This week's landmark report on the impact of invasive alien species revealed costs to the global economy exceeded US$423 billion (A$654 billion) a year in 2019. Costs have at least quadrupled every decade since 1970 and that ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 6, 2023
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2
A unique long-term study performed by researchers at Umeå University shows that the pendent lichen Usnea longissima has decreased by 42% over 37 years in Skuleskogen National Park, located in High Coast UNESCO World Heritage ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 1, 2023
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6
In 1997, a lone wolf crossed an ice bridge that briefly connected Canada with the remote Isle Royale, which lies off the coast of Michigan in Lake Superior and is renowned for its rich biodiversity.
Ecology
Aug 23, 2023
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789
A rare lizard has been rediscovered 50 years after it was last seen.
Plants & Animals
Jul 1, 2023
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45
Farmers use many marketing strategies to diversify their incomes and stay in business. New research suggests that two of these strategies—agritourism and direct farm sales—complement one another when they occur within ...
Agriculture
Apr 19, 2023
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11
The success of North American crops from corn to Christmas trees partly depends on a relatively invisible component of the food web—ground beetles. Nearly 2,000 species of ground beetle live in North America. New research ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 23, 2023
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27
A new Flinders University study has found why Southeast Asian seas produce more fish than the world's largest coastal upwelling regions combined.
Earth Sciences
Jan 20, 2023
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10
Maine lobster fishermen received a Christmas gift from Congress at the end of 2022: A six-year delay on new federal regulations designed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Ecology
Jan 13, 2023
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9
Fish that have lost food due to mass coral bleaching are getting into more unnecessary fights, causing them to expend precious energy and potentially threatening their survival, new research said Wednesday.
Ecology
Jan 7, 2023
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26
For many people, holidays in the snow are as much a part of the end of the year as Christmas trees and fireworks. As global warming progresses, however, white slopes are becoming increasingly rare. Researchers at the University ...
Earth Sciences
Dec 28, 2022
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Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday generally observed on December 25 (with alternative days of January 6, 7 and 19) to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The exact birthday of Jesus is not known, and historians place his year of birth some time between 7 BC and 2 BC. Narratives of his birth are included in two of the Canonical gospels in the New Testament of the Bible.
The date of Christmas, chosen by the Roman Catholic Church in the 4th century, may have initially been selected to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after Christians believe Jesus to have been conceived, the date of the Roman winter solstice, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.
Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians worldwide, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus, among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.
Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
