Cloudy, polluted skies may be just what the botanist ordered. A new discovery was made last week regarding the positive effect various atmospheric pollutants may have on global plant life. This study was published in Nature through the combined efforts of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Met...

A few years ago when my parents were thinking about purchasing a new home, I remember sitting down with a home builder who was showing off some of the state-of-the-art custom features he had recently installed in a few of his latest projects. Among these features, the most interesting (and perhaps most...

Two of the most harmful diseases that plague rice across the world are caused by bacteria. The first disease, bacterial blight, can reduce yield by 50%, and the other, though not as damaging as bacterial blight, can cause bacterial leaf streak. However, bacterial leaf streak is becoming more prominent...

As we walk around the produce at a grocery store, we tend to forget how fortunate we are to live in a global society and how unusual it is to have access to exotic fruits and vegetables that grow halfway around the world. Globalization has not only brought animals and plants out of their local niches,...

[All this week, GS is covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. This is our final installment of Marijuana Special Topic Week.] Legalization of Marijuana has been a hot topic in this nation since it was outlawed in 1937. In the...

[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] The word “marijuana” has undoubtedly earned its fair share of criticisms...

[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] Marijuana has a rich cultural history that spans thousand of years across...

[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] Cannabis: a word that has undoubtedly struck a different emotional chord...

[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] Though most gardeners rarely think about it, in the U.S., growing the...

[All this week, GS will be covering stories on Marijuana - its traditional uses, basic biology, criminalization, neurological effects and more. Join us all this week for our in depth study of this fascinating, controversial plant!] Many marijuana users believe that there are no significant negative...

From my childhood, I can vividly recall the days that the school cafeteria would serve watermelon. As opposed to the regular peaches in syrup, watermelon offered a fresh alternative, as well as lunchtime entertainment. From nearly every cafeteria table echoed the same challenge: “I dare you to eat...

A study conducted at the University of Groningen by Finn Danielson explored the impact of palm oil plantations on greenhouse gas emissions and their effects on biodiversity. The study was an extensive review of how carbon stock varies with changes in land use, compared to the reduction in carbon emissions...

This past weekend, I visited my older brother in New York and although I love the city for many reasons, perhaps my favorite part about the urban metropolis is the world famous 843 acres of lush landscape affectionately referred to by New Yorkers simply as, The Park. While strolling through Central Park...

Broccoli is one of those vegetables that illustrates a parent-child relationship excellently. The epic struggle to teach one’s child what to eat and what not to eat is one that has spanned generations. We never learn the importance of our parents’ attempts until we grow up and realize the value of...

Young people these days seem to get a bad rap for texting far too much for their own good. However, if most people are like me, quite a few of incoming and outgoing text messages are invitations, rejections, or acceptances to go get food together. Text messaging is also convenient if you are in class,...

Over the past few years, my trips to the grocery store have evolved from pleasant outings into maddening chores. While browsing down the food aisles I constantly notice new and improved items scattered among the original product, thus turning my thirty-minute trip to the store into a two-hour hunt for...

Professor Pavlos Lagoudakis at the University of Southampton’s School of Physics and Astronomy has led a team to develop a new range of photovoltaic devices based on nanotechnology. Photovoltaic devices are designed to mimic the light-harvesting system found in plants and, thus far, have been gathering...

This week, I came across something a little bit different, and perhaps more important (given our planet’s current predicament), than the articles I normally discuss. In a week where an ice shelf the size of Jamaica broke off from Antarctica, we now definitively know that the once debatable hypothesis...

Although your first reaction may be, “I’m not really in the mood for Italian food right now,” using basil as a relaxation technique has nothing to do with food, unless Mediterranean cuisine helps soothe your nerves. According to tradition, Sweet, or French, basil can actually be used in aromatherapy,...

Ever since I was little, my mom told me not to walk behind smokers. Even now, when I’m walking around campus, I automatically speed up to pass a smoker in front of me. My desire not to become sick, aggravate my allergies, or potentially get cancer because of someone else’s secondhand smoke is a typical...

In July of 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, the United States won the “race to space.” As Armstrong planted the American flag onto the moon’s surface, he said, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind;” but nearly forty years later, the focus is...

Gonzalo Oviedo, a senior advisor on social policy with the World Conservation Union, recently performed a compilation study based on various British and American sources on the agricultural state of affairs regarding the global food shortage. He analyzed the subject from the standpoint of environmental...

Given that 20% of the world’s population consists of smokers, cigarettes have become the single largest contributing factor to preventable and premature death around the world today. This is a fact that has been proven time and time again by numerous scientific studies, some of which have even been...