Cellulose is the most abundant organic compound on Earth, having gained that distinction from being the substance by which plants propel themselves skyward.
Many people are creatures of their minds. The mind seeks to feed off the energy of the soul that it has captivated. One way the mind does this is through thrills. Slot machines illustrate.
The Great War was grinding to an end. Nearly 20 million were dead over the past 4 years. Then a new killer arrived.
The term animal comes from the Latin animalis, meaning “having breath.” But not all animals breathe.
Influenza outbreaks are often seasonal – but their seasons vary. Whether Covid-19 has a season is uncertain.
Driven by the wind, the gyres of ocean circulation play a vital role in the marine biosphere and regulating weather & climate. Global warming is changing the way ocean gyres work.
The plantain, a small plant native to Europe, has successfully spread around the world. Its success owes to savvy in adapting to local conditions.
As winter wanes and spring ushers warmth, trees get busy: putting leaves on branches and drawing more water from the soil. With global warming, spring is arriving earlier. This is likely to spell drier soils in summer.
Actuality not reality. Nature is a mirage of the mind. Here’s why.
Memory is the mind’s personal library. Memories are sketches, not full portrayals of events. With so much to accumulate, the mind readily merges similar events over time, efficiently filing memories according to their structural characteristics.
Men have long admired grandeur of their own making. Industrialization magnified the scale which could be attempted. As the hoary proverb goes: the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Immigrant earthworms in the boreal forests of North America are causing trouble.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide. As it ages, methane oxidizes and loses much of its hotness.
Cells spawn copies of themselves in the process called mitosis. A crucial process within mitosis is genetic (chromosomal) replication.
Immune system cells flock to the site of an infection once residents there cry out for relief. The herding causes inflammation: swelling, redness, and pain. Then the immunizers collectively decide what to do.
Though they don’t cost as much as other seafood, shrimp are an environmentally expensive catch.
Olms are aquatic salamanders found exclusively in European caves. Unlike most amphibians, olms live their entire lives underwater.
Neoteny is the retention of features seen during early development in related species.
The foot is a critical organ in locomotion. So often shoes give a foot protection, but no respect.
Bats have wondrous immune systems which are perpetually primed to handle viruses without getting sick. This training ground makes viruses more virulent.
For decades, corporations have been promoting foods from genetically modified organisms (GMO) as a way to enhance their profits and garner monopoly power. GMO proponents claim that genetic modifications promise food abundance safely. History has already shown otherwise.
Though known since ancient times, petroleum came into prominence as an energy source in the last half of the 19th century. Oil became the predominant fuel for transport.
Preferences for foods or mates may be passed to offspring before they are born: the phenomenon of instinct known as precocious knowledge.
Symmetry figures in many physical phenomena. Existence itself is dependent upon symmetry and its breaking.
Viruses travel light. While hardy enough to survive the elements, they enjoy the comfort of being indoors.