"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." ― Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
The benefits kids reap from nature are well documented, which is part of the reason school field trips often involve excursions into the Great Outdoors. Children with disabilities, however, sometimes get left behind. Ryan Neighbors is a Kentucky 10-year-old with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair. She didn’t want to miss out on her class field trip […]
Bali-based architect Alexis Dornier has unveiled a new housing concept that envisions prefab structures on stilts. The Stilt Studios come in one-story or multi-level configurations. Elevating the structures off the ground reduces the impact on the landscape. The structures will include several sustainable features such as solar energy and water collection systems. Large, open-air balconies […]
There’s new evidence that girls start out with the same math abilities as boys. A study of 104 children from ages 3 to 10 found similar patterns of brain activity in boys and girls as they engaged in basic math tasks, researchers reported Friday in the journal Science of Learning. “They are indistinguishable,” says Jessica Cantlon, an […]
How can teachers bring common sense and compassion to education policy? The research is clear. Academic training in kindergarten has no long-term benefit. In fact, it may cause long-term harm. It does not reduce the education gap between the rich and the poor, which is the usual reason offered for such training. It slightly increases academic test-scores […]
Grass, straw and maize stalks could provide alternatives to plastic packaging, scientists have said. Bangor University researchers are working with leftover farming materials to create trays for fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs. They say the research could also provide an extra source of income for farmers in African countries such as Uganda. Work has been […]
A major but largely glossed over report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental and public health nonprofit based in Washington, DC, shows that thousands of untested chemicals (an estimated 2,000, to be exact) are found in conventional packaged foods purchasable in U.S. supermarkets. And yes, all of them are legal. The extensive collection of permissible […]
As the season of big holiday meals kicks off, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on just how much food goes to waste. If you piled up all the food that’s not eaten over the course of a year in the U.S., it would be enough to fill a skyscraper in Chicago about […]
TEMPE, Arizona — Xephos is not the author of “Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You,” one of the latest books to plumb the nature of dogs, but she helped inspire it. And as I scratched behind her ears, it was easy to see why. First, she fixed on me with imploring […]
Some 2,000 years ago, the ancient people of southern Peru created hundreds of enormous drawings in the soil, which are known today as the Nazca Lines. Now, scientists have used advanced techniques to discover 143 previously unknown “geoglyphs,” the term for these etched figures, within the Nazca region. One newly found geoglyph, which appears to […]
A road running through Accra, Ghana’s capital, looks like any other blacktop. Yet what most drivers don’t realize is that the asphalt under them contains a slurry of used plastics—shredded and melted bags, bottles, and snack wraps—that otherwise were destined for a landfill. The impetus for many similar road projects underway in Ghana was an […]
When a marriage is in decline, it tends to follow a predictable pattern. Knowing what to look for can help you repair your relationship before it’s too late. Becky Whetstone, an Arkansas marriage and family therapist and the author of the forthcoming book I (Think) I Want Out, has spent more than 20 years counseling couples. She […]
The location of the real Noah’s Ark may have been confirmed by relic-hunters in a remote mountain range. Experts claim they’ve snapped underground images of a mysterious ship-shaped object discovered half a century ago in eastern Turkey. Creationists have long claimed that Noah’s legendary boat is buried beneath the rocky spot, known as the Durupınar […]
