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We know how to fight wildfires effectively. Why don't we do it?
massivesci.com - Michael Graw
The West is burning. A spate of wildfires in California killed 10 people on Monday, in addition to the 8.5 million acres of the western United States …
Biodiversity doesn't just arise out of healthy ecosystems. It helps create them
massivesci.com - Cassie Freund
The human race is currently conducting the largest-scale biodiversity removal experiment to date. By stripping tropical and temperate forests of …
Life is evolving through a hurricane of human pollution
massivesci.com - Brittney Borowiec
No other species pollutes the way humans do. Many pollutants, like dioxins, phenyls, hydrocarbons, and some pesticides, are so slow to degrade that …
Boobies of the Galápagos are replacing their disappearing food source with junk fish
massivesci.com - Jenny Howard
No hot shower? Sleeping in a tent on the ground? No fresh veggies, alcohol, or even – gasp – ice cream, for three months straight? For some, this …
Can Hawaii's waterfall-climbing fish survive when mountain rains change?
massivesci.com - Alison Nugent
Here in Hawaii, not only are there rainbow sightings daily and dramatic mountain vistas obscured by clouds: we even have fish that can climb …
What ancient corn farmers can teach us about engineering crops for climate change
massivesci.com - Gabriela Serrato Marks
There are more than 50 strains of maize, called landraces, grown in Mexico. A landrace is similar to a dog breed: Corgis and Huskies are both dogs, …
Forestry
The most cost-effective ways to fight climate change are literally under our feet
massivesci.com - Jane Zelikova
In 2015, most of the world came together in a rare act of collaboration and set an ambitious goal to limit global temperatures from rising no more …
Can termites teach us to build environmentally friendly communities?
massivesci.com - Salmaan Craig
They each stood four Burj Khalifas tall, contained a population the size of San Francisco, and plugged into a network of tunnels sweeping the face of …
Does modern neuroscience really help us understand behavior?
massivesci.com - Danbee Kim, Gonçalo Lopes
Lately, some neuroscientists have been struggling with an identity crisis: what do we believe, and what do we want to achieve? Is it enough to study …
Nobel Prize
The science Nobel Prizes are sexist, racist, and misleading. Let's rethink them
massivesci.com - Devang Mehta
It’s Nobel Prize week, the one week every year when people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe celebrate science, read about …
Can MDMA help people with autism overcome social anxiety?
massivesci.com - Benjamin Bell
For the nightly news and cop shows, Ecstasy is the scourge of music festivals, the substance of interest in raves and DEA raids. For veterans of war, …
How does the developing brain learn to perceive the world before it can see it?
massivesci.com - Maya Emmons-Bell
Every day, within the belly of a towering concrete building at the University of California, Berkeley, researchers in the lab of neurobiologist Marla …
Here's what happened when researchers raised monkeys who never saw a face
massivesci.com - Daniel Bear
A small patch of the brain’s surface is a battleground in a centuries-old debate: do we get our cognitive abilities from our inherited “nature” or …
How shaving mice led to an accidental discovery about our sense of touch
massivesci.com - Gregory Logan-Graf
The average human lifespan is around 80 years, but the cells in our bodies live, die, and grow again along much shorter lifespans. Cells turnover at …
Brainwaves
Massive's New Brain Waves 👋
massivesci.com - Nadja Oertelt
We’ve been experimenting here at Massive with new ways of working with scientists to encourage public discussion. We want to foster a community that …
Here's what happens to hamster brains when they don't get enough play
massivesci.com - Brooke Dulka
Over the last half century, the US and other industrialized nations have seen a dramatic decrease in the free time that children have to play. This …
Want to learn how brains go awry? First, we must learn how they work
massivesci.com - Ashley Juavinett
I still vividly remember the day in 2013 when Dr. Euiseok Kim, a postdoctoral researcher at the Salk Institute, stepped into the lowly graduate …
Amygdala
How scientists are mapping the brain networks that connect our childhoods to everyday behaviors
massivesci.com - Prabarna Ganguly
In his 1855 sermon, “Partaking in Other Men’s Sins,” Reverend Henry Melvill of the Church of England made a remark about the nature of human …
Will it ever be possible to measure subjective experience?
massivesci.com - Nadja Oertelt
Nadja is one of the co-founders of Massive. She is a science media producer, documentary filmmaker and former research scientist in neuroscience and …
Dreaming and wakefulness are two ways of being yourself
massivesci.com - Nadja Oertelt
Dreaming and wakefulness are two ways of being yourself The definition of consciousness is harder to pin down than you might think, argues cognitive …
Neuroscientists proved the brain regenerates. Now they’re trying to figure out how.
massivesci.com - Kirsi Goldynia
In 1962, Dr. Joseph Altman published a study titled “Are New Neurons Formed in the Brains of Adult Mammals?” which sparked a 30 year debate by …
Neurons die with grace
massivesci.com - Massive Staff
Emily Lowry, a postdoctoral researcher in the Wichterle Lab at Columbia University, sat down to discuss her research on neurodegeneration with us as …
Microbiome
Can the right microbes really solve all your health problems?
massivesci.com - Namrata Iyer
In addition to being delicious, kombucha, kimchi and yogurt all have something in common: they are all teeming with microorganisms. This sounds like …
Microbiome
Why you shouldn't worry about the bacteria in your sponges
massivesci.com - Kevin Pels
Clocking in at just over half the microbial density of your own intestines, kitchen sponges are teeming, festering, living piles of bacteria. They …
In Vivo
We're beginning to understand the 'tumor microenvironment' that makes cancer so resilient
massivesci.com - Danny Jomaa
Scientific research has made remarkable breakthroughs in understanding the human brain and treating diseases that affect it, including epilepsy, …
Plants
How do mosses reproduce? By spreading their seed on everything
massivesci.com - Jerald Pinson
Mosses are a ubiquitous part of our environment, growing on trees, sidewalks, and in storm drains, coating rotting logs and forest floors. But even …
The soil microbiome could change agriculture—if we can understand it
massivesci.com - Michael Graw
If social media feels overwhelming these days, it’s nothing compared to the chatter going on beneath your feet. Pick up a handful of soil and you’ll …
Microbiome
A scientist explains why you should approach exciting microbiome news with caution
massivesci.com - Ilana Arbisser
You’ve probably heard about “the microbiome,” the trillions of bacteria and other microbes that live on and inside of our bodies in a microscopic …
Seafloor
These tiny methane-eating organisms have an outsize impact on our climate models
massivesci.com - Michael Graw
Human industries and their output—oil fields, smokestacks, and cars—are usually thought of as the largest contributors to greenhouse gases. But …
Vostok
Five facts about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space
massivesci.com - Alan Yuhas
1. She came from nothing For decades, Valentina Tereshkova represented to Russia a version of the Soviet dream: born in poverty, raised during the …

