Kelsey Voss, New Science Communicator Freshwater: The most important resource of our fast-growing world. We need it to drink and to grow food. We use water for drinking, washing, industrial processes, natural resources, and growing food, but our water supply is dwindling. In recent decades, we have seen increasing declines in freshwater levels across the […]
climate change
Living in the shadow of a volcano: B.C.’s Mount Meager shows signs of stirring
Christian Phillips, New Science Communicator One hundred kilometres north of Whistler, BC, up the Lillooet River, lies Mount Meager, a sleeping giant. Mount Meager is just one of 13 volcanoes that punctuates the west coast, from California to Alaska. However, it is starting to look like this sleeping giant may not be asleep much […]
Of dragonglass and men: Parallels and differences between Westeros and Earth
Alina C. Fisher and Tanya Samman, Environmental and Earth Sciences co-editors ~SPOILER ALERT~ The TV show Game of Thrones ended with a bang on May 19, 2019 – or given the numerous criticisms of the finale, perhaps it would be more apt to say that it melted into a fiery heap like the Iron […]
New research sheds light on how plants sense their world
Plant behaviour is modulated by a special class of proteins on their cell walls that help them sense and adapt to their environment Jenna Finley and Sunitha Chari, Biology & Life Sciences co-editors Plants lack the five basic senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing that help animals interact with their environment. Yet they […]
Climate change, fire, and their implications for species
Tanya Samman and Alina C. Fisher, Environmental & Earth Sciences Co-editors The role of fire in forest ecosystems Forest fires are powerful and devastating. But they are also necessary for the rejuvenation of some ecosystems. Many plants are well-adapted to fire; some trees have dense bark or shed lower limbs to help them survive fire […]