Saved By An Earthquake January 21, 2008
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Environment, Evolution, Microbes.Tags: Earth, earthquakes, microorganisms
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When we think of earthquakes, I’m guessing most of us think about injuries, death and widespread damages. But for some living creatures, earthquakes are what actually keep them alive! For these miniscule microbes, earthquakes could provide the important nutrients they need to live.
Crusts Are Good
No, I’m not talking about bread! The earth’s crust is home to some tough bacteria that live many kilometers below the surface. Down, down, down into the depths of the earth, these microbes live without sun or organic materials to support their requirements. What keeps them alive? They live off chemical energy from reactive molecules. These molecules include hydrogen, which dissolves in the water that leaches from the rock.
I Like The Way You Move
Two researchers from Stanford University in California have suggested that the movement from earthquakes may play a valuable role in keeping microbes who reside deep in the earth’s crust alive. Calculations by Norman Sleep and Mark Zoback showed that seismic activity may occur often enough to consistently provide nutrients across a tectonic plate. This means that microbial life could continue for billions of years! By opening up cracks in the earth’s crust, earthquakes can release little pockets of water that are rich in the favorite nutrients of the microbes. Not only that, but the movement can expose rock that has the dissolved hydrogen these microbes adore so much. Yum!
Applying Research To Other Planets
What happens here on the earth can give us some cool clues to the stuff happening on other planets. How so? Well, the researchers think that this same mechanism could be sustaining microbes deep in the crust on planets like Mars. So, while you and I live happily on the earth’s surface, microbes are partying it up in the depths of the earth’s crust!
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An Ordinary Person With An Extraordinary Idea January 8, 2008
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Environment, Psychology and Behavior, Science and Politics, Think About It.Tags: charities, contest, idea
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According to the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts (NESTA), special ideas come from ordinary citizens. As ordinary as you or I? You betcha! Better still, NESTA is out to prove the validity of this statement by offering £1 million ($2 million Cdn) to the winner and finalists with the best ideas for tackling climate change. The Big Green Challenge aims to encourage creative and successful thought about how we can reduce carbon emissions.
The competition, however, is only open to charities and non-profit groups who can come up with an idea for reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent or more. Ten finalists will receive £20,000 ($40,000 Cdn) plus lots of mentoring and support to make their fabulous and innovative ideas a practical reality. What about the winner? Well, the group with the most amazing idea receives the remaining share of the £1 million, which will hopefully help them get their idea up and running.
Think Big!
NESTA conducted a really cool survey that found 9 out of 10 people believe they have come up with an idea that can impact people’s lives. So why don’t you or I hear about these great ideas? The survey found that most of these ideas never come to fruition because people just don’t know exactly what to do with them. Another problem is that people aren’t confident and they also fear the ideas being rejected. Think about what this means for the world. There are perhaps millions of wonderful ideas floating around in heads all across the world, but they won’t ever become a reality. Hopefully, however, this new contest will change all that!
It’s Not So Easy
To win the contest, contestants will have a lot of thinking to do! They must obtain a significant reduction in carbon emissions – 60 percent is no small amount but the environmental effects will be impressive! The winner must also involve the entire community and prove that their idea can be replicated in other settings. So, this means developing an idea that applies to the entire world – not just one city.
Interested to find out more about the challenge or perhaps share the information with a charity you think might be interested to enter? Read more here.
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An Enormous Scorpion Claw January 4, 2008
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Animals, Environment, Evolution, Ocean, Think About It.Tags: claw, fossil, scorpion
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Scorpions today are big enough in terms of the sting they can pack from their fairly small bodies. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if they were even bigger? Well, imagine no more because new evidence indicates that this may indeed be the case. A massive fossil claw of a scorpion was recently found in Germany and it suggests that ancient arthropods – including spiders and crabs – were a lot bigger than their modern day versions.
