Monthly Archives: March 2018

How many trees should be in a sustainable city?

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The theme for International Day of Forests 2018, ’Forests and Sustainable Cities’, is a good opportunity to discuss cities’ forest cover goals. Tree planting campaigns implemented recently in many cities have certainly invigorated the urban forestry movement and engaged the public in pursuing sustainable development goals. But what was the goal of these campaigns? Were they to increase tree cover, or were they to counterbalance tree cover losses from 2000 to 2012?

Biology Health

The importance of understanding vagus nerve activity

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Among its many roles in the body, the vagus nerve is involved in suppressing damaging inflammation. Following on from research in which they mapped this inflammatory reflex, a team of researchers have now developed a new recording method for the vagus nerve in mice to further our understanding. This method is detailed in an article published today in Bioelectronic Medicine, an open access journal published by BMC in partnership with the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Here we interviewed one the authors of paper, Dr. Harold Silverman, to find out more.

Biology
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Economists listen to Ecologists: On Biology at the World Economic Forum

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The World Economic Forum has a tradition of bringing together a sprinkling of academics and entrepreneurial innovators to mix with business and policy elites at their annual meeting in Davos. It is a rare opportunity for researchers to interact with such a diverse and influential audience, and all participants are encouraged to step back and consider the impact of their activities on the future state of the world. This year, with the increasing acceptance that continued economic growth depends on the health of the planet, the fragile biology of ecosystems was a prevalent theme.

Biology Developing World Technology