It has a plastic appearance, a plastic feel, and a plastic capacity to hold your favorite beverage. However, there is a label on the cup you were given that says “100% biodegradable.” Is that even possible? Simply defined, this plastic-like substance is polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer made up of many small lactic acid molecules…
In normal times, there would be no doubt that a medication having opioid-like effects should be shown safe and effective before being extensively promoted and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But these aren’t ordinary times, and kratom, a herbal supplement, isn’t a regular medication. In reality, whether or not to prohibit kratom…
With fewer than 90 days until COP26, the annual United Governments climate change meeting in Glasgow, Scotland this November, nations are under increasing pressure to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. The 2015 Paris Agreement called for pledges to keep global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to keep…
What would you do with 1,000 butts if you had them? Ramisyllis multicaudata, a sea worm, is one of only two known creatures to find itself in this precarious predicament (shopping for trousers must be a nightmare)—and it isn’t telling. Given that a worm doesn’t “just happen” to have that many booties, there must be…