“Nature reveals itself to us in unique ways, if we stop and look at the world through a window of time,” says photographer Stephen Wilkes. Using a special photographic technique that reveals how a scene changes from day to night in a single image,
Wilkes exposes the Earth’s beautiful complexity and the impacts of climate change — from the disruption of flamingo migrations in Africa to the threat of melting ice — with unprecedented force. This performance was part of the Countdown Global Launch on 10.10.2020.
Countdown is TED’s global initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. The goal: to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, in the race to a zero-carbon world.
The “Cocoon Hotel & resort”, Tulum, Mexico– a new concept of eco-tourism, and a great opportunity of connection with Nature, Community, Ourselves, inspired by the sea and the exotic forest. The project consists of 46.181 m2 offering 3 residential and 2 hotel buildings “COCOON” with 204 apartments and 167 rooms as well as 16 private villas.Every feature serves to give a unique experience and create a magical place for the guest, at the same time making him identify what is Mexico.
The complex offers luxury community spaces integrated into nature such as jungle gardens, magical outdoor living spaces-villas, multipurpose pavilion, indoor community spaces, leisure areas, restaurant, and a panoramic Nest with unrestricted and breath-taking views. All to achieve a wide vocabulary of visual elements to mutate into designing language, in materials and shapes, for a bio-mimicry architecture.
The idea was to create “Cenotes”- natural freshwater ponds, to which the Mayans gave a sacred use, thus allowing to experience the real Mayan´s rituals. The project makes an emphasis on sustainability concept respecting ecosystem and biodiversity, contributing to the usage of natural materials that minimizes the impact of building and generation of waste. The water collection concept is also respected and represents a recovery of rainwater for sewage treatment. The solar panels are implemented to achieve sustainable electricity.
Finally, the “dry” construction system is used, meaning no wet binders, shorter execution time, and increased safety and sustainability. Source by dna Barcelona.
The chances of mini brains becoming sentient, herd immunity, bat-like dinosaurs, and a UK government decision threatens gender diversity in academia.
In this episode:
00:59 The ethics of creating consciousness
Brain organoids, created by culturing stem cells in a petri dish, are a mainstay of neuroscience research. But as these mini-brains become more complex, is there the chance they could become conscious, and if so, how could we tell?
So called ‘herd immunity’ is claimed by some as a way to break the chain of infection and curtail the pandemic. However epidemiologists say that this course of action is ineffective and will lead to large numbers of infections and deaths.
23:22 How cutting red-tape could harm gender diversity in UK academia
The Athena SWAN scheme, designed to boost gender-equality in UK academia, has proved effective, and has been exported to countries around the world. But now a decision by the UK government to cut bureaucracy could mean that institutions pay less heed to schemes like this and threaten future efforts to increase gender diversity in UK academia.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, oncologists discover a potential new human organ, and how re-examined fossils have given new insights into the size of baby tyrannosaurs.
Scotland’s #TreeOfTheYear 2020 – The Survivor Tree, Carrifran Valley.
It was once a lone rowan clinging to a stream bank in Carrifran Valley, but today that survivor tree is lonely no more! It is surrounded by a little forest of its children, and lots of suckers are coming up from its base. This was some of the first natural regeneration the Borders Forest Trust achieved in the Carrifran Valley. In addition to its own children, the rowan tree now has over half a million other native Scottish trees for company. Where once it dominated the view, it will soon be hidden from sight. The rowan tree no longer stands alone and is a symbol of the 20-year journey to revive the wild heart of Southern Scotland.
Wales’ #TreeOfTheYear 2020 – The Chapter House Tree, Margam Park, Port Talbot.
Standing in the shadows of 17th century Margam Orangery and St Mary’s Church, this historic fern-leaved beech envelopes the remains of one of the first Cistercian abbeys in Wales. Its canopy has provided shelter to visitors for many years – from Victorian tea parties taking place under its sweeping boughs to a favourite summer picnic spot for present day visitors. The tree provides an atmospheric back drop and is loved by cinematographers – featuring in TV and Film productions from Dr Who and ‘Songs of Praise’ with Sir Bryn Terfel to the recent Netflix blockbuster series ‘Sex Education’.
England’s #TreeOfTheYear 2020 – The Happy Man Tree, Hackney, London. Currently earmarked for felling, the plight of this 150 year old Plane has awakened something in a community that couldn’t bear to see it go. The dressing of the tree, and the signs behind it, are testament to the strength of feeling among the local campaigning. As an urban tree, it makes an important contribution to combating air pollution and making grey city streets green. But the community sees it as more than just the sum of it’s parts – it’s part of the estate, part of their collective history.
The structure of a beetle’s super-strong exoskeleton could open up new engineering applications, and efforts to address diversity and equality imbalances in academia.
In this episode:
01:17 Insights into an armoured insect
The diabolical ironclad beetle has an exoskeleton so strong, it can survive being run over by a car. Researchers have identified how the structure of the exoskeleton provides this strength, and show that mimicking it may lead to improved aerospace components.
This week, the UK government announced plans to run a ‘human challenge trial’, where healthy volunteers are deliberately infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We talk about the process, the ethical and procedural hurdles, and whether such an approach will provide any useful data.
Julie Posselt has been investigating the efforts of academic institutions to assess ingrained imbalances in diversity and equality. We talk to her about these efforts and her new book on the subject.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, back pay for female professors at Princeton, and a newly uncovered superpower for the tiny tardigrade.
Alan Watson Featherstone, ecologist and founder of “Trees for Life,” describes the moment he realized he needed to help in the effort to rewild Scotland, resulting in the founding of his charity “Trees for Life” to achieve this. Tune in or stream “The Age of Nature” Wednesdays, October 14-28, 2020 at 10/9c.
A high pressure experiment reveals the world’s first room-temperature superconductor, and a method to target ecosystem restoration.
In this episode:
00:44 Room-temperature superconductivity
For decades, scientists have been searching for a material that superconducts at room temperature. This week, researchers show a material that appears to do so, but only under pressures close to those at the centre of the planet. Research Article: Snider et al.; News: First room-temperature superconductor puzzles physicists
08:26 Coronapod
The Coronapod team revisit mask-use. Does public use really control the virus? And how much evidence is enough to turn the tide on this ongoing debate? News Feature: Face masks: what the data say
Restoring degraded or human-utilised landscapes could help fight climate change and protect biodiversity. However, there are multiple costs and benefits that need to be balanced. Researchers hope a newly developed algorithm will help harmonise these factors and show the best locations to target restoration. Research Article: Strassburg et al.; News and Views: Prioritizing where to restore Earth’s ecosystems
Filmmaker Sir David Attenborough has been documenting the natural world since the 1950s. In his latest book and film, “A Life on Our Planet,” he offers a grave and alarming assessment about the climate crisis Earth is facing. The 94-year-old Attenborough spoke with William Brangham recently as part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.
In western Norway, the Nordhordland region is the only UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. This site of more than 600,000 hectares between sea and fjords promotes sustainable development, combining economic activity and protection of biodiversity.
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