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News & Articles By Edsel Cook

02/26/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Fascinating study finds a species of wasps that transforms a “social” spider into a zombie-like drone

In the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, there is a parasitic wasp with a ghastly means of reproduction. It lays an egg on a live social spider, and when the larva hatches, it hijacks the body of its host to build a cocoon for it. Then it kills the spider and moves inside its new home to […]

02/25/2019 / By Edsel Cook

New study overturns classic ideas about volcanic eruptions

When you were younger, you were probably taught that volcanoes contained a central chamber filled with molten material called magma. But a British study claims that that there is no such underground space inside a volcano, only many small pockets filled with crystals and magma. These findings are earthshaking in more ways than one. Our […]

02/24/2019 / By Edsel Cook

MIT engineers have created a “Sun in a box” which stores renewable energy to be used on demand

The new renewable energy storage method devised by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a proper technical name. But many call it “Sun in a box” because of its conceptual resemblance to the giant ball in the sky that provides the Earth with seemingly unlimited amounts of energy. Just like the Sun, the Thermal Energy Grid […]

02/24/2019 / By Edsel Cook

It takes just 6 hours for billions of nanoplastics to accumulate in marine organisms

The next time your dinner plate contains any kind of clam harvested from the sea, you may want to order a plant-based salad instead. A recent British study has shown that scallops and other similar marine bivalve mollusks can get completely contaminated by nano-sized bits of plastics after just a few hours of exposure. The great scallop (Pecten […]

02/24/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Researchers build a robotic platform to observe the effects of neonicotinoids on bee behavior

A video camera-controlling robot was used to record the negative effects of neonicotinoids on bumblebees. The Harvard-designed machine was able to record and show the disruptive effects of the pesticides on the way the bees behaved, interacted with other members of their nest, and regulated their body temperature. Bees are in serious danger from widely used neonicotinoid pesticides. […]

02/23/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Ecologists warn that water-dwelling creatures are being inundated with antidepressants from human waste that gets flushed out to waterways

Australian researchers warned that Melbourne’s waterways contain high levels of dozens of different pharmaceutical drugs. These chemical antibiotics, antidepressants, and painkillers have not just contaminated the water itself, but have also tainted the local aquatic animals. According to their survey of creeks in Victoria, animals in the most heavily contaminated creek could accidentally ingest up […]

02/21/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Scientists warn that the world’s most unusual sharks and rays are on the “brink of extinction”

Humankind’s destructive actions have driven many of the strangest-looking chimeras, rays, and sharks to the edge of extinction. London-based researchers warned that the impending loss of these ancient animals will be massive blows to biological diversity and evolutionary history. The critically endangered species include the biggest and smallest sharks in the world and an electric […]

02/21/2019 / By Edsel Cook

New material made from recycled plastic bottles could help reduce water pollution

Singaporean researchers have come up with a new incentive for people to recycle disposable PET plastic bottles instead of just throwing them away. They can turn the plastic waste into a group of very useful materials called aerogels, which would make the disposable bottles well worth the effort of holding on to or recovering from […]

02/12/2019 / By Edsel Cook

New research examines the potential damage that crude oil exports will inflict on salmon populations in Canada

A recent study from the University of Guelph in Canada warns that the country’s plan to expand its crude oil exports is bad news for local populations of commercially important salmon — and that’s not even factoring in the dangers of a floating derrick or an oil tanker suffering a disastrous oil spill. In the research, lead author Sarah Alderman and […]

02/07/2019 / By Edsel Cook

Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s effects are still being seen: Atlantic stingrays found to have significantly impaired olfactory functions

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster continues to cast a long shadow across the Atlantic Ocean. Close to a decade after the ecological disaster, a Florida-based study found that crude oil from the spill has crippled the sense of smell of Atlantic stingrays. Marine animals use their senses to find food and mates, as well […]

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