Tiny Rodents Save Volcanic Wasteland!
In 1980, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake accompanied by an avalanche flipped the switch on Mount St Helens, a volcano in the western USA. With the pressure removed from the magma below, the volcano erupted, destroying 350km2 of forest and killing 57 people. But three years later, in 1983, scientists put two wild gophers in a small, fenced enclosure on the volcanic plain. They then left them to dig for 24 hours before removing them. According to a new study, those two little rodents have caused benefits to the mountain ecosystem that could still be seen decades later.
Non-Recyclable Bits of Fabric Could Enhance the Strength of Concrete
Textiles, materials made from fibres, yarns, or threads that can be woven, knitted, or felted into fabric, are very difficult to recycle. Before we can really start effectively recycling it, we need to separate all the different fabrics and dyes. This is pretty hard to do by hand and even mechanically. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of tons of textiles end up in Australian landfill every year, but some engineers say that there’s a better destination for the textiles: concrete.
A Few Asteroid Collisions Make Up Most of Earth’s Meteorites
Meteors have been battering the Earth for billions of years, ever since Earth formed, but only recently, in October 2024, have scientists found out where most of these cosmic space rocks came from.
Scuba Diving Lizards Use Bubbles to Hide Underwater
In late 2024, researchers found a special type of lizard that uses a special bubble they produce around their nose to hide underwater for an extended period of time. The first known vertebrae to use this behavior, called rebreathing.
Cold Water Combats Climate Change to Conserve Coral
Climate change has wiped out around 75% of one of Australia’s, most beautiful landmarks, the great barrier reef, but scientists at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization (the CSIRO) have found an interesting phenomenon that might just save part of it: cold water.
Through the Storm
In the midst of a waking storm, four slim shapes moved steadily through the forest. Moonlight shone down on their pelts and wind rustled their fur. The leading figure stopped to scent the air, her jaws opening to taste the wind.“We must keep going, there is plenty of prey here, but there is no time […]
“No Tree”
Right around the month of Christmas, a small family of four sets up their Christmas Tree; hanging ornaments, placing gifts, and setting up decorations. However, despite all the holiday cheer, a small problem made its way to explore the new decorations. A sleek ginger tabby cat called Honeydrop walked over to the towering green tree, with […]
Interior Chinatown: Mind-Blowing, Suspenseful TV Show That Pulls You to the Edge of Your Seat
The novel Interior Chinatown was published by Charles Yu in January 2020, and won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. In November 2024, Hulu aired a ten-episode drama series based on the book, and it captures reality inside fiction with a strange twist that will leave you speechless. Here’s why you should watch. In […]
Forever Playgrounds
Elise adjusted her mask—a pale, porcelain replica of her face, human yet disturbingly artificial. In her world, masks were the norm, carved to resemble faces but never convincingly enough to forget they weren’t real. The unspoken rule was clear: never remove your mask in public. The quietness of the streets was surreal, with only the […]
Mood-Shifting Ocean
The ocean endlessly stretches on,many horrors and wonders lie beneath.It is an eternal dark nightmare,a vast blue trap.The ocean stomps her feet and flails her arms,throwing tantrums at night,threatening to swallow sailors and ships.It is a possible deathbedwhere you will be trapped eternally.The ocean has fierce and uncontrollable power,slamming waves across the shores.It can also […]