Citizen Science SciStarter Blog 

Sound Around Town Uses Data to Combat Noise Pollution

By Bradley Allf At the start of World War I, thousands of soldiers were coming down with a baffling condition: they became blind, deaf, lost their memory, or developed uncontrollable shaking despite no obvious physical injury. Even stranger, this malady could be triggered by memories of the war even after the fighting had ended. At the time, doctors called what they were seeing “shell-shock,” though today we would call it by a different name: post-traumatic stress disorder. Anything that brought back memories of the trenches could precipitate this condition, but…

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California’s Urban Forests Have Lowest Tree Cover per Resident Botany Environment 

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 all US states. By Neha Jain California’s urban forests are not just a pretty sight; they are an asset valued at a whopping $181 billion, finds a new study. But, according to the study, the state’s urban tree cover at 90.8 square meters (109 square yards) per city resident is the lowest among all US states. The good news is that there are 236 million spots available for more trees…

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Urban Life of Bees: A Pollination-Parasite Trade-Off Biology Botany Environment Zoology 

Urban Bees: A Pollination-Parasite Trade-Off

Are cities the ideal home for bees? European scientists found that urban bees can have surprisingly good pollination rates. By Jonathan Trinastic Few people would consider cities the ideal home for bees, but what if these dense population centers could provide the means for healthy cohabitation? Scientists from Europe recently examined how bumblebees visit and pollinate flowers across urban and agricultural regions and found that urban areas can have a surprisingly beneficial effect on pollination rates. The reasons behind these results not only provide insight into how cities could be…

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