An Incredible Discovery
The claw of this very old scorpion – formally known as Jaekelopterus rhenaniae – was found by Markus Poschmann of Yale University. The scorpion is part of a group which comprises some of the largest extinct arthropods. The massive extinct scorpions are believed to be ancestors of modern scorpions. Poschmann has now co-authored a report with Erik Tetlie, a postdoctoral associate who is also at Yale. The report – published online in the Royal Society Biology Letters – details the incredible discovery. According to Tetlie:
Imagine an eight-foot-long scorpion. The claw itself is a foot-and-a-half long – indicating that these ancient arthropods were much larger than previous estimates – and certainly the largest seen to date.
Lead author Simon Braddy described the excitement of the discovery:
This is an amazing discovery. We have known for some time that the fossil record yields monster millipedes, super-sized scorpions, colossal cockroaches, and jumbo dragonflies, but we never realized, until now, just how big some of these ancient creepy-crawlies were.
Credit: Braddy et al. Royal Society Biology Letters. The images to the right put an awesome perspective on the size of the ancient sea scorpion. The images show the reconstructed fossil claw of the ancient sea scorpion Jaekelopterus rhenaniae (e) and its size relative to a human male and to the sea scorpion (a), the trilobite Isotelus rex (b), the dragonfly Meganeura monyi (c), and the millipede Arthropleura armata (d). I will sum up my impression with two words: Wow! Eeeeep!
Fossils Yield Clues
The change in size of arthropods is one of those things that gets geologists scratching their heads and debating over how this change occurred. Evolution can definitely get scientists and the rest of us wondering just what happened to trigger the change.
Tetlie described some of the theories shared in the debate:
While some believe they evolved with the higher levels of atmospheric oxygen that were present in the past, some say they evolved in a parallel ‘arms race’ with early armored fish that were their likely prey.
Whew!
Personally, I’m quite pleased that these crawling critters aren’t the jumbo-sized creepies they were millions of years ago. Despite my curiosity and interest in scorpions, I still yelp in fear if I encounter one in my travels!
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Dinosaur Breath Tells Secrets November 14, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Animals, Dinosaurs, Environment, Evolution, Think About It.Tags: birds, breath, respiratory
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Sssssssh. Believe it or not, dinosaur breath can tell us quite a bit about how dinosaurs evolved and what sort of life they experienced. Led by Dr Jonathan Codd, a team at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom did some investigating and found that theropod dinosaurs had respiratory systems that were similar to modern marine birds and wildfowl. If you’re not too well versed in dinosaur lingo, then ‘theropod’ might be a new word for you. Theropods were the quick-moving, massive, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs that roamed Earth. They also had powerful legs and clawed hands. The results of the investigation are really cool because they give us some insight into how dinosaurs actually breathed. The full details of the research were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Credit: Jonathan Codd of the University of Manchester. Let the battle begin! This picture shows a Protoceraptops fighting it out with a Velociraptor mongoliensis. The lengthy uncinate processes can be seen on the rib cage of the velociraptor.
I Knew That
There already are studies showing that dinosaurs were the direct ancestors of birds but scientists are still trying to find out to what extent anatomical features are shared. So, even if you already knew that there were a bunch of avian characteristics in dinosaurs, there is still lots to learn as new features are identified – like dinosaur breathing structures! Much of what we know is built upon heaps of studies. We basically keep adding new information to the pot – sometimes this information makes us say ‘Wow, the old idea was way off!’ Other times it extends what we know by explaining it in more detail. In this case, we’re simply adding new information to the mix!
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Inhale and exhale! We already know that birds – especially diving birds – have really well functioning respiratory systems. In fact, they have one of the most efficient systems of vertebrates. Why so efficient? It’s because they need loads of oxygen to keep up their constant flying. They have special breathing structures called uncinate processes. After looking at fossilized remains of dinosaurs and birds, the researchers found that uncinate processes were also present in dinosaurs. Codd talked about how dinosaur breathing is more specialized than was first believed:
Our work on modern birds has shown that the way these animals breathe is more complex than originally thought. The uncinate processes are small bones that act as levers to move the ribs and sternum during breathing. Interestingly, these structures are different lengths in different birds – they are shortest in running birds, intermediate in flying birds and longest in diving birds.
