When thinking of the term migration, the mind envisions seasonal bird journeys or perhaps historical human movement around the globe. However, scientists at the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station are studying another type of migration—the movement of trees and how that relates to climate change.
One interesting fact about beetles is that they use a form of pollination known as "mess and soil" pollination. Unlike bees and butterflies, these insects can eat all parts of a plant, from pollen and other floral tissues to even the bark of trees. They even poop within the flowers.
They are the primary pollinators of primitive flowering plants like cycads, magnolias, and water lilies. These plants often have large, bowl-shaped, or cup-shaped flowers that are more open and accessible to beetles than those targeted by bees or butterflies.
Early dome structures include dome-shaped huts made from reeds, saplings, and red clay. The Innuit people in the Arctic also built igloos from ice blocks. Like cob houses, these structures were present in ancient times, specifically in the Middle East, India, and the Mediterranean.
However, older humans didn’t refer to them as geodesic domes because the term was formed in the modern century, the 1920s. Natural space and domes were typical in the Roman Pantheon.
Romans built large-scale masonry hemispheres that required heavy wall supports. This concept also extended to Byzantine Architecture, the Constantinople building style. Byzantine builders developed a method to raise geodesic domes on piers, allowing lighting and communication from four directions.
They used inverted triangular masses of stones curved vertically and horizontally. The structure's highest point rested on four piers, and the joined sides formed arches over the openings of the four faces of the cube. The bases of the structure also met in a circle, forming the foundation of the dome.
A prominent dome building in Greece is the Pantheon. It is a large dome supported by walls of cylindrical columns. The Pantheon unites Roman and Greek architectural styles. It has an opening at the top of the structure that serves as the primary light source. The oculus also reduces the dome's weight on the foundation.
Dome architecture went out of style from the 12th to the 16th century because of Gothic architecture. However, it regained its popularity during the Baroque and Renaissance periods. Furthermore, humans reimagined dome architecture in the 20th century by inventing geodesic dome homes.
This beautiful mushroom’s colors are a sign to stay away. It produces a poison that will sicken people unless it is cooked very thoroughly.
In most uses, this word refers to something that can harm or kill an organism. But in biology, only some organisms that make a toxic substance are considered truly poisonous. To get that name, they must secrete the chemical passively. Then it just stays on or inside the organism until somebody — or something — eats it. Plants can be poisonous. So can animals that secrete toxins through their skin. But if an animal has to bite or sting to deliver its toxic chemical, scientists call it something different: venomous.
A recent study published in the journal Brain and Cognition has found that creativity is linked with a reduced brain response to unusual, or “oddball,” stimuli. This suggests that creative individuals process the importance of surprising information differently, which may help explain their unique thinking patterns. This diminished brain response might enable creative individuals to access a broader range of information.
