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Why is space pollution a threat to the future?

Why is space pollution a threat to the future?

Space exploration has served humanity well, offering a means of weather prediction and an ability to study the distant cosmos. However, our passion for science has created significant amounts of space junk. Space junk refers to any debris that is left in space by humans. It is usually comprised of satellites that have failed or reached the end of their lifespan and remnants of rockets, among other things. Most of...

By Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Scientists examine Antarctica’s thawing ‘Doomsday Glacier’

Scientists examine Antarctica’s thawing ‘Doomsday Glacier’

Scientists have gotten a first look at what’s thawing away Antarctica's giant Thwaites ice shelf - dubbed the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ due to its huge sea rise potential. There’s positives and negatives to be taken.  Sea levels are said to have risen between 21 and 24 centimetres since 1880, and high-tide flooding is twice as common as it was a decade ago.  Primarily attributed to melting ice sheets and glaciers, there are...

By London, UK
Could gene-editing be used to treat mental illness?

Could gene-editing be used to treat mental illness?

Just as the technology is promising new therapies for everything from heart disease to cancer, some researchers believe that tinkering with the epigenome could help reverse the damage done by trauma. In recent years, scientists have made strides towards treating diseases through gene-editing technology, their most promising breakthrough being the discovery of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). The essence of CRISPR is simple: it’s a way of...

By London, UK
Could this mushroom one day replace plastic?

Could this mushroom one day replace plastic?

Researchers are studying the molecular structure of fomes fomentarius, a fungus with the remarkable ability to yield a wide range of materials with different properties.  If you’re familiar with my writing, by now I’m sure you’re well aware of my deep-rooted obsession with all things mycelium. This is pretty understandable, given the amount of recent findings proving that there’s very little these fantastic fungi can’t do. From communicating...