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Minnesota teen Evan Morris built a low-cost system that detected seizure-like activity in worms and triggered ultrasound; recurrence fell 70.1% in his model

Evan Morris (Image Credit: Society For Science) Eighteen-year-old Evan Morris of Saint Paul, Minnesota, has developed a low-cost experimental system that could offer researchers a faster way to study how brain stimulation might control seizures. His project, called SILENCE: On-demand seizure suppression via closed-loop sonogenetics, uses genetically modified worms, a computer-controlled detection system and ultrasound…

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A Connecticut cemetery leased unused land for 7,000 solar panels, but the ground beneath them could become habitat for bees and pollinators

Representative Image of a cemetery with solar panels surrounded by wildflowers and native grasses (AI-generated image) At the back of a Catholic cemetery in Torrington, Connecticut, a wide field once sat empty for years, too far from the graves to ever be needed. Then came rows of dark solar panels, built on land owned by…

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Meet Vera Wang, the Hawaii high school senior who built a coconut-based ocean filter as a sophomore; two years later, she found fungi in coconut husks that can biodegrade plastic and sunscreen

Wang’s work, done in the lab of Anthony Amend at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, was recognized at the 2026 Hawaiʻi State Science & Engineering Fair What started as a high school project to clean polluted ocean water has turned into a promising scientific discovery. Hawaii’s Kaiser High School senior Vera Wang was the…

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In 1974, Vietnam veteran Kenneth Deardorff moved to Alaska looking for work; 14 years later, he became the last person in US history to receive a homestead title

Vietnam veteran Kenneth Deardorff arrived in Alaska in 1974 with a geography degree and plans to find work with the US Geological Survey or another employer. Instead, the California native became fascinated by the idea of building a life in the state’s remote wilderness. He travelled to the Bureau of Land Management office in Anchorage,…

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Massachusetts residents sue data centre over 27 diesel generators and 16 cooling towers near homes, raising fears of pollution and noise

Ten residents in Lowell, Massachusetts, are suing the state’s environmental regulator and the company behind a large data centre over an expansion that would bring the facility’s total to 27 industrial-scale diesel backup generators and 16 cooling towers. The lawsuit challenges the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s approval of the expansion and alleges that residents…

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A multi-state surrogacy dispute escalated after McKenna West gave birth in Texas to a baby with a severe heart defect; the intended parents now have custody while the legal fight continues

Baby holding mother’s hand (Representative Image, Canva) A complex surrogacy dispute involving California, Alaska and Texas intensified after surrogate McKenna West gave birth in Texas to a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe and life-threatening congenital heart condition. The baby was born on August 12 and is receiving specialised medical care. According to…

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In 2024, Colorado stepped up restoration for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse; two years later, a new project is expanding habitat protection

Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (Image Credit: Wikipedia) Colorado’s efforts to protect the threatened Preble’s meadow jumping mouse are gaining momentum as conservationists work to restore the streamside habitat the tiny species depends on. In northern Colorado, restoration has focused on improving riparian areas, reconnecting streams with their floodplains and encouraging landowners to protect suitable habitat….

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In 2021, an Ohio family set out to restore 60 acres of abandoned mine land; five years later, native trees are bringing it back to life

In a small rural corner of Jackson County, Ohio, where the hills still bear the scars of coal mining, one family chose to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this year not with fireworks or parades, but with shovels, seedlings and a promise to heal the land. Their 60-acre property, a former Abandoned Mine Land (AML) site…

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