What began as a classroom design exercise by high-school students in New York has taken nearly a decade to become a reality. In 2017, students from North Tonawanda High School’s engineering academy were asked to imagine how a downtown park could be transformed. One of the winning ideas featured a clock tower and a landscaped…
An iconic American landmark that has been a part of history for more than half a century will be going dark this month in a bid to save lives. The Gateway Arch, which has triumphantly bent over St Louis, Missouri, will now bow to nature. Throughout the month of September, the lights on this Midwestern…
Aamir Tinwala, a middle-schooler living through pandemic isolation begged his parents for a pet and they agreed to get him a bird, a bright yellow-faced and orange-cheeked cockatiel, whom he named Koco. This bond, inspired the Texas teen to launch a bird conservation movement that is now spread across continents and generations according to a…
Nigerian engineer Yahaya Ahmed built his first model house with 14,800 sand-filled plastic bottle (Image Credit: BBC) What if thousands of discarded plastic bottles could become part of a house instead of ending up in gutters or landfills? In Kaduna, Nigerian engineer Yahaya Ahmed has spent more than a decade exploring that possibility. His first…
Michigan State University botanist William James Beal buried 20 glass bottles filled with seeds In 1879, Michigan State University botanist William James Beal buried 20 glass bottles filled with seeds and sand in an effort to answer a deceptively simple question: how long could seeds remain dormant in the soil and still grow when conditions…
Like most parents, Dave Curro, a 69-year-old father, is also worried about the future of his son, especially since he has a developmental disability. But now, he is one step closer to ensuring that his son has a community that supports him and makes his life more comfortable and happier. Four years ago, he dreamt…
What if an old highway could become part of the new one? In Utah, that is exactly what happened. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) recycled around 15,000 cubic yards of concrete from the old Bangerter Highway in 2024, crushing it on site and reusing it as road base for new highway interchanges. The amount…
The town of Nahant during a breezy spring day.Photo credit: Canva In 2018, Northeastern University announced plans for a major marine science expansion on Nahant, a small, densely built peninsula northeast of Boston. The proposal included up to 55,000 square feet of new research and teaching space on a 12-acre coastal parcel that many residents…
It has no leaves, no branches and no green parts, and spends much of its life concealed beneath fallen leaves on the forest floor. Scientists have now described a bizarre new flowering plant from Thailand, naming it Thismia daemona, the “devil flower”, for its dark, horn-like appearance. Details of the discovery were reported by Pensoft…
Some learn business, others are born with a hunch for it. When it comes to Greg Clark, it seems the latter holds true. At 19, he quit his job, paid his rent and was left with just $20 to his name. Today, he is renovating an 81-room hotel in Eureka Springs with a $1.1 million…