The dinosaurs we studied from the fossil record had long uncinate processes similar in structure to those of diving birds. This suggests both dinosaurs and diving birds need longer lever arms to help them breathe.
Finding these structures in modern birds and their extinct dinosaur ancestors suggests that these running dinosaurs had an efficient respiratory system and supports the theory that they were highly active animals that could run relatively quickly when pursuing their prey.
Ultimately, the uncinate processes allowed the dinosaurs to move around very fast, which meant they could rapidly capture prey. Right now though, you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief that this article wasn’t about bad dinosaur breath! With all the raw meat they ate, I have a feeling it would have been really gross. Yuck!
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Antibacterial Protection Right Under Your Feet November 8, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Diseases, Environment, Human Body, Tough Stuff.Tags: antibacterial, clay
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Clay – it’s that dirty looking, messy and just plain ol’ gunky stuff we find on the ground. But researchers have just recently found out that it also has some neat antibacterial properties too! A unique type of French clay has been found to terminate all sorts of bacteria, even antibiotic resistant ones that have become a very real and frightening challenge to combat. On top of that, the clay has been found to beat an icky pathogen – Mycobacterium ulcerans – that can cause skin ulcers in several parts of the world, leading to amputations.
Investigating Clay
This particular clay isn’t something new. In fact, it has been around for centuries where it was thought to have medicinal value, being used for skin cleansing and treating the bacteria that cause the icky ulcers I just mentioned. It was when geochemist Lynda Williams of Arizona State University learned of the clay’s power against Mycobacterium ulcerans that she gathered up a crew of curious researchers who were all eager to study the properties of the clay.
The researchers dubbed the clay CsAg02. What a complex name! I sometimes give a little sigh and wonder why they can’t give the clay a less technical name – like Super Germ Buster Magnifique (that last bit was my ode to the French nature of the clay!). They learned that it’s a strong alkaline and has a pH of 9.4 to 10. Its cool greenish color is from a chemical form of iron. Still, lots of other clays have these same properties, so it’s clearly some other aspect of the clay that’s responsible for its potent antibacterial properties. Hmmmmmm.
Aha!
To figure out just how the clay blasts away bacteria, Williams and her team treated the clay with potassium salt, which pulls out charged molecules. Without these charged molecules, the antibacterial power of the clay was blocked! So, this means that the bacteria are somehow affected by the charged molecules. Now, the next step for the research team will be to study what minerals keep these molecules active and rearing to fight against the bacteria.
Bacteria Beware
Researchers also wanted to check out what effect CsAg02 had on different microbes. How did they do that? Well, they took cultures of microbes and incubated them with CsAg02. You might have heard names of bacteria that are commonly implicated in cases of food poisoning – Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli. We can give a big kudos to CsAg02 because it knocked them both out by stopping their growth! Researchers also incubated CsAg02 with strains of mycobacterium that can lead to skin infections. How well did it handle those? It stopped their growth as well!
So the clay kills bacteria – big deal, right? Actually, it is a really big deal! By figuring out just how the clay fights these powerful types of bacteria, we can learn new ways of killing some of the bacteria that plague humans. The clay could also provide antibacterial protection in air filters and sewage treatments. So, as sludgy and benign as clay may look, it still packs a powerful antimicrobial punch!
