WARNING, MAY CAUSE SIDE-EFFECTS: NANOPARTICLES IN THE ENVIRONMENT
If you watch television at all, you’ve seen advertisements suggesting that some new medicine is the best remedy for a particular disease. In stark contrast to a montage of agile women practicing yoga in a field of flowers and a pain-free granddad tossing a football to …
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE NORTH CASCADES
I woke freezing like a popsicle inside my 20ºF sleeping bag. Yes, it is typically cold at high altitude, but usually this bag keeps me a bit too toasty. Now, the moist air chilled my bones, so I curled myself up to conserve body heat. Why was it so cold and what was …
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO’S THE BLUEST OF THEM ALL?
I recently helped polish silver for a fancy dinner party. While I rubbed purple-gray paste over the tines of the forks, feeling a little like a maid in Downton Abbey, I pondered silver’s chemistry. After all, I research the chemistry of silver released into the …
NATURE’S MYSTERIES: FROG FREEZE & THAW
Spring is here. In the forests of the Midwest, frogs are waking from their hibernation. Many of these frogs, including the spring peeper (Pseudaris crucifer) and the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), hibernate below the bark of trees or beneath leaf litter on the forest …
DON’T FORGET THE SUNSCREEN
“Don’t forget the sunscreen!” The imperative cried before a trip to the beach is an important one, with the pasty white lotion saving many a sunbather from sunburns and damage from the sun’s UV rays, which can lead to skin cancer. Many of these lotions use small …
THE SECRET LIFE OF LICHENS
Even though I’ve lived here for two years, I still have conversations with friends in which I admit that I haven’t yet seen many of the attractions Chicago has to offer. As something of a homebody, sightseeing takes extra energy for me, but recently I visited …
BIOLUMINESCENCE IN THE NATURAL WORLD
For my nephew’s birthday, I got him a kit of experiments based on the science of glowing. He loved it and I think his mother was probably happy I opted for this one over the “gross science” kit (complete with toilet bowl shaped mixing device) that would have …
REGULATING TOXIC SUBSTANCES
Like many Americans, I’ve lived under the assumption that the chemicals used in all sorts of everyday products are thoroughly tested and known to be safe. However, every so often, we’re reminded that this is not always the case. Over the past few years, we’ve …
MEASURING EARTH’S HEALTH
When I was visiting family this past week, my mother-in-law shared with us how she uses her Fitbit to keep track of how much she exercises, how well she sleeps, what she has been eating, and other lifestyle information. The numbers she watches—her number of steps …
VIRUSES: A FORCE OF NATURE
Viruses are capable of creating havoc. Sometimes when I think about viruses, I get a picture of a massive outbreak. Usually this picture isn’t the nearly apocalyptic public health nightmare that’s depicted in the movie “Contagion,” but it’s still …