News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
In 2012, evolutionary biologist Catherine Sheard started an ambitious Ph.D. project: measuring the shape of every kind of passerine, or perching bird, in the world. “I thought, ‘This is about 6000 species, that almost seems doable,’” Sheard says. It was, and her project catalyzed an international effort to measure all the world’s birds. Now, a … Read more
Small-scale gold mining has been going on in the Amazon for decades, with huge expansion of this activity since the early 2000s. It is often done via river dredging, in which miners excavate sediments in search of small pieces of gold. To separate the gold, miners mix liquid mercury into the sediment, which forms a … Read more
At first glance, the Amazon rainforest of Peru’s Los Amigos Conservation Concession might seem like a pristine wilderness. Brightly colored birds flit through the jungle. A dense canopy of trees echoes with the cries of howler monkeys. Jaguars pad quietly through the shadows. Giant otters swim in Cocha Lobo Lake. But the forest is hiding … Read more
Women have a variety of methods for contraception, but only two methods are commonly available to men: condoms and vasectomies. Both methods have their drawbacks. Condoms can break, and some men are allergic to the latex in standard condoms. Vasectomies are surgical procedures that can be painful and difficult to reverse. So the search … Read more
Gold mining in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira would drive deforestation and increase mercury pollution, say ecologists Environment 16 December 2021 By Luke Taylor An Indigenous village in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil Paulo Lopes/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News The Brazilian government has approved gold exploration in a pristine expanse of Amazon rainforest that … Read more