Greta Thunberg Photographer: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images A study published in Nature reported that the Greenland Ice Sheet has melted ~4 trillion tons of ice into the surrounding oceans, and septupled (7 times!) its annual rate in total ice loss over the last 25 years. Since 1992, the ice sheet was losing 33 billion tons per…
Month: December 2019
How do monarch butterflies know where and when to migrate south for winter?
Monarch butterflies might be the coolest Lepidopteran (moths and butterflies) species for several reasons: First, they are poisonous to eat as caterpillars and butterflies because of the toxins they develop from feeding on their food source, milkweed. Second, other Lepidopterans want to be them and mimic their look, like the Viceroy. Lastly, they can fly…
PhD’s and Politics Series Part 3: Science awareness in the USA.
The rise of the anti-science movement has perpetuated an unfortunate belief in some Americans that scientists are responsible for vast conspiracies including (but not limited to) the danger of vaccines or hiding a cure for cancer. So what gives? How do scientists more effectively educate and bring scientific awareness to non-scientific communities? A 2017 poll…
The disparity of STEM eduction in rural vs. urban school systems
About a month ago, the US House of Representatives Committee on Space, Science, and Technology introduced legislation that will improve Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in rural school systems. The bill has bipartisan support, and provides funding for the necessary tools and infrastructure like high-speed Internet and computers. The bill also supports STEM-based teaching…