Forest bathing sounds like an ancient tradition, but it is actually younger than the personal computer. The practice known as shinrin-yoku was coined in Japan in 1982, not passed down through centuries. It began as a public health idea rather than a spiritual one, aimed at a country that was mostly forest but rapidly urbanising,…
Thousands of people around the world are watching bald eagles Jackie and Shadow raise their two eaglets. Thousands of people around the world are once again following the lives of bald eagles Jackie and Shadow through a live nest camera in California’s Big Bear Valley. This year, the attention is on the couple’s two young…
This might be the closest humans have come to finding another planet that can support life. In a shocking discovery, astronomers have detected an atmosphere around an Earth-like, rocky planet about 48 light-years away.The planet, called LHS 1140 b, is orbiting in the habitable zone around its star meaning that it is at the right…
High above the Amazon rainforest, invisible currents of water vapour move through the sky in narrow, fast-flowing bands, carrying a volume of moisture that dwarfs even the largest rivers on the ground below. Scientists call this phenomenon an atmospheric river, sometimes nicknamed a flying river when it occurs above dense forest, and unlike a conventional…
Pythagoras (Image: Wikipedia) Humans depend entirely on the natural world, and yet the relationship has always been tangled with contradiction, admiration for animals sitting right alongside routine cruelty toward them. A line attributed to Pythagoras names that contradiction directly. “As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will…
Scientists have uncovered how Posidonia oceanica adapted to the dim light of the seabed. In the Mediterranean Sea, vast underwater meadows of seagrass grow in places where sunlight is weak. Yet these plants continue to photosynthesise efficiently, produce oxygen, store carbon and suppor marine life.A new study has revealed how one of these seagrasses has…
Scientists monitored dolphins in two bays along Sea of Japan coast. (Representational photo) People living along Japan’s Sea of Japan coast had been saying for years that they occasionally spotted dolphins close to shore. Local fishers also reported seeing them from time to time. These sightings were interesting, but scientists did not have enough information…
Officials in Florida have planted 15,000 milkweed plants along roadsides to help monarch butterflies survive. If you have driven through rural roads in northern Florida recently, you may have noticed new wildflower signs and patches of orange flowers growing along the roadside. These are not just for decoration. They are part of a large conservation…
Koalas nearly went extinct before humans arrived, DNA study reveals A major genetic study has found that koalas almost became extinct about 100,000 years ago because of major climate changes, long before the first humans reached Australia.By studying the DNA of hundreds of koalas, an international team of researchers found that every koala alive today…
Every invention begins with a simple question: “Can this be made better?” The world’s greatest innovators did not accept limitations as permanent or believe that existing solutions were the best possible ones. Instead, they looked at everyday problems as opportunities waiting to be solved. Alexander Graham Bell’s insightful observation, “The inventor is a man who…
Progress is measured not only by scientific discoveries or economic growth but also by the opportunities a society offers its people. Throughout history, women have often been denied the freedom to pursue education, careers and leadership simply because of their gender. Elizabeth Blackwell’s powerful statement, “If society will not admit of woman’s free development, then…
A fragment of an ancient stele dating to the reign of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal found in Iraq’s Nineveh province, July 17, 2026 A rare 2,600-year-old Assyrian monument has been found at the ancient city of Nineveh in Iraq. The discovery is a major success for an area where Islamic State militants (ISIS) deliberately destroyed…
