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Why you should sleep with lights off during the night
By Roberta Attanasio In cities and towns all around the world, the nighttime glow of artificial light obscures views of the cosmos and contributes to an environmental problem called “light pollution.” Light pollution can also be present at smaller scale, for example in neighborhoods, or in homes. Often, this problem is caused by superfluous light. Solutions such as covering streetlights to direct beams downward or turning off unnecessary lights can be very effective. But why do we need to think about solutions? “For billions of years, biology evolved in a world where light and dark was controlled by the length of the day. When the sun went down, celestial sources…
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Pythagoras, fava beans, and favism
By Roberta Attanasio Pythagoras—a cloak-wearing mystical leader with a handsome beard—lived about 2,500 year ago in a community that cherished numbers. He was a native of the Aegean Island of Samos, but later in his life migrated westward and founded a school in Kroton (now Crotone) in South Italy. The school was called the “Semicircle of Pythagoras” and followed a code of secrecy. It was a cradle of mathematical research, but it had also an ascetic and religious character. Notably, Pythagoras’ philosophical views influenced both Plato and Aristotle. Although his famous theorem about right-angled triangles was likely developed by the Babylonians, Pythagoras is considered the first mathematician and a philosophical…
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A new way of thinking about ice packs for sore muscles
By Roberta Attanasio We all know ice packs—many of us reach for them soon after an injury to reduce pain or inflammation. Think of strained muscles, sprained ankles, and so on. But is this the right approach to accelerate healing? A 2019 article from The Washington Post states: “Today, ice packs have become as ubiquitous as aspirin—they’re a fixture in every athletic training facility and sold in drugstores throughout the country. Cold baths and ice tubs have also become one of sport’s most popular recovery aids. Nearly every high school, college and pro trainer’s room has at least one ice tub, and over the last 10 or 15 years they’ve…
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Edith Meusnier — an environmental artist inspired by forests
By Roberta Attanasio Textile art is all around us, from the clothes we wear to the rugs in our homes. Made of interlacing fibers of any material, woven or knitted, textiles belong to the mundane as well as to the world of artistic expression. In her classic book on the art and history of weaving, Anni Albers writes “Along with cave paintings, threads were among the earliest transmitters of meaning.” Contemporary artists keep this ancient art form alive, mixing it with unique and innovative elements. “The zeal for textiles today is part of a larger global nostalgia for handmade things—alongside ceramics, glassware and mezcal—as an antidote to mass production, with…
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Spending time in nature may improve emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Roberta Attanasio The toll that the COVID-19 pandemic is taking on mental health, for both children and adults, is unequivocal. An article published in The New York Times in February 2021 highlights a dire situation: “Since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the United States more than a year ago, the number of people in need of mental health services has surged. But many say that they are languishing on waiting lists, making call after call only to be turned away, with affordable options tough to find. Providers, who have long been in short supply, are stretched thin.” According to an article published at about the same time in…
