Neha is a freelance science writer based in Hong Kong who has a passion for sharing science with everyone. She writes about biology, conservation, and sustainable living. She has worked in a cancer research lab and facilitated science learning among elementary school children through fun, hands-on experiments. Visit her blog Life Science Exploration to read more of her intriguing posts on unusual creatures and our shared habitat. Follow Neha on Twitter @lifesciexplore.
Plant Bacteria Thrive in Wet Weather
Plants need water to grow, but too much water creates a perfect environment for plant bacteria, viruses, and fungi to ...
Greenland Ice Sheets Losing Ability to Absorb Meltwater
The Greenland ice sheets are losing their ability to retain meltwater, resulting in faster runoff of meltwater into the ocean ...
Hotspots of Bat-Human Virus Transmission
Covid-19 is not the first pandemic to strike humanity, and it won't be the last. Scientists are investigating bat-human virus ...
More Exercise Doesn’t Always Burn More Calories
Are you hoping to shed some weight this year? Research shows that more exercise doesn't always burn more calories. By ...
The environmental impact of pet food
What is the environmental paw print of pet food? Larger than you may think! It takes an area twice the ...
Humidity and Respiratory Virus Transmission
Virus studies suggest that humidity levels may influence how easily respiratory viral infections spread. By Neha Jain As the novel ...
Impact of Air Conditioning on Climate and Disease
By Neha Jain Climate change is making summers in many countries much hotter than they were several decades ago. Heat ...
Washing clothes in short, cool cycles is better
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore If you’ve been concerned about the impact of laundering on the environment, researchers have advice for ...
Intense Lawn Mowing Lowers Biodiversity, Favors Pests
Mowing lawns less frequently and allowing grass to grow may result in greater plant and pollinator biodiversity and fewer pests ...
Disco Clam, Colorful Mystery
By Neha Jain (@lifesciexplore) Dazzling bright-red tentacles first lured Lindsey Dougherty to the study of disco clams, which are found ...
Marine Mammals Need a Voice in the Fishing Industry
Marine mammals such as dolphins, porpoises, and whales are often injured or killed by commercial fishing. New policies are needed ...
Plastic Waste Necessitates Policies for Producers
By Neha Jain Countries around the world, both developed and developing, have been grappling with growing piles of plastic waste ...
Curing Plant Blindness at Botanical Gardens and Farms
Plant blindness, the lack of awareness of plants and their importance, is addressed by botanical gardens and agricultural farms. By ...
The US Needs a Federal Ban on Marine Plastic Pollution
Marine plastic pollution must be addressed by the United States through policies on single-use plastics and abandoned fishing nets. By ...
Forest Restoration, Not Plantations, Will Curb Warming
Forest restoration efforts are a far more effective strategy for sequestering atmospheric carbon than monoculture plantations. By Neha Jain Forests ...
Fire Management in California’s Chaparral Harms Birds
A fire management practice known as mastication, or mechanically crushing vegetation to prevent forest fires, threatens bird communities. By Neha ...
Honeybees Are Attracted to Fungicides and Herbicides
Scientists found that honeybees are attracted to fungicides and herbicides. Honeybees have a deadly attraction to the chemicals in Roundup ...
California’s Urban Forests Have Lowest Tree Cover per Resident
Valued at $181 billion, California’s urban forests cover 90.8 square meters (109 square yards) per city resident, the lowest of ...
Citizen Science Promotes Environmental Engagement
An Australian study found that when people participate in citizen science projects, public knowledge of the scientific process and environmental ...
Artificial Night-Lights Are Growing, Getting Brighter
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore As soon as it gets dark, street lights, which have become widespread in the developed world—and ...
New Ways to Reduce Antibiotics in Food Animals by 2030
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore In a new study, researchers in the United States and Europe propose three measures—capping antibiotic use ...
Ocean Floor Warming Affects Antarctic Seabed Life
Recent research shows that even a little ocean floor warming can change species composition, affecting entire ecosystems. By Neha Jain ...
Coral Gardening Effectively Restores Staghorn Corals
Since the 1980s, Staghorn corals have suffered massive declines (up to 98 percent). How can we restore them? With coral ...
Wood Ants Make Defensive Cocktails Against Microbes
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Wood ants are natural mixologists, concocting their own defensive cocktails, a new study finds. They protect ...
Nuisance Flooding May Cost More Than Extreme Storms
Nuisance flooding and floods of all sizes are becoming more frequent, thanks to rising sea levels, and can turn out ...
Reusable Lab on a Chip Costs One Cent
Scientists have developed a reusable lab on a chip (LOC) that can be printed using an inkjet printer at an ...
Frequent Rainstorms Predicted with Climate Change
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore If you live in California, you might recall the powerful winter rainstorm of 2014, dubbed the ...
Seized Ivory Traced to Recently Slaughtered Elephants
Slaughtered elephants are the result of a demand for ivory that has decimated both forest and savannah elephant populations across ...
Amazonian Frog Uses Mimicry to Ward Off Ants
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore More than a thousand species of frogs live in the warm and humid Amazonian forest. Some ...
Mosquito Saliva Protein Fights Dengue Transmission
By Neha Jain Dengue, along with other viral diseases such as Chikungunya and Zika, is transmitted through the virus-infected saliva ...
Water Weeds Cleaning Up Oil Spills
Two water weeds have an amazing ability to absorb oil from contaminated water. Is this a new means of cleaning ...
Robust Rice Varieties Cut Costs and Pollution
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Climate change coupled with our growing population is putting tremendous pressure on world food production, especially ...
Tracking Climate Change Through Hibernating Toads
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Have you ever wondered how animals are coping with warming temperatures? Our warming planet affects the ...
Solar-Powered Oxygen Saves Lives in Africa
Scientists have devised a way to deliver oxygen to children with severe pneumonia: harnessing solar energy to power oxygen delivery ...
Chickens Use Color Vision to Find Food, Pick Mates
Have you ever wondered how chickens see the world? Did you know that chickens use color vision? Get the answers ...
Ancient Crops Reveal Asian Colonization of Madagascar
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore For decades, the colonization of Madagascar has been one of the most puzzling mysteries of human history ...
Recycled Smartphones Hunt Down Illegal Loggers
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore In the summer of 2011 Topher White, founder of Rainforest Connection, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), visited ...
Soil Carbon Unstable After Clear-Cutting
Clear-cutting is chopping down all the trees in an area, as opposed to selective logging, which is removing only the ...
Hungry Baby Bees More Resilient to Starvation as Adults
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore When was the last time you ate an apple? We rarely think about how fruits develop; ...
Land Carbon Released During Last Deglaciation Period
Our planet has been going through glacial periods for ages. What does that mean for land carbon and carbon dioxide ...
Fecal Fungi May Lead to Cheaper Biofuel
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Fecal Fungi May Lead to Cheaper Biofuel Manure may be a good fertilizer, but there’s more ...
Algal Toxins Found in Alaskan Marine Mammals
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore Harmful algal blooms produce toxins that can be deadly to marine mammals. In the US, such ...
Strengthening the Endangered Species Act
Is it time to strengthen the endangered species act? Species are disappearing at a rapid pace, and the ESA is ...
Environmental Contaminants Add to Antibiotic Resistance
Are you concerned about overuse of antibiotics leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria? Industrial waste may be another trigger for antibiotic resistance. By ...