2 . The ocean covers more than 70% of the planet, making the deep sea one of the largest habitats on Earth. Many of the fish living in the depths of the ocean look like the scary aliens in the horror films, with giant teeth, glow-in-the-dark bodies and bulging eyeballs. But why do these fish have such otherworldly features?

The strange appearance of deep-sea fish is largely a reflection of the extreme environment they live in. Most of the deep ocean, which starts 200 meters below the surface, has little to no light, high pressure systems, low food availability, and is much colder than the rest of the ocean, with an average temperature just above freezing at 4 degrees Celsius. “The deep sea is a really harsh place to make a living, so a lot of animals have really had to adapt some niche adaptations to survive in that environment,” Mary MeCarthy, a fish biologist said.

Without many opportunities to find food, deep-sea fish have developed traits to help them hunt prey (猎物), one of the most fearsome being a massive set of jaws. For example, Sloane’s viperfish (蝰鱼) has sharp teeth that are so large that it cannot close its mouth. These sharp teeth are also clear, which means they can hide their weapons from prey until it’s too late. Other deep-sea fish like the pelican eels (鹈鹕鳗) have mouths that, when stretched, take up the majority of their bodies so that they can capture and swallow large fish they find in these deep-sea food deserts.

Some deep-sea fish have a secret weapon that makes them a prey magnet—the ability to generate their own light. This light can attract prey, in part, because marine creatures may think they are about to swallow a small glowing creature(when really they are about to become the meal).

3 . In a new study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated—nanoplastics (纳米塑料) so tiny that they cannot be seen under a microscope.

At one-thousandth the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so small that they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially noxious synthetic (人造的) chemicals throughout the body and into cells. One liter of water contains an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics, of which 90% are identified as nanoplastics and the rest are microplastics, according to the new study.

According to Sherri Mason, a researcher, the new finding strengthens long-held expert advice to drink tap water from glass or stainless steel containers to reduce exposure. That advice extends to other foods and drinks packaged in plastic.

Nanoplastics are the most worrying type of plastic pollution for human health. “The chemicals can be carried to your liver, kidney, and brain and even make their way across the placental boundary and end up in an unborn child,” said Mason.

“Based on other studies, we expected most of the microplastics in bottled water would come from leakage of the plastic bottle itself, which is typically made of PET (聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯) plastic,”said Qian, a doctoral student at Columbia University. Studies have found that particles of this plastic can be broken off by repeatedly opening and closing the cap of the bottle, crushing the bottle or subjecting it to heat, such as in a car.

“We can avoid consuming foods and beverages (饮料) in plastic containers. We can wear clothing made from natural fabric s and buy consumer products made from natural materials,”said Jane Houlihan, an expert in environmental health.“We can estimate the plastic in our daily lives and find alternatives whenever possible.” Several studies have also reported lower microplastic levels in tap water.

4 . STINSON BEACH CLEAN-UP PROJECT

Help us keep Stinson Beach clean this summer! Warmer weather and handfuls of holidays bring more people out to the beach which sometimes means more garbage too; join us once per month to clear litter and maintain the beauty there.

When: One Friday a month between May and September. 10: 00 am—1: 00 pm.

Where: Stinson Beach parking lot.

Supplies: We invite volunteers to bring their own reusable supplies! Limit waste by bringing your own bag or bucket and gloves if possible — but don’t worry if you don’t — we’ll have some supplies on site for you to use.

Group entry: Groups of five or more require special arrangements and must be confirmed in advance. Please review the List of Available Projects and fill out the Group Project Request Form.

Age, Skills, What to bring:

Volunteers aged 10 and up are welcome. Read our Youth Policy Guidelines for youth under the age of 15.

Bring your completed Volunteer Agreement Form. Volunteers under 18 must have the parent approval section signed.

We’ll be working rain or shine. Bring layers for changing weather and rain gear (雨具).

Bring a personal water bottle and sunscreen. Wear clothes that can get dirty. Long pants and closed-toe shoes are required.

No experience necessary. Training and tools will be provided. Fulfills community service requirements.

5 . Electronic waste, or e-waste, has reached levels that cannot be continued. More efforts are needed to take precious metals from abandoned laptops and smartphones. Research shows that over 57 million tons of e-waste was created worldwide in 2021 and people are frustrated about the lack of options to recycle their tech.

