based advice: Look after your skin. The epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, contains a network of Langerhans cells that provide a physical barrier against infection. Because skin serves as the interface with the external environment, one […]
Mysterious and complex, fascinating and disturbing, artificial intelligence (AI) is the subject of much debate. Beyond the controversies, this technology, envisioned in the 1950s by British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954), is rich in practical applications in the domains of health, the environment, and industry, among others. So what is AI? AI brings together technical systems, […]
“Well-being can be defined, measured, and taught. Well-being includes positive emotions, intense engagement, good relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.” That is the thought behind Positive Psychology and the more constructive aspects of human nature. Although people such as psychologists Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Erich Fromm invented and used the term “positive psychology,” and celebrated mentally […]
“Listen to the mustn’ts child, listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me: Anything can happen, child, anything can be.”
SHEL SILVERSTEIN
It is possible, today, to have a world entirely free of fossil fuels. What was once an abstract concept is possible because, technically speaking, electricity can power everything we do every day – heat homes, drive a car, watch TV or charge a computer. And this electricity can come simply from wind turbines, solar panels […]
Dressed in a flannel skirt with trousers underneath, on July 22, 1871, British mountaineer Lucy Walker (1836-1916) reached the top of the Matterhorn (4,478 m/14,692 ft). She was the first woman to do so. Before that exploit, in 1870, Walker made the first female ascent of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m/13,524 ft) in the Mont […]
More than 2 billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. And even in developed countries, many people do not think water from the tap is safe. Over half of households in the United States are concerned about the quality of their water supply and only 55% of Europeans drink […]
Once upon a time, a Frenchman named Joseph Ferdinand Cheval had a vision. And he had the passion to see his vision through. A postman by profession, from 1879 to 1912, after work, often in the dark working by candlelight, he toiled 93,000 hours over 10,000 days to build a palace. He was no architect […]
