Scientists and predators alike have long been confounded by ocean fish that seem to disappear from sight even in the open waters. Since last week, however, the former have determined how the invisibility...
As the 2015 UN Climate Conference approaches, new studies indicate its necessity. Studies released last week indicated that both greenhouse gas concentrations and global temperature have reached new milestones...
While a spider stalking across your ceiling may draw the eye, its colorfulness is not usually the reason. But the distinctive colors are one of the defining characteristics of male jumping spiders and...
Chameleons have long been admired for their color-changing camouflage abilities, but it was a mystery — until earlier this year — how those abilities worked. Researchers at the University of Geneva...
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a synthetic skin-like device capable of picking up pressure sensations and relaying them to the brain. Zhenan Bao, a professor of chemical engineering...
Student researchers from nine science departments presented their summer research projects in DeVries Hall lobby on Oct. 23, 2015. Eighty-five students participated in summer research to be presented...
The nation’s already hard-hit honeybees are now contending with a parasitic behavior-altering insect. The tiny fly Apocephalus borealis has been afflicting honeybees in the western United States since...
An idea that has been over twenty years in the making could soon be hitting glass markets everywhere. Transparent films developed by Ubiquitous Energy capture solar power, and could soon be mounted on...
Last Saturday, West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) hosted the 12th annual Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup. The event drew volunteers from across West Michigan, including a number of Calvin...
The lethal neuromuscular disease ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) made headlines last year during the “ice bucket challenge.” Last month, it returned to news pages when...
A study published earlier this month in the journal Nature Communications explores patterns of sperm whale communication that may point toward culture-like exchanges in the species.
By comparing 18...
Last November, the Netherlands became the first country to introduce a solar road; today, the project is 10 months old and going strong. The road — a bicycle path used by 150,000 cyclists during its...
In a paper published in late March, researchers identified a new frog species along with a new way of considering vertebrate camouflage. The species, Pristimantis mutabilis, was first discovered in the...
Robotic “noses” modeled after a lobster’s sensory antennules may be the next tool for detecting explosives and oil spills in aquatic environments.
A team of researchers from Stanford University,...
Siberia has recently played host to dozens of mysterious craters, the first of which appeared last July.
At the time, it was suspected that they were formed by the volatile release of methane hydrate...
New images from NASA indicate that the Amazon rainforest is not as self-sufficient as many believe.
It turns out that the renowned biodiversity hotspot is actually reliant on dust blown overseas from...
Scientists have recently identified Earth’s new strongest known material: limpet teeth. Stronger than Kevlar, and surpassing even spider silk, the miniscule structure is found in a nondescript marine...
Last year, according to National Geographic, the amount of garbage in the global oceans was estimated to be 245,000 tons. However, a study released in the journal “Science” earlier this month places...
Once universally considered pests, termites are now revealed to be diminutive ecosystem engineers. A study published in the “Science” journal earlier this month suggests that termites—and specifically...
This past weekend, eight students represented Calvin College at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) leadership conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Andrew Jo, Jeremy...
Ignorance may be bliss, but it comes at a steep price.
I have met people who thought Africa was a country. I have met a student (a college honors student, in fact) who thought that Ivory Coast (a country...
The discovery of a new species of frog was confirmed last week in New York City. The urban leopard frog, Rana kauffeldi, closely resembles the southern leopard frog, a species of leopard frog found in...
As November approaches, antifreeze is making its way onto shopping lists across the Northern Hemisphere, but the substance predates the existence of cars — and shopping lists, for that matter. Biological...
Posters are springing up in the DeVries Hall lobby today for Calvin College’s annual summer research poster fair. Eighty-one students who participated in summer research will be presenting their studies...
A recent study has confirmed a long-suspected trend: curiosity improves memory and learning capabilities. It is not without reason that we tend to excel in those classes that interest us the most. According...
Last week, the world’s first solar battery was developed by a research team led by Professor Yiying Wu of Ohio State University. This new development in the field of solar power opens up possibilities...
Stress and its effects were discovered in a rather unappetizing way (if you’re prone to anxiety, read no further). In 1936, an endocrinologist (a scientist studying hormone effects) by the name of Hans...
A study published in the journal Science earlier this month has placed coffee among such disparate organisms as honeybees, dogs and human beings. All four of them (and more than 175 others, according to...
The viral “ice bucket challenge,” pervasive on social media for the past few months represents only a fraction of time compared to the decades-long research of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) conducted...
Already a staple of many a college student’s diet, peanut butter may be on the brink of even greater popularity. Emerging research from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has...
Calvin chemistry professor Douglas Vander Griend was named a 2014 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar last month for his work in supramolecular chemistry, a field focused on “nanosize range between engineering...
A recent study published in “Psychological Science” recommends students take a step back from their laptops — at least in the classroom. The study’s findings suggest that taking notes with pen...
On Monday, March 24, 2014, an estimated 630 to 1,638 gallons of oil spilled into Lake Michigan from BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery, according to ThinkProgress. CBS News reports that the spill has been...
Spiders and Escherichia coli are hardly likely candidates for improving human health, but companies are now on the cusp of manufacturing spider silk commercially, with the help of E. coli. The silk is...
“We as a community strive to honor God, his creation, our neighbors and all who find themselves within our walls.” This covenant of 1st van Reken, Calvin College’s outdoor recreation and creation...
It’s a challenge to imagine artifacts surviving from the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614, let alone 10-millimeter long freshwater creatures. Even so, American biologists are describing just such...
According to a recent study conducted in South Africa, the human species is not the only one to depend on societal dynamics for social health and growth. The study is the first to explore the relationships...
At 80 kilometers long and 20 wide, Yellowstone National Park’s magma reserve measures are two and a half times the previous estimate. The park housing this large cache is located at the junction of Wyoming,...
It seems that the ongoing phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which has been affecting North America’s honeybee colonies since 2006, is influenced by more factors than anyone had guessed, including...
The UN’s Climate Panel released a new, extensive report on Friday (Sept. 27), the fifth in a continuing series of climate change documents.
The fifth Assessment Report (AR5), produced by the Intergovernmental...
About 900 west Michigan residents combed around 30 miles of the Grand River and its tributaries’s banks last Saturday morning for refuse littered along them, according to the Mayors’ Grand River Cleanup...
When it comes to workforce patterns and habits, it seems that human beings aren’t unique in our stir-craziness and “midlife crisis” behaviours. A recent study conducted by biologists at Switzerland’s...