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Paying For Litter October 31, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Environment.Tags: laws, littering, regulations, rules
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When I was four years old and living in Vienna, Austria, I spent one leisurely afternoon at a park with my mother and father. An elderly couple nearby walked past us and – much to my horror at the time – flicked a candy bar wrapper on the unblemished ground. I trotted over as quickly as my little legs could carry me, bent over to retrieve the wrapper and shuffled towards a nearby bin so I could dispose of the waste. Then, I approached the couple – who had been quietly observing my actions – and I addressed them in German as I exclaimed ‘you shouldn’t throw stuff on the ground!’ I was a patronizing little munchkin, I’ll admit, but the message is an important one. In fact, it’s a message that some cities are beginning to take seriously. Better still, they’re showing just how seriously they take the message by implementing strict rules and regulations around littering, as well as imposing swift penalties for those who don’t abide.
Credit: Isabelle of Globosapiens.
Welcome To Bhutan
Bhutan, a nation that is located between India and China in South Asia, has passed a new law aimed at preventing both littering and pollution in Thimphu, which is the nation’s capital. The plan is to get the three r’s – reduce, reuse and recycle – ingrained in the public minds and actions. Here’s a look at some of the rules that were just passed:
- Burning waste or urinating within city limits can lead to fines of up to 20,000 ngultrums. That’s approximately $450 Cdn or £225.
- Dumping of hazardous waste can also result in high fines.
- Dropping litter on the street can give someone a fine of 100 to 500 ngultrums.
Is It That Important?
Yes! Thimphu generates approximately 35 metric tonnes of waste every single day. The scariest part is that in 2002, it generated 11 metric tonnes of waste each day. The city has grown quite a bit, so that’s one reason for the big jump in numbers but the population growth is still not large enough to excuse the amount of waste currently generated. When we see high numbers in terms of waste, it’s at least a positive step if the number is lower than the number in previous years because it shows that there has been progress. In this case though, it’s a significant step backwards. Ideally, these new regulations can change all of that by making the public more aware of their waste and teaching them appropriate ways to get rid of garbage. It’s a shame that a fear of fines and other penalties will encourage compliance – rather than care about the environment itself – but if it works, then it’s a positive step!
Meet The Littering Team
Well actually, I hope that anyone living in Thimphu doesn’t meet the littering team, because that would probably mean they had broken one of the new laws! To ensure that the public abides by these new regulations, 10 environment inspectors have been appointed to monitor compliance and help keep the city clean. By working 6 days a week for 12 hours each day, the inspectors will be on the lookout for offenders around the city. What about if kids get caught littering? Do they get off? Nope. Not a chance! Their parents will have to pay the fine – I’m also going to guess that the parents will not be too happy, so a scolding will probably follow suit for the littering kid. Yikes.
It’s thought that if these new laws are successfully received by the public, Thimphu could soon become one of the cleanest areas in South Asia. It’s a good example to watch because areas in the world that don’t currently have effective laws for waste management can learn from Thimphu and any nations that have experienced success in waste reduction.
You Don’t Need Laws
No laws? Wait, that doesn’t sound right! What I mean is that if your city doesn’t have any strict laws around littering, you can still be aware of waste and you can find better ways to dispose of it so that you minimize the environmental impact. If you missed Kelsey Abbott’s blog post on reducing packaging and waste, you can check it out here. Once you are aware of how damaging waste is to the environment, you can set the example for your friends, family and – if you remember my little story from the beginning – even complete strangers!
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Meet An Ancient Clam Named Ming October 28, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Environment, Evolution, Ocean.Tags: clam, longest-lived, mollusc
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Off the coast of Iceland, a clam has been discovered that is thought to be the longest-lived creature. Researchers from Bangor University in Wales have coined the name Ming for the ancient clam, named after the Chinese dynasty that was in power when it was born. Scientists believe this particular mollusc, which is an ocean quahog clam, is aged between 405 and 410 years old! How did they figure out Ming’s age? Well, they counted the rings on its shell! It’s mind boggling to think of an animal being over 400 years old. Just imagine if that clam had eyes to see? It would have seen a lot of changes over the years! Also, think about the fact that the clam was a mere baby when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and it was around when Shakespeare was busy at work writing his plays.
