Environment

Exposure to air pollution, even at low levels, increases risk of Alzheimer’s

Environment, Health / /

Inconspicuously, house keys and the location of home dissipates from memory. Progressing further along, even the familiar faces of loved ones fade out of recollection. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. This neurodegenerative disorder primarily affects the cognitive functioning responsible for retrieving, storing, […]

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The trees of life

Environment / /

Trees are the underrated superheroes of planet Earth. They sustain human life by mediating droughts, capturing rainwater, increasing healthy soil, conserving energy, providing food, preventing water pollution, and creating and cleaning the air we breathe. Trees serve as essential caretakers for humans and the environments we inhabit. Moreover, trees heal. They have been shown to

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Solar geoengineering: An uncharted climate solution or human interference?

Environment, Technology / /

Global warming and its detrimental impacts on society and Earth’s natural systems have become an ever-urgent issue for humanity to confront. According to the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization, there is a 50–50 chance we will reach 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming within the next five years with the likelihood continuously increasing. As the reality of

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Northeastern group pilots hands-on renewable energy education program with Boston-area students

Environment, Technology / /

On Wednesday, May 3, four Roxbury high school students and a couple of Northeastern undergraduate volunteers built mini wind turbines as part of an energy education pilot program. The motivation behind the event was not only to teach students about the generation and conversion of energy but also to try out accompanying learning modules with

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Mangroves and oysters: Using nature’s ecosystem engineers to save coastal communities

Environment / /

Globally, Indonesia hosts the largest concentration of mangrove forests, accounting for over 20% of the world’s total mangrove population. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, mangrove forests are among the most threatened ecosystems on our planet, with Indonesia reporting the greatest decline in population of any concentrated area of mangrove forest. Without

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Darling 58: Using genetic engineering to save the American chestnut

Environment / /

From Georgia and Alabama in the South to Michigan and Maine in the North, the American chestnut was once a keystone species of the Eastern Deciduous Forest. In 1904, one out of every four trees east of the Mississippi was an American chestnut. It could reach heights over 100 feet, earning it the nickname “the

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The domestication of a king: How farmed salmon are usurping wild salmon

Environment / /

Visit the seafood section at any supermarket and you’ll see numerous salmon filets laid out on ice, recognizable by the bright, orange color of their flesh. Tasty and easy to cook at home, salmon has always been in high demand and seemingly in high supply too — although the seafood section hardly reveals the entire

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