She knew this could make or break her engagement to be married. Swirling in the small copper pot on the stove, the dark, powder-like grounds would need to produce the perfect brew, an art that’s been passed down for centuries. As she stood waiting with anxious confidence, the water began to rise and the requisite …
Turkish Coffee Is Steeped in Tradition — And Easy to Make Read More »
As a coffee enthusiast, you probably have your preferred bean and roast of choice. But what if you wanted to roast your own coffee at home? You’ll need to start with green coffee beans. The fruit of the coffee plant has a very hard seed inside — the coffee bean as we know it is …
Want a Perfect Cuppa Joe? Roast Your Own Coffee Beans Read More »
Living things require nitrogen for their cells to function and, furthermore, we are virtually steeping in the stuff since our atmosphere is made up of 78 percent nitrogen gas. Although nitrogen’s lurking basically everywhere, it’s not abundant in the Earth’s crust, and it’s difficult for living things to capture atmospheric nitrogen and use it for …
As a coffee enthusiast, you probably have your preferred bean and roast of choice. But what if you wanted to roast your own coffee at home? You’ll need to start with green coffee beans. The fruit of the coffee plant has a very hard seed inside — the coffee bean as we know it is …
Want a Perfect Cuppa Joe? Roast Your Own Coffee Beans Read More »
If you need any further evidence of climate change’s drastic impact upon the planet, consider this. Up in northern Canada, the massive Kaskawulsh Glacier is receding so rapidly that in May 2016, the water melting from it changed direction. Instead of flowing into the Slims River and then north to the Bering Sea, the water …
Climate Change Reverses a River’s Flow in Canadian Glacier Read More »
Let’s say you find yourself in Kansas, watching a tornado in the distance. You’re holding onto Toto and impatiently looking at the approaching twister because you simply don’t have the time this week to take an enchanted trip to Oz, what with your dentist appointment and that lunch date with your old college pal. What …
In 1936, self-help lecturer Dale Carnegie wrote a book called “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” It became one of the best-selling books ever because all the stuff he suggested really works on humans: be friendly and make other people feel interesting and special. Honestly, that’s pretty much it. But it turns out the …
For some reason, not everybody loves rodents — maybe because a few species are pretty persistent in their efforts to share our homes with us. And rats have long been credited with spreading the bubonic plague, which killed millions of people in medieval Europe and Asia. But the order Rodentia is vast — in fact, …
The Charismatic Capybara Is Chiller Than Your Dog Read More »
Systematic biologists cultivate a unique orchard. Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, they grow phylogenetic trees — branching diagrams that depict lines of evolutionary descent back to a common ancestor. Also known as phylogenies, these assemblies of lines and classifications chart biodiversity with varying specificity, from individual organisms to broader taxonomic rankings such as …
The island of Madagascar, a country located about 250 miles (402 kilometers) off the coast of southeast Africa, is one of the most geographically diverse places on the planet. Its terrain varies from beautiful coastal beaches and stretches of serene grassland to raging rivers winding through mountainous regions and dry expanses of desert. The island …
During a routine third grade school library visit circa 1993, I fell in love. I wasn’t really into boys yet (unless they were on TV and looked like Rider Strong — swoon!), but when I randomly flipped the page in a nature magazine, I laid eyes on the most glorious creature I’d ever seen: the …
The sharing economy, which has changed everything from how people get around to how they rent rooms for vacation, is even seeping into ecology. In California’s Sacramento Valley, farmers are temporarily leasing flooded rice paddies to The Nature Conservancy so migratory shorebirds have a place to stop and feed while traveling the Pacific Flyway, the …
Most people don’t know much about muskrats. Other than remembering that classic 1970’s song about their ability to experience romantic love, everything else about these small, semi-aquatic rodents is a mystery to most. You’ll hardly ever see muskrats trending. Harry and Meghan always get the glory. So, what are these fat little rodents and why …
Muskrats Are Fat Little Rodents With a Signature Smell Read More »
Water is one of the most useful things on Earth. We drink it, clean with it and use it to cook food. Most of the time, it is entirely benign. But in large enough quantities, the same stuff we use to rinse a toothbrush can overturn cars, demolish houses and even kill. Flooding has claimed …
What Is a Flood and Why Is the Surge of Water So Dangerous? Read More »
On a sweltering day, when most people are cooling off at the pool or lying motionless under a high-powered fan, Dr. Brady Barr found himself decked out in a 196-pound (89-kilogram) armored suit smeared with mud and dung. In the name of scientific discovery, the scientist was on a mission to collect a wild hippo’s …
Beavers and their dams play an important role in nature. Because of the dramatic effects their dams have on surrounding ecosystems, these mammals are considered a keystone species. By constructing dams they create wetlands — lush environments which attract fish, ducks, frogs and other creatures. However, beavers can become a big headache for farmers and …