Astronauts and citizens team up against light pollution

For an astronaut looking out of the International Space Station windows, city lights are brighter than the stars. To tackle light pollution citizen scientists are urged to help map out the problem on their smartphones by ...

Four ways to curb light pollution, save bugs

Artificial light at night negatively impacts thousands of species: beetles, moths, wasps and other insects that have evolved to use light levels as cues for courtship, foraging and navigation.

Toward a safer material for artificial muscles

Whether wriggling your toes or lifting groceries, muscles in your body smoothly expand and contract. Some polymers can do the same thing—acting like artificial muscles—but only when stimulated by dangerously high voltages. ...

City moths avoid the light

The globally increasing light pollution has negative effects on organisms and entire ecosystems. The consequences are especially hard on nocturnal insects, since their attraction to artificial light sources generally ends ...

Do urban fish exhibit impaired sleep?

Melatonin controls the body clock—high melatonin levels make us feel tired in the evening. However, the hormone also plays an important role in animals' biological rhythms. Artificial light at night—light pollution—can ...

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