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The Parataxonomist Revolution : how a group of rural Costa Ricans discovered 10,000 new species
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
In northwestern Costa Rica, a team of rural workers called parataxonomists has been inventorying butterfly and moth species for 30 years. Just as a paramedic provides a first round of medical care, a parataxonomist does ...
The Angelman Approach : hacking DNA to treat a rare disease
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
One of every hundred children is born with a disease caused by a single abnormal gene. In the case of Angelman Syndrome, the genetic defect leaves patients mentally disabled, largely or completely unable to speak, and prone ...
Media of Mass Destruction : how fake news is killing Italy's olive trees
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
In 2013, the plant pathogen Xylellafastidiosa was found in Salento, Italy's most southeastern region, famous for its centuries-old olive trees. Spread by insects, the bacterium is decimating those trees and compromising ...
The promise and perils of personalized learning : keeping students at the center of the ed tech revolution
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018)
As access to education technology - high-speed Internet connectivity, lower-cost computers, and online learning programs - has increased over the past five years in K-12 schools in the United States, the debate over ...
Senses lost : the impossible dilemma of Usher Syndrome, and its possible solutions
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
Usher Syndrome is an inherited disease that leads to the progressive loss of hearing and vision (retinitis pigmentosa). Increasingly, genetic testing, either through panels or whole exome sequencing, lets people know which ...
From the sea to the stars : the forgotten journeys of the Philippines' ancient explorers
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018)
Linguistic, genetic, and archaeological evidence indicate that the Philippines has been inhabited by humans for many thousands of years. By what means the earliest settlers arrived in the archipelago is still a mystery, ...
Can this burger save the planet? : synthetic beef and the dream of an American animal-free diet
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018)
Sustainable food movements are focused on reducing meat consumption for one simple reason: meat is extremely environmentally costly. This enormous resource use by one industry makes it an appealing target for those looking ...
The people and the park : how a small Mexican community created one of the world's most successful marine preserves
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018)
Cabo Pulmo National Park is a 27-square mile protected area in the Gulf of California, near the southern end of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. The park surrounds one of the oldest coral reefs on the western coast of North America. ...
Taking nature's pulse
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)
People have taken delight in nature throughout human history, but more recently the work of the natural historian has become more like that of the scientist. Using methods and tools of science, today's naturalists can ...
Melvin Calvin : Nobel-Winning chemist and SETI scientist wannabe
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017)
Melvin Calvin spent more than a decade answering one longstanding question in biochemistry: how did plants use carbon dioxide to manufacture carbohydrates in photosynthesis? This research earned Calvin a Nobel Prize-an ...