Latest news with #biology
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
The incredible world of animal medicine
Ian Sample meets Jaap de Roode, professor of biology at Emory University in Atlanta, and author of the book Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves. De Roode explains how a chance discovery got him interested in animal medicine, the amazing ways that creatures use toxins to fight parasites and pathogens, and what humans have learnt about medicine from the animal world
New York Times
6 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Quote of the Day: The Toilet That Won the Heart of Japan
'Now it's very much the case that anywhere we go it's like, 'Ugh it's not even heated, what are we doing here?'' RYAN GREGORY, a biology professor at the University of Guelph in Canada, who after a recent visit to Japan changed his views on bidets.
CBC
18-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Mosquitoes emerge 'all at once' in Ottawa after spring melt, warm spell
A heavy snow melt and a snap warm spell have caused mosquitoes to emerge "all at once" in Ottawa, according to an expert in biting insects. David Beresford, a professor of biology at Trent University, said a steady supply of melting snow in eastern Ontario has left behind plenty of standing and still water — the preferred place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. The young start growing as larvae in the water, he said, but recent warm temperatures would have pushed them to emerge. "It's different when we get that warm weather. It feels like they've come on all at once," Beresford said. "You'll go along and it'll be nothing, and then suddenly there's clouds of mosquitoes." The current crop of mosquitoes matured in a "big pulse," he said, and now are wasting no time finding something to eat. "When the females emerge — now they want blood," he said. "They're not going to hang around waiting for this. They're going to be looking for people to bite as soon as they get out of that water." Numbers difficult to predict Last May, Beresford said the Ottawa area had the perfect conditions for an "absolute onslaught" of mosquitoes. Looking back, however, reality didn't end up meeting expectations, he said. A dry period meant mosquitoes had "pretty well disappeared" by mid-summer, he said. "It's hard to know what's going to happen after that first pulse in the spring," he said. As well as drought, overly wet conditions can threaten mosquito populations, Beresford said, as overflowing ponds may introduce predators like beetles and other insects into the puddles where mosquitos have laid eggs. Regardless of the trends, the number of mosquitoes may vary significantly between neighbourhoods, with potential breeding grounds ranging from clogged eavestroughs to waterlogged holes in trees, Beresford said. Climate change could shift season Climate change could alter both the length and makeup of Canada's mosquito season, according to Robert Anderson, a research entomologist with the Canadian Museum of Nature. Canada is currently home to 82 species of mosquito, Anderson said, but a warming climate could draw new species north as well as encourage an earlier emergence for those already here. As for this spring, Anderson said he hasn't noticed anything especially unusual about the mosquitoes. "It's just a part of living in Canada," he said.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Science-2-U Founder Rereleases Book to Champion Immersive Education among Youth
05/12/2025, Lakewood, California // PRODIGY: Feature Story // Jill Wilcox, a longtime science educator and founder of Science-2-U, has re-released her engaging children's book, Wego: The Wonderful Silkworm. Originally launched in 2006, the book is now making a refreshed debut to reach a new generation of early learners. This move reflects Wilcox's desire to spark curiosity in biology and natural sciences through imaginative storytelling. Additionally, Wilcox plans to write a series of life science books, exploring various life cycles across different species. The book allows readers to follow the friendly protagonist, Wego, as he guides them through a silkworm's life cycle, from egg to caterpillar, then cocoon to moth. The story is told from Wego's point of view, allowing one to see a silkworm's biological transformation through its eyes. This perspective-based storytelling captures children's attention and helps them understand complex biological concepts better, as it feels personal, playful, and easy to grasp. Wego is filled with vivid illustrations and simple explanations, making it an ideal resource for parents, teachers, and caregivers to introduce science to their little ones in a fun and meaningful way. Wego was initially written as a classroom tool, inspired by Wilcox's silkworm class for young students. Testing it for years with her homeschool science groups, she saw how much children loved the story and how effectively it engaged them in scientific thinking. The author re-released the book due to her broader vision of cultivating a genuine excitement for science in children. 'Science isn't just something you learn from a textbook. Science is everything. It's our bodies, our food, our planet. Once kids see how it's all connected to their daily lives, they stop thinking of it as schoolwork and start seeing it as a way to understand the world,' Wilcox says. This philosophy has guided Wilcox's work as an educator and entrepreneur in the homeschool space. She began her career by working in environmental toxicology across the public and private sectors. In 1998, she pivoted and leveraged a bachelor's degree in Biology and years of experience in natural sciences to launch Science-2-U. Here, she serves as a high school-level instructor teaching science to homeschool students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Science-2-U is a hands-on, lab-based education service providing students with real-world scientific experiences. Wilcox and her team of educators rent dedicated classroom spaces where homeschoolers can attend in-person science sessions using authentic lab equipment such as microscopes, graduated cylinders, and Van de Graaff generators. These lessons align with state curriculum standards to ensure high school students receive coursework recognized by competitive universities. In addition to core science education, Science-2-U offers specialized programs like an Urban and Wilderness Survival course for high school students. This innovative offering teaches teens practical, real-world skills such as navigation, shelter-building, and resource management. The program ends in a field trip where students test their survival knowledge in a natural setting. 'When you see a kid have that 'aha' moment, when they truly understand something and it clicks, it's magic,' says Wilcox. 