Ban on straws, stirrers, and cotton buds comes into effect in England
A ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and cotton buds was supposed to come into effect in England this past April, but that ban was put on delay during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, months later, the ban has come into force. Each year, people in England use an estimated 4.7 billion Read More...
Number of young black authors doubles to nearly 20% in UK
People of color have long been underrepresented in the publishing industry, but a new study out of the University College London shows that is starting to change amongst young adult writers in the UK. The study found that only 7.1 percent of YA authors in the UK were people of color in 2017. That Read More...
For severe Covid patients, cheap steroids can be a lifesaver
While researchers scramble to find a cure for Covid-19, it’s also important we have ways to treat patients that are already severely ill from the virus. Recently, new studies have found that cheap steroids can actually be life-saving for Covid patients in intensive care. The new Read More...
Why seagrass meadows are the carbon capture solution we need
Although rainforests are vital for capturing carbon from the atmosphere, their efficiency hardly compares to that of seagrass. According to the United Nations Environment Program, seagrass can capture carbon an incredible 35 times faster than rainforests. The only problem is seagrass covers just Read More...
UK will start using bacteria to extract precious metals from e-waste
According to a recent report by the UN, the world dumps at least $10bn worth of gold, platinum, and other precious metals in a growing mountain of e-waste each year. The problem is further exacerbated by the release of toxic compounds into the atmosphere associated with inappropriate and unsafe Read More...
Mapping the Ocean: Robot boat completes 22-day-mission without crew
The more we know about the Earth’s oceans, the more we can do to protect them. But we still know relatively little. As of June, only 19 percent of the ocean floor had been mapped out, meaning we still have a whopping 81 percent of the ocean to survey and map. Fortunately, scientists are finding Read More...
England's first wild beavers for 400 years to keep living on River Otter
Back in February, we wrote about a group of beavers that escaped captivity back in 2013 and were found years later living along a river in Devon, England. Those beavers were originally set to be exterminated, but thanks to the popular outcry, the government agreed to a scientific trial to measure Read More...
One million UK smokers have kicked the habit during the pandemic
Earlier in May, we wrote about how COVID-19 has pushed 300,000 people in the UK to quit smoking over health concerns. Now, that number has more than tripled, with figures suggesting that 1 million people in Britain have given up the habit since the pandemic hit in March. The data comes from a Read More...
Comeback: Wild bison set to return to UK for first time in 6,000 years
The steppe bison is thought to have roamed the UK until about 6,000 years ago when hunting and changes in habitat led to its global extinction. Now, thanks to a fantastic new initiative, the steppe bison’s closest relative, the European bison, will be introduced to the landscape of the UK. The Read More...
Eau de Space: NASA-designed perfume smells like outer space
You’ll never get a whiff of it directly — but astronauts have long said that space leaves a distinctive residual smell on their suits. Though it varies with the teller, some say it evokes gunpowder, burned meat, and even raspberries. “At first I couldn’t quite place it,” former ISS Read More...