You have no excuse for spending some time in nature this weekend.
Want your kids to be calmer and have improved mental health? Connect them to nature, scientists say
Many parents have been suspecting this for a while — now we have the science to confirm it.
Bullfinches mate for life, researchers confirm
A new study confirms what was long-time assumed about bullfinches — they keep the same partner throughout their lives.
Natural World Heritage sites threatened by climate change doubled in the past 3 years
Our planet’s most valuable ‘natural jewels’ might disappear if we don’t do something about it.
Science confirms: Spending time in nature really does help your mind
All nature helps, but rural and coastal areas more so than urban parks.
Inmates who watch nature shows in prison are 26% less aggressive than their counterparts
In a world of cages and violence, a glimpse of nature can make a huge difference.
Tracing the Transformation of Bird Watching to a Mainstream Pastime
Allan Cruickshank was a renowned National Audubon Society lecturer, photographer and author who co-published several books and field guides with his wife, Helen. Along with his cohorts–most notably bird guide author and illustrator Roger Tory Peterson—he transformed bird and nature watching from a fringe interest to a popular, easy accessible, mainstream pastime.
Crown Shyness – Trees can shy away too!
Crown shyness is a phenomenon observed in some tree species, in which the crowns of fully stocked trees do not touch each other, forming a canopy with channel-like gaps.
Nature journals make all their articles free to view
Nature, one of the biggest academic journal groups has announced that they will make all their articles free to view. While the articles will be available for anyone to read, they cannot be copied, printed or downloaded, the journal’s publisher Macmillan announced on 2 December. “Subscribers to 49 journals on nature.com will be able to share a unique URL to a full
Nature walks linked to significantly lower depression and stress
Science confirms what many already believed: taking walks in nature lowers your stress and depression rates. You’ve probably heard it several times in your life: take a deep breath, go take a walk and calm down. But according to a new study, that’s not just small talk; walks, especially nature walks can do wonders for your mental health. Even people
Leukemia drug found to dramatically boost immune system
A class of drugs currently used to treat leukemia has been found to have some severe side effects – positive ones, that is. The drug was found to drastically boosting immune responses against many different cancers, reports a new study. The drug class is referred to as p110´ inhibitors. Recently, it has been used with significant success against certain leukemias
Hidden mathematical rules that govern leaf design uncovered
After performing an exhaustive quantitative research across numerous plant species, scientists at UCLA’s College of Letters and Science have found that leaf design is governed by a set of fundamental mathematical expressions, underling once again the elegance of nature. The basis of their research was “allometric analysis”, that is to say the study of an object’s evolution in size by studying its
Children no longer connected with nature
Just 1 out of 5 children in Britain are still connected to nature, and there’s no reason to believe that things lie any differently in the western world. What does ‘connected to nature’ mean? Saying that someone is or isn’t connected to nature, at an intuitive level, is often times fairly simple. But making that statement scientifically is an entirely
Decapitated Worms Retain Memories – Transfer to Regrown Brains
Imagine having your brain completely severed from your body, but being able to not only regenerate it – but also retain all information back into your newly regenerated brain. That is impossible – right? For humans the possibility is, indeed, impossible – but for the Planarians, it is their way of living and certainly not something out of a Kountry
Underwater… lakes !
Boy I’ve gotta tell you, my jaw really dropped when I heard this one. There are actual lakes, on the bottom of oceans, especially in the Gulf of Mexico region; they’ve got their own shores and all. The brine water of these lakes actually hosts unique wildlife, creating an absolutely amazing environment. The fact that these are brine water means
A fifth of Florida’s pumas were killed in car collisions
There are less than 100 pumas left in Florida’s wilds, and 17 were killed in collisions with cars, which is even more than in 2008 (when 10 such magnificent creatures found their death after being hit by a car) and 2007 (15). For me, it’s absolutely heart breaking to see this happening. You’d expect people to learn, after panther numbers
The symphony of science
I was quite stunned to stumble across this video. As the name says, it’s a… well it’s not quite a symphony, but it’s definitely musical, and you can definitely learn a lot of things, or re-hear them in an unique way, if you already know them. Did I mention it’s featuring Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson & Bill
Huge dust storm chokes Sydney
A significant part of Australia’s east coast, including country’s biggest city, Sydney, has been engulfed by a shroud of red dust blown mostly from the desert outback. Visibility was so bad that most if not all flights were delayed, and of course, there were the usual folks who started screaming that this is the apocalypse. Turns out, it wasn’t.
6 deadliest volcano eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are impressive natural phenomena; it begins when pressure on a magma chamber forces magma up through the conduit and out the volcano’s vents. Seen on the TV or in the newspaper, they’re just fantastic and gorgeous. But if you’re unlucky enough to be there… it’s really deadly. But volcanic ash can also bring a new beginning, aiding nature
