Air quality is an immensely important environmental issue all over the planet. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, air pollutant emissions in the atmosphere have been increasing, causing air quality to worsen. Recently, sustained efforts to improve air quality have successfully decreased air pollutant emissions across the United States, however, many urban areas still struggle to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality standards.
Continue reading “Every Breath You Take: Air Quality in Chicago”
Ask the Scientists is a chance to highlight the three topics awarded 2020 Nobel Prizes in science: black holes, CRISPR and Hepatitis C. The knowledge gained in these three fields helps explain the mysteries of our universe, provides modern solutions using novel genetic understanding and continues to save millions of lives. Three experts discuss the current work they are doing to advance our understanding of science within the body, and throughout the universe.
Continue reading “Ask the Scientists: 2020 Nobel Science Topics”
Urban ecosystems were created by people, for people, but that doesn’t mean animals haven’t evolved to survive or even thrive within modern cities. Dr. Seth Magle and Dr. Maureen Murray highlight the importance of understanding human-wildlife interactions and the incredible research done by the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo.
Continue reading “Chicago’s Animal Kingdom”
The survival of all forms of Life on Earth through geological time has depended on controlling mineral growth within the environments they inhabit. This process, called biomineralization, has been an essential unavoidable, and ubiquitously distributed force of nature that has caused essential strategic benefits (like forming bones for muscle attachment), as well as profound practical problems and impediments (such as the growth of kidney stones).
Continue reading “Biomineralization: Life Harnessing Mineral Growth Over Four Billion Years”
About 12,000 years ago, early humans began directly shaping nature through selective breeding of plants and animals. This moment in time is called the Agricultural Revolution. What humans eat today, in Chicago and around the globe, is a direct result of the advances made thousands of years before any of us were ever born. But the truth is that the Agricultural Revolution never stopped. In some ways, it’s just begun… Continue reading “Engineering Plants: The 12,000 Year Plan”
