In August 2013, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk
released a 57-page white paper concept for
Hyperloop — a supersonic mass transit system
between high-traffic cities that lie within short
distances. The founder of Tesla Motors and SpaceX
envisioned it to be a frictionless system where pods
inside low-pressure, vacuum-sealed tubes would tr...
On Sunday, March 12, most Americans will ‘lose’ an
hour by moving their clocks forward sixty minutes.
This small sacrifice that marks the start of Daylight
Saving Time (DST) is designed to allow residents to
enjoy longer days during the upcoming spring and
summer months.
The steady increase in global temperatures has
been particularly disastrous for the polar ice caps.
Experts warn that if this trend continues, there will
be no late summer ice in the Arctic region by the
2030’s. The most effective solution, of course, is to
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions before it’s too
late. But since that is not happening, scientists are...
About forty light years, or 235 trillion miles, away in
the constellation Aquarius lies a planetary system
with seven Earth-sized planets, at least three of
which could be habitable. The exciting news was
revealed to the public at a NASA press briefing and
through the release of a study in the journal Nature
on February 22.
New Zealand is no stranger to beached whales.
Every year, rescuers help refloat many disoriented
mammals that get stuck in the coastal waters or
sand during low tide. However, last week’s
simultaneous stranding of two pods, totaling over
650 pilot whales, in the shallow muddy waters of
Golden Bay at the northwest tip of South Island is ...
For many of us, the mere thought of wiggling fingers
approaching our rib cage or moving towards our
underarms is enough to elicit squeals of laughter
and giggles. However, while we all know that tickling
makes us happy, Michael Brecht, a professor at
Berlin’s Humboldt University, says, it is “one of the
most poorly understood forms of touch.”
When geologists from the University of Toronto
discovered water dating back 1.5 billion years at the
Kidd Mine in Ontario, Canada, in 2013, they thought
they had hit the jackpot. However, digging further
inside the world’s deepest base metal mine led to an
even bigger discovery — water that has been locked
in the earth’s crust for at least 2 billion years!
Mention the word refugees, and the image that
comes to mind is that of humans that have been
forced to leave their countries due to war,
persecution or natural disaster. Botswana, a
landlocked country in Southern Africa, is facing a
different kind of refugee crisis – one caused by the
hundreds of thousands of elephants that have fled...
On Saturday, January 28, Chinese communities
around the world will begin a two-week celebration
to usher in the Chinese New Year. Also called the
Spring Festival, the holiday whose dates are
determined by the lunar calendar, is the grandest
and most famous of all Chinese festivals. To enable
residents to be with their families and friends, mos...
