What’s in a Petri dish?
⌛ In which epoch do we live?
🧼 How does soap work?
⏰ How can we stop the end of the world?
The Lost Vostok | The amazing journey
Dreamers’ visions of a forgotten world may become a reality. Only, this world is not lost in the vast expanses of South America but on the coldest continent: Antarctica. Deep beneath the ice, a giant lake is hidden, which was isolated from the outside world for millions of years. What awaits us at its bottom?
A Vegetable Garden without Soil
Science and technology don’t stand in place: scientists around the world work to ensure that the production of fresh and healthy foods is simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. So, in place of classic garden beds and greenhouses comes hydroponics: growing plants in nutrient solutions without soil.
The Petri Dish and It’s Story
From the first antibiotics to the growth of stem cells, from observing micro- organisms to the testing of new medicines — it’s all possible thanks to the Petri dish, a short, flat cylinder cove- red with a transparent lid of a cor- responding shape. This humble glass plate has its own fascinating story.
Hiding From Us
Whenever something happens in the world, there is always someone to blame. And if this “something” is on a global scale, then it obviously didn’t happen without some kind of conspiracy! Are doctors advising you to get vaccinated? They want to cash in on vaccine sales, of course! Man walked on the Moon? It was a hoax! And worldwide surveillance? We are all in danger…until we turn on our common sense and start to think critically.
Underwater Web
On August 16, 1858, Queen Victoria sent a telegram to James Buchanan, then-President of the United States. For the first time in history, high-ranking officials communicated via transatlantic telegraph cables. The process took almost 18 hours. Today, it would take you no more than 70 milliseconds.
History of containers
90% of everything we use in our daily lives—auto-mobiles, clothing, food, supplies, furniture, medicine—have traveled a long way by sea to get to us, and it’s highly likely that they arrive in containers. These giant metal boxes have completely changed the face of world trade by reducing the cost of transportation and increasing efficiency.
Antimatter
This term is often found in science fiction because authors love to attribute the most unbelievable properties to this mysterious substance. But what does science know about it? First of all, antimatter actually exists. Secondly, there is very little of it. And thirdly, it can shed light on the laws under which our universe exists.
Fractals
In everyday life, we rarely hear the mysterious word “fractal,” but we encounter them on a daily basis. Trees, mountains, smoke, plants, and even the circulatory system have fractal structures. Fractals can be applied in various areas: from image compression algorithms to the study of blood vessels of living organisms. So what is a fractal?
Geological Periods
You’re probably familiar with at least one geological period. Who hasn’t heard of the film Jurassic Park? The entire history of the Earth over the past 540 million years is divided into periods, which are in turn divided into epochs and centuries. But how do geologists know when a particular stage started and ended?
Interstellar dead end | Space Travel
Paradoxically, astronautics, the most technological of all industries and one that has become a symbol of progress, is currently experiencing a dry spell. It’s not due to a lack of resources or money but the lack of a grandiose goal towards which we all can collectively strive. Perhaps there are some sort of fundamental limitations that are getting in our way?
How to Be a Friend to Someone with Special Needs
Have you ever had a classmate who does things a bit differently than you do? Maybe they walk with a limp or they process information in their own way. You want to make friends with this person, but you feel awkward because you’re afraid you might accidentally offend them. In this article, we’ll introduce you to the world of people with limited mobility, neurodivergence, and genetic conditions. We’ll clue you in on what really offends them and how they prefer that people interact with them. Let’s go!
A Scaly Ancestor
Toothy, dark blue, 5 feet in length, covered in scales, and even with legs. Have you guessed who this is? None other than our shared great-grandmother!
Of course, coelacanths, or the genus Latimeria, are not our direct ancestors, but they are still relatives of beings that first left the seas 385 million years ago and became four-legged terrestrial animals, from which we sprung. And these relatives are still alive today!
Soap and Other Surfactants
Every day, more than 6.5 lbs of these substances are produced per inhabitant of the Earth. No, we’re not talking about food products. We mean compounds that reduce the surface tension of liquids.
100 Seconds To The End Of The World | Doomsday Clock
The “Doomsday Clock” is a symbolic clock that displays the countdown to a global catastrophe (the closer to midnight, the greater the danger). In January 2020, the hands of the clock came the closest to midnight they have ever been — only 100 seconds away. The clock now reads 23:58:20, indicating that calamity is close at hand. For reference, when the USSR tested the first hydrogen bomb in 1953, the hands of the clock were still two minutes from midnight.
