Oil spill clean up worker

Epic Cleanups: Hurricane Sandy, Nuclear Waste, and Oil Spills

From oil spills to nuclear waste, humans are good at making epic messes. Sometimes we come up with clean up ideas and sometimes we neglect repairs entirely.
Tokyo commuters

Japan’s Solution to Loneliness: Virtual Wives

Japan has always been at the forefront of technological advancement. With a lonely and over-taxed workforce, the country has now introduced the robot wife.
Pixel Buds Google

Why You Still Should Learn a Language in the Age of Pixel Buds

Google's Pixel Buds aim to translate from language to language in real time. Will this eliminate the need for human translators?
speech bubbles me too

Finding the Words We Need to Talk About Sexual Assault and Harassment

"Me too." As the conversation around sexual assault has spread, it's become clear that not everybody is prepared to talk about such a difficult issue.
sediment piles

Sand? Mine!

Orca Quarry in British Columbia is one of a handful of mines feeding the nearly insatiable desire for sand and gravel in major West Coast cities.
injection on raw chicken

Is Our Food Supply Toxic?

Yum. Scientists, policymakers, and journalists find that our food is polluted with pesticides, overdosed with antibiotics, and yet teeming with pathogens.
Forest fire burning, Wildfire at night in Chiangmai, Thailand

Welcome to the Age of Megafires

It's been a terrible year for fires in California and elsewhere around the world. Because then it always is now in the age of megafires.
mother and kids taking selfie stick picture in Europe

Instagram, YouTube, and the New Child Stars

The term 'child star' is almost synonymous with dysfunction. We're familiar with TV and movie kids, but what about those made famous by social media?
Japanese tsunami debris

Marine Debris and Its Dangerous Hitchhikers

Larger pieces of floating debris, like that caused by the Japanese tsunami, may carry hitchhikers in the form of organisms native to their place of origin.
Ducks in algae bloom

The Problem With Algae Bloom

Climate change is a wild card that seems to be exacerbating conditions that can lead to Harmful Algae Blooms.