Over a third of the adult population in America is obese (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 30) and an additional 40% are classified as overweight (BMI 25-30). Within the past…
Continue ReadingCould you live in a world without beer? For at least 2 billion people, the answer would be a resounding “NO!” Many alcohols, like beer, exist because of a microorganism…
Continue ReadingThis summer, an afternoon spent flying kites at the beach will be just another day at work for some researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Now…
Continue ReadingFor a few weeks every spring, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are covered in a yellow blanket of pine tree pollen and everything’s a mess. Birches, oaks, pines, and more get…
Continue ReadingHumans do not find plastic bottles tasty. Try as we might, ingestion and digestion of an Auquafina bottle makes for a bad dinner. On the other hand, some bacteria see…
Continue ReadingThe coming of the New Year often brings about feelings of nostalgia as we reminisce about the previous calendar year. Looking back at 2015, we as humans have quite a…
Continue ReadingMost readers are probably familiar with some of the implications of climate change: sea level rise; more frequent extreme weather events; habitat loss for arctic species. Other implications are equally…
Continue ReadingLife requires balance. We spend a large part of our existence balancing our careers and our personal lives, our family and work obligations, and our own personal health. If something…
Continue ReadingTraditionally, plant ecologists seeking to better understand plant communities looked up (at light availability or precipitation patterns), across the landscape (at elevation or topography), and down (at leaf litter depth…
Continue ReadingFar out in eastern Russia, deep in the Siberian Plateau, lies one of the great waterways of the world. The Lena is the eleventh longest river on Earth. For thousands…
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