Issue 61: Cascade

The extermination and reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park

Environment / /

It started when park managers began the process of wolf extermination due to their destruction of domestic livestock within Yellowstone National Park. This self-centered decision led to a cascade of change in the food web which drove entire animal species toward endangerment. Only after the extinction of gray wolves within the region nearly 100 years […]

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The science of forest bathing: Nature’s prescription

Environment / /

In recent years, the practice of shinrin-yoku — also known as forest bathing — has garnered worldwide attention for its psychological and physiological benefits.  It is well known that spending time in nature and practicing mindfulness can each profoundly improve overall health. A growing body of research supports the idea that their convergence into a

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Bilingualism on the brain

Psychology / /

Bilingual people always think twice. Literally. By constantly coactivating both languages through an expanded neural network, their minds tend to take slightly longer to process sounds and consider options for word retrieval. However, the momentary confusion of not being able to recall an exact word is a small price to pay for the impressive cognitive

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To be or not to be: The ethics of the deliberate extinction of Anopheles gambiae

Environment, Health, World / /

As the primary malaria vector of sub-Saharan Africa, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito is the deadliest animal in the world. In 2022, there were an estimated 249 million malaria cases worldwide. Global malaria cases have increased annually since 2015, with countries in Africa facing the majority of case increases. Recent progress has stalled, and many are

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Why we must act to conserve microbial diversity

Biology / /

With 1,276 vertebrate and plant species becoming extinct in the last five centuries, the impact of human activity on biodiversity is apparent. However, awareness of the threat to microbial life has not yet reached the forefront of scientific discourse despite growing evidence that modern medicine and agriculture pose significant risks to the diversity of microorganisms.

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