The Many Health Benefits of Eating Mushrooms That Are Wild – And Picking Them Doesn’t Deplete Supply:
Wild mushrooms have been shown to have many health benefits, and with recent data on mushroom harvests, show that they can be picked all year round without depleting their supply. As a food item they are excellent sources of many important micronutrients and phytonutrients such as vitamin B2, 3, and 5, a host of minerals like copper and selenium, and a variety of carotenoids, indoles and polyphenols, which serve as anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory agents. Wild mushrooms also seem to contain large amounts of vitamin D which is rare among naturally growing food sources. Wild mushrooms have also been found to reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment and reduce the growth of toxic proteins that cause Alzheimer’s in elderly people. More specific mushrooms like the Reishi mushroom, the Chaga mushroom, and the Lions Mane mushroom have variety of medical benefits such as protection of the liver, DNA protection, increased immune function, inhibition of allergic reactions, and more.
Earth’s lower atmosphere is rising due to climate change:
The troposphere (seen here in orange) is the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere and where nearly all weather occurs. Over the last 40 years, the boundary between the troposphere and the neighboring stratosphere (pink) has risen as a result of climate change
Global Temperatures are going up and so is the lower part of the Earth’s atmosphere. Atmosphere readings collected by weather balloons in the Northern Hemisphere over the last 40 years reveal that climate change is pushing the upper boundary of the troposphere, the slice of sky closest to the ground, steadily upward at a rate of 50 to 60 meters per decade researchers report. Temperature is the driving force behind this change, says Jane Liu, an environmental scientist at the University of Toronto. The troposphere varies in height around the world, reaching as high as 20 kilometers in the tropics and as low as seven kilometers near the poles. During the year, the upper boundary of the troposphere, called the tropopause, naturally rises and falls with the seasons as air expands in the heat and contracts in the cold. But as greenhouse gases trap more and more heat in the atmosphere, the troposphere is expanding higher into the atmosphere. Liu and her colleagues found that the tropopause rose an average of about 200 meters in height from 1980 to 2020. Nearly all weather occurs in the troposphere, but it’s unlikely that this shift will have on a big effect on weather, the researchers say.
Scientists develop microscopic calibration tool with fluorescent nanodiamonds:
Microscopy image of fluorescent nanodiamonds, a calibration tool developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with industry partner GlaxoSmithKline
Jewelers, geologists, and microscopists agree, diamonds are forever. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are using microscopic nanodiamonds to calibrate and assess the performance of high-powered microscopes. Their longevity and durability make the tiny "first-aid kits" more than up to the task. Fluorescent nanodiamonds are microscopic particles with small amounts of other chemical elements trapped inside as impurities. Mantas Žurauskas' who has headed the research, says the results establish their efficacy for producing stable microscopic images due to the nanondiamonds not bleaching, making consistent images every time. Nanodiamonds' stability and longevity also allows their continuous reuse as a calibration tool, eliminating the labor-intensive preparation researchers typically undergo. If applied to microscopy research and quality control for radiation therapy(to be used in a calibration device called a phantom), they can make more controlled and quality readings, reducing the error of measurements and making medical procedures more accurate.
Sources:
Earth’s lower atmosphere is rising due to climate change | Science News
Scientists develop microscopic calibration tool with fluorescent nanodiamonds (phys.org)