Fighting the Invasion, Giving Native Wildlife a Chance in a Global World

The habitats of Southern New England have been changing dramatically since the arrival of Western Europeans.  The transfer of materials and species both decorative and functional, intentionally or accidentally, began on a scale and speed unprecedented in our planetary history as recorded in the fossil record.  I say materials and species because the transfer of …

Benefits Of Yoga

When you think of yoga, maybe you conjure in your mind a man with a long beard, wearing a tunic and sitting cross-legged on the floor. Or, maybe you think of a fit, trendy, twenty-something wearing leggings and twisting themselves into pretzel-like poses. Most often, when I mention to someone that I practice yoga, I …

How Scientists Light the Way

For a lot of people, scientific discoveries can feel like wizardry, involving mind-boggling and high-tech apparatuses that only a chosen few know how to devise and operate.  Over dinner one night, my mom confessed to being among those baffled by how scientists can figure out with any certainty aspects of nature so far beyond the …

Celebrating Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865 more than 25,000 slaves in the state of Texas were informed they were now free. This was over 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.  The General Order read in part:  “The people of …

Mosquitoes and Ticks: What Can We Do and Why We Should Care?

I’m sure everyone reading this has encountered at least one of these pesky pests before. Today, I’m writing to tell you more about these pests, what we can do, and why we should care about them. While these insects and arachnids play an important role in the food web, they are also vectors of disease. …

The Science of Stress: Helpful Strategies

Not to worry. I wouldn’t give you all of this information if I didn’t have a simple solution for you. Take a deep breath. Are you ready? You just have to ELIMINATE all of your stress! Isn’t that helpful? It’s OK, I scoffed at that too when I read it. It is not a possibility, …

The Science of Stress: Understanding Your Stress Response

What is this so-called physiological stress response? What is actually happening in our brains and in our bodies? Our story begins with a stressor, or some event or experience we perceive as a threat. Imagine you are standing on a sidewalk and hear the sudden blare of a car horn. Looking up, you see a …

Disease Detectives in the Digital Age

Recently, the governor has created a partnership with the developers of the How We Feel app as a tool to help the medical community combat the spread of COVID-19. Apps like these have made significant progress in identifying new symptoms (Neuroscience News). In areas where these apps are being used more broadly, healthcare professionals are …