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Flips

We know how to fight wildfires effectively. Why don't we do it?

Biodiversity doesn't just arise out of healthy ecosystems. It helps create them

Life is evolving through a hurricane of human pollution

Boobies of the Galápagos are replacing their disappearing food source with junk fish

Can Hawaii's waterfall-climbing fish survive when mountain rains change?

What ancient corn farmers can teach us about engineering crops for climate change

The most cost-effective ways to fight climate change are literally under our feet

Can termites teach us to build environmentally friendly communities?

Does modern neuroscience really help us understand behavior?

The science Nobel Prizes are sexist, racist, and misleading. Let's rethink them

Can MDMA help people with autism overcome social anxiety?

How does the developing brain learn to perceive the world before it can see it?

Here's what happened when researchers raised monkeys who never saw a face

How shaving mice led to an accidental discovery about our sense of touch

Massive's New Brain Waves 👋

Here's what happens to hamster brains when they don't get enough play

Want to learn how brains go awry? First, we must learn how they work

How scientists are mapping the brain networks that connect our childhoods to everyday behaviors

Will it ever be possible to measure subjective experience?

Dreaming and wakefulness are two ways of being yourself

Neuroscientists proved the brain regenerates. Now they’re trying to figure out how.

Neurons die with grace

Can the right microbes really solve all your health problems?

Why you shouldn't worry about the bacteria in your sponges

We're beginning to understand the 'tumor microenvironment' that makes cancer so resilient

How do mosses reproduce? By spreading their seed on everything

The soil microbiome could change agriculture—if we can understand it

A scientist explains why you should approach exciting microbiome news with caution

These tiny methane-eating organisms have an outsize impact on our climate models

Five facts about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space