"this is sixth form poetry, not Keats or Yeats"
The Hypatia stone is a small stone that was found in the Great Sand Sea in south-western Egypt in 1996. Researchers have now used chemical analysis to show that this stone likely came from a Type Ia supernovae explosion, one of the most energetic events in the Universe.
The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, growing up to 20m in length. Despite their great size, this species is endangered, with industrialised shipping now found to have lead to a large number of collisions and potential whale shark deaths across the world.
In the United States, of those students who take out loans to fund their university-level education, the average graduates with debts of more than $30,000. There has now been shown to be a positive correlation between student debt and cardiovascular disease risk.
Almost all bodies of water have some algae, but in a red tide, the water changes colour because the population of algae living in the water becomes so dense. Off the west coast of Florida, these red tides are also likely to cause dead zones of life by starving the water of oxygen.
Aphantasia is a phenomenon in which people are unable to visualize imagery. People that are affected by this condition have no ‘mind’s eye’, meaning that their imagination is essentially blind. It has now been shown that this condition can be detected by looking at how the pupils respond to light.
Speciesism is defined as the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals. Yet new research has found that this is a behaviour that is likely learned during adolescence, with children thinking that animals ought to be treated better.
The moriche palm is native to South America, with the female palms producing an edible fruit that is hugely important for local communities. Sadly, cutting down female palm trees to harvest the fruit has halved the total amount that is available. Yet adopting more sustainable practices, i.e. climbing the trees to harvest their fruit instead of cutting them down, could result in an increase in fruit production of 51%.
A globalised diet of ultra-processed foods is having a negative impact on both human and planetary health. These foods lead to higher risks of obesity, cancer, depression, and death, while the lack of diversity in agriculture is bad because it reduces the gene pool, thereby making it harder for crops to adapt to global environmental changes.
Recent research has shown that in Northern California, the annual average healthcare cost was found to be $374 lower per person per year for those living near the most green space than it was for those living near the least green space.
This poem is inspired by recent research, which has created a colour catalogue to help find life on distant, frozen worlds.