Scientists from the team at Bangor University – including the clam discoverers Paul Butler and James Scourse along with scientists Al Wanamaker and Chris Richardson – were also able to examine the clam and find out about the environment surrounding the clam through all of those years. Everything from food supply to water temperature can be figured out from the clam – so, we get an idea of what the clam’s life was like through its 400+ years.
Uh Oh, Competition
Previously, the Guinness Book of World Records stated that the longest-lived animal was an Arctica clam that was found in 1982 and was aged 220. So, it’s looking like researchers at Bangor University might soon be making it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
What This Means For You
So researchers have found an old clam – what’s the big deal, you ask? Well actually, the discovery of the clam can help us to unlock some of the mysteries around longevity. Scientists (and the public!) all want to know why some animals live to a ripe old age whereas others are very short-lived. It seems that the turnover rate of the clam’s cells differs from the turnover rate of cells in other animals who tend to be much shorter-lived. By understanding why it is some animals live to such incredibly old ages, we can perhaps look at ways of manipulating the aging process in humans. At the same time, don’t expect that Ming the clam is going to teach you how to live for over 400 years!
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Oldest Footprint August 27, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Environment, Evolution, Human Body, Think About It.1 comment so far
When you’re at the beach, you’ve probably left footprints in the sand. They are temporary little dents that let you leave your mark, even if only for a short while. But imagine if your footprint was preserved and then found millions of years later? That’s what happened recently, when archaeologists in Egypt found what they believe may be the world’s oldest footprint.
It’s All About Mud
In this case, it really is! The footprint was imprinted in mud, which then turned to stone. The outline was preserved in the stone and was found in the Siwa oasis in the western desert. It is thought that the footprint may be 2 million years old! Other experts are projecting that it may even beat that figure and surpass the 3 million year old skeleton found in Ethiopia, an extinct Australopithecus afarensis hominid that was discovered in 1974.
Up until now, the earliest known human activity that has been found in Egypt only dated to 200,000 years ago. So, this new discovery is a really exciting one! In fact, the oldest footprints or handprints related to humans were found in volcanic rocks at Roccamofina in Italy and these were dated to approximately 350,000 years ago. The discovery still has to be officially dated and verified by independent scientists, but so far, it’s looking like a very exciting find for Egypt!
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A Farm Without Animals August 15, 2007
Posted by Weird Science Writer in Environment, Human Body, Technology, Think About It.2 comments
When Kelsey Abbott first heard that two students had created a new kind of farm – one with no animals – she set out to investigate just what sorts of tricks they had up their sleeves. She was surprised to find out that this was actually a farm for people!
Credit: This very futuristic graphic is courtesy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – School of Architecture and Planning.
Remember Old McDonald and his farm? He had a cow (with a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there) and a pig (with an oink-oink here and an oink-oink there) and every other animal that could make a fun noise. Farming has come a long way since Old McDonald’s days. Now, there are wind farms, wave farms and soon there will be the Crowd Farm!
The Crowd Farm
James Graham and Thaddeus Jusczyk, two architecture graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, just won an international award for their plan to create a Crowd Farm. The Crowd Farm would convert the energy of footsteps into another form of energy – electricity. If one person took just one step in the Crowd Farm, it could power two 60-watt light bulbs for one second. That’s not very impressive, but if everyone within a crowd of people (let’s say 28,527 people) took one step, it would make enough electricity to power a moving train for one second. Remember, that’s only one step. If all those people kept walking, they could keep the train moving.
How Does It Work?
In the Crowd Farm, people would walk across a special floor made up of blocks that depress slightly when they’re stepped on. I asked James if people would feel the difference when they walked on the Crowd Farm floor instead of a normal floor. He replied:
We all walk on different sorts of surfaces every day, and we’re remarkably adept at dealing with them all. Dress shoes vs. running shoes, concrete vs. soft earth; each of these has a different feel. We don’t see the Crowd Farm as being too far from the sorts of materials we’re accustomed to walking on.
