Moss is So Unique it’s Acted Like Fingerprints to Help Solve a Dozen Crimes
Tiny plants, like moss, are easy to overlook. They’re often as small as an eyelash, and they tend to grow on the ground in dark, wet places. But these small plants sometimes turn out to be big clues in forensic cases. A team of scientists learned that firsthand in 2013, when they were asked to […]
2025 Was ‘Year of the Octopus’ Says UK Wildlife Trust, Amid Record Cephalopod Sightings
It was 75 years ago the last time there were as many octopus in British waters as there are now, with the UK’s Wildlife Trusts declaring that 2025 was the ‘Year of the Octopus.’ These eight-legged spineless creatures, one of the most fascinating to inhabit our planet, have been seen in record numbers by divers, […]
Hungary’s Famous Thermal Baths Are Saving the Country’s Famous Grasslands from Desertification
Drought is affecting the Great Hungarian Plain like never before, but a team of concerned citizens have hatched a clever plan to address it in the short term. It’s arguable what the Eastern European country is more famous for, its grasslands and horse heritage, or its thermal baths. The capital of Budapest is filled with […]
January Stargazing Offers the Best Time of the Year to See Jupiter and its Moons
Kicking off the new calendar this month is a tasty opportunity to see Jupiter and its four largest moons with the naked eye. On January 10th, generally across the US time zones, Jupiter will crest the eastern horizon at sundown and continue to climb until midnight when it reaches the highest point in the sky. […]
Good News in History, January 2
Today is also National Science Fiction Day, a date that honors the birth, 106 years ago, of literary sci-fi genius Isaac Asimov. A Russian immigrant in Brooklyn, he taught himself to read at age 5, skipped several grades, and got his high school diploma at 15. He sold his first short story at the age […]
‘It Feels Like Me Again’: World’s First Arm Exoskeleton Gives Stroke Patients Independence
An exoskeleton for the entire arm has been invented and designed in Norway to help stroke victims recover the use of their arms. It detects and then amplifies tiny movements through the arm and shoulder, and the developers hope to launch it as a fully commercial product this year. Today, more and more people are […]
Western Tatami Mat Mania Keeping Alive Japan’s Traditional Woven Grass Flooring Industry
Western admirers of Japanese aesthetic are keeping afloat tatami craftsmen in Japan, where modernity and maintenance requirements are driving down interest in this artisanal form of flooring. From Europe to the US and even in the Middle East, eager importers of tatami mats now account for a sizable amount of orders from workshops like that […]
4,500 years ago, Worship of the Sun Took Place in This Recently-Uncovered Temple in Egypt
An Italian-Egyptian archaeological mission has finally excavated a temple for the worship of the sun after it was identified over 100 years ago. It’s only one of two sun temples that have been definitively identified, and dates to the reign of King Nyuserre, the sixth ruler of the Old Kingdom’s Fifth Dynasty. He is credited […]
Young Atlantic Salmon Seen in Three English Rivers for First Time in a Decade
Considered critically endangered in Britain, young salmon must nevertheless be finding their way safely back to the island from the Arctic Ocean, as they’ve been found spawning in three different rivers. In the Mersey, Goyt, and Bollin, the fish have been recorded where they’d once been absent, a development described as a “significant environmental turnaround.” […]
Good News in History, January 1
125 years ago today, the Federation of Australia was born. The Constitution of Australia came into force, uniting the 6 colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia under one federal government. The idea of being ‘Australian’ had been celebrated in songs and poems for decades; finally, a fireworks display […]