Building a low-carbon economy will depend on battery technology for electric vehicles and energy storage. Taking the elements from used batteries will be an environmental necessity. Lithium-ion (锂离子) batteries also contain cobalt (钴) and copper (铜), but as mining for these metals creates poisonous pollution that can ruin the environment, so too can battery recycling if not done properly. It’s a problem that needs to be solved quickly.

Another strong pressure in mining e-waste for recycled materials is that supplies could stop entirely. Up to 30 different elements are used in smartphones, and six of them are predicted to run out in the next century.

“Developing a circular economy where minerals used in tech devices are saved and repurposed could help us to bypass supply chain issues in the future while also helping to reduce environmental impacts,” said RSC president Tom Welton. “It is essential that governments and businesses urgently do more to deal with the world’s growing e-waste crisis and ease the worry on supply chains.”

The US generates more than six million tons of e-waste each year and recycles only15 per cent. So there is a huge need to increase and regulate recycling instead of shipping waste abroad, where it is taken apart or made into pieces, releasing poison that can expose workers, including children, to diseases like cancer. Vast quantities are simply burned or buried in landfill to pollute the air, soil and water.

Electronic equipment is forecast to generate nearly 75 million metric tons of e-waste annually by 2030—almost double what was created in 2014. Less than 20per cent of global e-waste is currently recycled and that needs to change.

8 . Laughter is a universal language for humans to connect with each other and form social bonds. Even as babies, we giggle when our parents pull funny faces, and then gradually learn to make others laugh as we grow up.     1     Scientists have observed behaviors in animals that suggest that your pets might be secret jokesters.

Have you ever seen dogs let people come close to their toy, and then playfully run away with it? Biologist Charles Darwin saw this as the dog’s version of a practical joke. Mare Bekoff, biology professor, also observed dogs playfully teasing each other by approaching slowly and then quickly running away.     2     And he’s also said that animals may goof around (瞎胡闹) as a way to cope with stress.

In a 2024 study, Isabelle Laumer and colleagues watched four ape species interact with each other and observed 18 distinct teasing behaviors. They saw young apes move towards an adult quietly, pat them to surprise them and then wait and watch the response, behaviour similar to that shown by human children.     3    

What about laughing? While playing, dogs sometimes produce a breathy snort (哼) that could sound like laughter.     4     Rats make a joyful squeak (吱吱声) similar to a giggle when they are tickled, says Jeffrey Burgdorf, professor at Northwestern University.

    5     Are the apes in Laumer’s study really joking around or just attention-seeking? What would be the evolutionary purpose of animals teasing? “In humans, humour can serve as an ice-breaker, removing social barriers and strengthening relationships,” says Laumer. “We don’t know if it’s the same in apes or other animals, but it’s possible.”

10 . Bees are cute and give us delicious things, like honey, and useful things, like beeswax. But they’ve also got those infamous stingers (毒刺). Bees can be a little scary, and in groups, they can be deadly. So when reports hit the news about Colony Collapse Disorder (蜂群崩溃症候群), some of us might have thought, what’s the big deal?

What would happen if all the bees died? Unfortunately, we’d lose a lot more than organic candles if bees went extinct. There are more than 20,000 species of bees in the world, Together, they are probably the most important group of insect pollinators (传粉者). If all the bees suddenly disappeared, there would be a gap in our ecosystems that would be very hard to fill. First, flowers would likely go extinct without bees. Other plants that bees pollinate might survive with other pollinators. But they would be at a disadvantage.

Some animals rely on bees for food. If we lost the bees, some of our most beautiful natural species could be next. All these changes would have chain effects throughout ecosystems and into human society. Humanity probably wouldn’t starve without bees with many of our main crops pollinated by the wind. But nutritious fruits and vegetables could be lost or become so expensive that few people could afford them. And eating healthily is hard enough as it is. It’s hard to know just how such a huge change to the natural world would end.

Luckily, this is just an imagination, right? But, Colony Collapse Disorder is very real. Scientists believe human activity is to blame. The loss of bees has also been linked to the pesticides we use and to man-made climate change. And some studies showed that it’s not just bees. Insect numbers have dropped dramatically over the last few decades. Nearly half of all insect lives may have died out in the last 35 years. Bees and other bugs may be a little scary, but a world without them would be much scarier.