When people walk on the Crowd Farm floor, the blocks will rub against each other and produce power through a concept called a dynamo. James explained:
Basically, a dynamo is a means of taking kinetic energy – movement – and turning it into electrical energy. You can think of it as the opposite of a ceiling fan – instead of using electricity to turn the rotor, you’re the one turning the rotor, which in turn generates energy.
If people could produce all this power just by walking, could they produce even more power by running? And if so, could you make a basketball court out of the Crowd Farm floor and have it power the entire arena? Not quite.
Sure – the amount of force that acts on the flooring will impact the amount of energy that can be produced. A basketball court would be tough, because those ten people playing would have to work impossibly hard to produce that much. But, if you used it at the exits and harnessed the energy of 17,000 people leaving Madison Square Garden, for example, you can start to get somewhere.
Why Is This So Cool?
You may have heard of climate change – it’s also called global warming. We’re supposed to have some greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, which trap the sun’s heat to keep the Earth warm. But now we have too many greenhouse gases. They’re keeping too much heat close to the Earth. Where are the extra greenhouse gases coming from? One-third of the global warming pollution in the United States (U.S.) comes from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil. And get this – coal and oil account for about 97% of the electricity in the U.S.!
If we can reduce the amount of fossil fuels we’re pumping into the atmosphere, we can help to fight global warming. Of course, we need electricity to do all sorts of things, like read this blog. So, how can we reduce fossil fuels? One way is through sustainable or renewable energy. Many people are switching to wind power or solar power. James and Thaddeus hope to harness the power of the crowd.
The Crowd Farm won’t be able to power entire cities, but James and Thaddeus hope it will make people think about their energy use.
We all imagine that walking is a graceful and economical process, but in a lot of ways, it’s very inefficient. Crowd Farming certainly isn’t the easiest way to harvest energy and it has definite limits, but there are specific sorts of situations where you can have a dense enough crowd to make a meaningful contribution. We see it as a means of provoking people to think about energy and their individual role in its use and production, but it could never be the next great energy source.
What Can You Do To Save Energy?
What? Your parents won’t let you install a Crowd Farm in your house? Don’t worry, it wouldn’t work anyway, unless you live with thousands of other people. Instead, here are a few things you can do to reduce energy use in your family:
- Some things, like cell phone and ipod chargers use energy whenever they’re plugged in, so if you’re not charging your phone or ipod, unplug the charger.
- Always remember to turn off the lights when you leave a room.
- Walk or bike rather than taking the bus or getting a car ride to your destination.
These are just a few easy (and free!) things you can do to reduce your family’s energy use (and the electric bill!). The National Resources Defense Council has some nifty tips for reducing energy consumption. P.S. If your computer use is done for the day, don’t forget to log off and shut it down when you’re finished reading this blog!
Kelsey Abbott is a marine biologist and freelance writer in Maine. She drinks tap water from a wide assortment of Nalgene bottles and bike bottles. She also picks up her dog’s poop with biodegradable plastic bags!
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Disappearing Humans August 11, 2007
Posted by Mrs Weird Scientist in Animals, Environment, Human Body, Think About It.2 comments
Have you ever imagined an Earth without humans? It’s an eerie thought but the intelligent and curious folks over at Scientific American magazine created a short film – The Earth Without Humans. The complementary full article is a long one but it’s definitely an engaging read. Much of the article involves an interview with Alan Weisman, who wrote The World Without Us.
In a way, you have to think about the Earth without humans to realize the impact we have now and would probably continue to have even if we ceased to exist. It’s interesting to watch the traces of human activity fading slowly over the years. I also think it’s scary but perhaps not surprising that the damage humans are doing to the world now would still linger long after we disappear. A scary thought indeed but maybe a good one as well because it can encourage us to be aware of how we impact the Earth while reminding us to make little changes. In fact, when I’ve finished reading my Scientific American or any of my other science magazines, that scary thought is what prompts a little voice in my head to say - Mina, remember to recycle the magazine.
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