'That excitement motivates us to keep doing what we do. I've seen children hating science at first and then falling in love with it after getting their hands dirty, doing real labs, and seeing how science actually works.' Science-2-U also fills a critical gap for parents. Many homeschool families find science intimidating, especially at higher grade levels requiring specialized knowledge and lab materials. The program serves as a comprehensive solution to this problem. Wilcox is currently exploring the possibility of expanding Science-2-U to bring her hands-on science education model to homeschool communities across the country. She's open to conversations with educators and entrepreneurs interested in expanding the program to new regions. Whether through her book, curriculum, lesson plans, or teaching philosophy, Wilcox's mission remains to bring immersive science learning to the forefront. Media Contact Name: Jill Wilcox Email: [email protected] Source published by Submit Press Release >> Science-2-U Founder Rereleases Book to Champion Immersive Education among Youth
Gizmodo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Intraterrestrials: The Most Alien Life We've Ever Seen Is Right Beneath Our Feet
While the possibility of life beyond Earth has long captivated the public, there are already tiny organisms on our own planet that are as alien to us as anything we've imagined. These microbes are found in places once thought inhospitable to life, such as inside volcanoes, underneath the Earth's crust in the deep sea, or in the Arctic permafrost. Not only are they surviving in these harsh environments, they're doing so in ways that challenge basic principles of biology scientists thought were firmly established. Karen Lloyd, a microbial biogeochemist at the University of Southern California, has been studying these subsurface organisms for much of her life. In her new book, Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth, she takes readers on a guided tour of her own work and that of others, exploring what makes these microbes tick. Gizmodo spoke to Lloyd about the discoveries scientists like her have made to date, the enduring mysteries about these earthly aliens, and why trying to understand them is so important. The following conversation may have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity. Ed Cara, Gizmodo: What led you down this research path in the first place? Karen Lloyd: I was really into chemistry as an undergraduate, and just the sort of mysteriousness of chemistry is honestly where I got my start. But then I was headed to chemistry grad school and it just felt too narrow. I just needed—I knew there was a way to do this science out in nature somewhere. And the way to do that was oceanography because that's a place, not a discipline. I chose oceanography so that I wouldn't have to choose between biology, physics, chemistry, and geology. I have to do them all. Then just by happenstance, there was a lab that was looking at these microbes that were isolated from the deep sea. And I didn't know going into it that there was this world of deep life. Obviously, no one knows it until you're told. But when I found out it was there, I was like, 'Okay, this is a place where I can use all these tools, these basic fundamental tools, to find out new discoveries about biology.' And from there, I was hooked. Gizmodo: What makes these life forms stranger than the life we're used to seeing and studying up top? Lloyd: One of the biggest things that immediately jumps out at you is that these things are on deep branches on the tree of life. So we might think that a slug is on a very different branch of the tree of life from like a kitty cat. But we're talking about the slug and the kitty cat collapsing into the same branch compared to all these new types of microbes. I mean there are things that we never could have guessed—that life was as varied on Earth as we now know that it is. They're just so different evolutionarily from everything that we see with our eyes. Gizmodo: How are they reshaping some of the rules that we thought we had worked out about life? Lloyd: We've always known that there's such a thing as life without oxygen. There are a lot of places that are free of oxygen, like life inside our guts. That's not new. But the idea that you can have an entire ecosystem that never needs oxygen and never needs the influence of plant matter, for instance; that can basically just exist solely on chemical reactions coming from inside the Earth—that's new. That's what we're learning with these guys. Gizmodo: It feels like this field has only barely begun. What are some of the biggest questions left to solve about their biology? Lloyd: The biggest questions left are still very basic fundamental questions. I mean, a lot of what we know is inferred from these highly specialized techniques that we have to use to get at them. You know, it's not real. You can't just walk up to them like you can a tree and be like, 'Okay, that's got roots. I know what it's doing.' So we're still asking questions like, who all is there? And what are they doing? What are they eating? What role do they play on Earth? How do they interact with metals? What role do they play in the development of Earth's evolution over time? Gizmodo: This is your life's work obviously. But what's the latest project or research that you're spearheading right now? Lloyd: Yeah, I just got back from New Zealand. They have an amazing subduction zone. That's where two tectonic plates are overlapping each other. And that process creates volcanoes, but it also creates this sort of like alchemic mixture that enables these subsurface communities to take hold. So we drove all over New Zealand, sampled a lot of land and worked with local folks. It's just really fun to do this work, just on a human level as well. Gizmodo: What would you like our readers to most take away from reading your book? Lloyd: I hope that people feel a sense of hope and possibility. One can imagine that you could get stuck thinking that all science is known or that the questions are small because we've tackled all the big ones. That there's nothing left to explore. We know where all the continents are. We've pretty much got a handle on how many planetary bodies we have in the solar system. But that's just the beginning. There's a whole world underneath our feet, for example. Not that there aren't mysteries in those other places too, but we are just tapping into this stuff. So I hope that people leave with a sense of hope and possibility at all the amazing things we have left to learn about life here. Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth is set to be released on May 13 by Princeton University Press.
