
According to the website of the US federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be […]

Everyone is talking about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus itself, now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The new virus even includes “severe” in its name. But is it severe? A review of the latest scholarly reports reveals some pretty reassuring facts: SARS-CoV-2 spreads rapidly from person to person, so it […]

Plastic waste has become a scourge of the Earth, polluting waterways and creating garbage patches in the oceans, the largest of which is in the Pacific Ocean. According to National Geographic: “While many different types of trash enter the ocean, plastics make up the majority of marine debris for two reasons. First, plastic’s durability, low […]

By Danielle Carpenter – Climate change and extreme climatic events are having grave consequences for plant biodiversity around the world. Fires in Australia, the Amazon and North America are destroying key ecosystems. Bark beetles are benefiting from warmer temperatures to kill increasing numbers of trees worldwide. Extreme drought in some areas and flooding in others […]

Ever heard of Henry Beecher? He was an American doctor who discovered the placebo effect as a medic in World War II. When he ran out of morphine to ease the pain of wounded soldiers, he instead administered a mixture of salt and water but told them it was a drug to relieve pain. He reported that […]

Sutera, a village in Sicily, has since 2014 increased its mostly elderly population of a few hundred inhabitants with dozens of refugees. The town in the 1970s had over 5,000 people, but most had left to seek better job opportunities in larger cities. By 2012, this out-migration caused homes to be abandoned and shops to […]

The industrial production of materials such as cement and steel is a significant contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, or so claims the International Energy Agency. Cement, for example, accounts for 7% of such emissions globally. Reducing the sector’s emissions would go a long way towards fighting climate change. Industries can avoid such emissions Heliogen is […]

The French artist Aude Michon has been visiting the Gustave Roussy hospital in Villejuif, France for the last two years to dance for people with cancer, simply to brighten up their day. Aude Michon is a professional dancer who teaches Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha and other Latin dances. She created the Elles Dansent association to […]