Plant-based meat alternatives offered by big brands give options, stir controversy
Over the past few years, plant-based alternatives to meat have increasingly entered the mainstream. There are many reasons for this. Increased public awareness of the effects of the meat industry on the global climate is one of them, along with animal rights and health risks associated with red meat consumption.
Volcanic eruption causes unexpected phytoplankton bloom
Vaping illness becomes epidemic for young users
EEE in Massachusetts: South Hadley community at high risk level
Pollinator protection efforts grow on campus
In an effort to recoup pollinator populations, the Miller Worley Center for the Environment (MWCE) has declared Mandelle Hill a “no mow zone.”
Since late spring, Facilities Management has ceased mowing Mandelle Hill, though it still maintains a path up the slope to Prospect Hill. This will allow pollinator-friendly meadow grasses to grow, creating a “pollinator garden.”
First picture of a black hole developed by MIT Ph.D student
BY NADIA BABAR ’19
For years, black holes have only ever been visible via artistic interpretations and the imaginations of science fiction authors. But on April 10, jaws dropped as the world saw the first ever image of a black hole. MIT PhD student Katie Bouman is credited with developing the algorithm that allowed the data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) to be pieced together and interpreted, according to Science News.
Methane gas found on Mars, hopes for new discoveries in 2020
BY FIONA HINDS ’21
In the summer of 2013, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter detected methane emissions in the Gale crater, a large depression near the Martian equator, according to the New York Times. Their findings were later replicated by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which measured levels of methane in the air that lasted for about two months. Methane on Earth is usually produced by living things, so this finding is both exciting and bewildering for scientists, who believe it could potentially indicate alien life.