Earlier this year in the US, a lawsuit was taken against the popular juice product Simply Tropical for containing levels of dangerous chemicals called PFAS. It turns out that these chemicals were at levels “hundreds of times” greater than the US Environmental Protection Agency’s advisory limits for drinking water.
I’ve got news for you: you are a mutant! Yes, you read that correctly! Every human being is technically a mutant due to the naturally occurring mutations in our genes. And, we have been using this natural process as a spark for our creativity through science fiction. Science fiction is a genre of media in which science is used to enhance the products of our imagination. But sometimes, these ideas can seem more like fiction than science. For instance, the superpowers we see in literary universes can look utterly implausible.
DNA is a unique biological molecule often referred to as the building block of life. In today’s society, identification of organisms or their relationships depends on DNA: For instance, determining someone’s identity from forensic evidence or conducting blood relation tests relies on an individual’s unique DNA sequence. This connection can be seen in our lives in situations like court cases and even as common as television shows! We trust the certainty of DNA to guide us in times of uncertainty.
At this time of year, some animals are eating and sleeping more than usual to prepare themselves for the frigid weather ahead—and for their long winter ‘nap’. You see, these animals protect themselves in the harsh winter conditions by hibernating. Right now, you’re probably picturing a bear falling into a deep sleep throughout the winter, but there’s actually more to the story!
In 2011, researchers came across something puzzling on 3.4-million-year-old fossilized bones: cut marks. Someone had cleaned and cut these bones—possibly using a pointy stone! The culprit? A member of Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy’s species.
We like to think that we’re aware of what we’re putting in our bodies, picking out organic, lactose- and allergen-free food. But what if I told you that we each unknowingly eat a credit card’s weight of plastic every week?
Imagine being able to time travel back to 4.3 billion years ago, witnessing for yourself the origin of life. Your time machine then takes you through the main episodes of Earth’s history, allowing you to see the planet changing and life evolving. Finally, at 250 million years into the past, just before the start of the age of the dinosaurs, your journey ends.