by Berfin Dağ (written as part of the completion of the BMSIS Young Scientist Program) Regardless of our motivation, we must consider the ethical implications of going and settling on Mars before too many resources and people put into this effort. The mission will undoubtedly be extremely dangerous, like living on Mars. We do not yet know what the long-term effects of living on Mars, low gravity, exposure to high radiation, and living in a confined space with a small […]

By Nidhi Goswami Since the dawn of humanity, we have been wondering about our place in the cosmos. Are we alone in the universe? The answer to this question is obviously in the night sky, beyond the thin atmosphere of our planet. The exploration of space then seems a natural choice to move forward. However, space is vast! With current propulsion technologies, it takes days to reach the Moon, months to reach our neighbouring planets, years to cross the solar […]

By Sarah Treadwell – BMSIS Science Writer Concerns about how to protect our planet from asteroid impacts have long plagued planetary scientists. While statistically speaking the chances of a disastrous one hitting our planet in our lifetime is very slim, the consequences of being underprepared could be significant. Quite infamously, it did not bode well for the dinosaurs the last time a large asteroid found its way to Earth. While confidence has been high that humans will be able to […]

By Luke Concollato People have been observing how ecosystems function since humans first began hunting. When our primitive ancestors began cultivating land they embarked on a journey to work with nature. This journey continues today as modern ecologists unravel nature’s complex relationships.   Ecologists invented a way to quantify how nature contributes to our quality of life with a concept called “ecosystem services.” Ecosystem services have been developed to describe the various ways nature benefits our lives. Ecosystem services are divided […]

By Ishani Singh One of the most baffling mysteries of the universe for cosmologists are black holes, something that has not been directly seen yet and the study of which has been rather difficult. The twist in the story is that the existence of all that we see, discover, or imagine about space is greatly dependent upon black holes. They are in a way representative of the extremes of nature and the most bewildering aspect is that even after much […]