Ecology

History, records and curiosities of the ATP Finals: from surface changes to the Nadal taboo

History, records and curiosities of the ATP Finals: from surface changes to the Nadal taboo

The 2025 ATP Finals will be played in Turin. Credit: Michael Frey (Michael Frey), CC BY–SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons At the end of every tennis season, when most of the tournaments have already delivered their verdicts, there is still one stage that remains illuminated: the ATP Finals. It’s the tournament of the best 8 in the worlda sort of ...

Venetian cerussa foundation: the toxic lead makeup used by Elizabeth I

Venetian cerussa foundation: the toxic lead makeup used by Elizabeth I

If putting on makeup in the morning seems like a harmless and habitual gesture, a few centuries ago it could seriously put your life at risk. This is what happened, according to some hypotheses, to Elizabeth I of Englandwho died at the age of 69 on 24 March 1603 after 45 years of reign, and to many noblewomen between the ...

Earthquake in Japan of magnitude 6.7: tsunami warning issued, waves of up to one meter expected

Earthquake in Japan of magnitude 6.7: tsunami warning issued, waves of up to one meter expected

6.7 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan. Tsunami warning issued A strong one earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hit the Japan today, November 9, at 5.03pm local time (9.03am in Italy). According to what was reported by INGV, the epicenter has been localized at seaabout 120 km east of Iwate Prefecture, at a depth of 9 km. The Japan Meteorological Agency then issued ...

From love bombing to ghosting, what are the affective manipulation techniques and what they mean

From love bombing to ghosting, what are the affective manipulation techniques and what they mean

Love bombing, gaslighting, ghosting: they are all forms of emotional-affective manipulation that a person can implement within a relationship. The goal? Control and dominance over the other, who if he remains “imprisoned” in a dysfunctional bond of this type can feel profoundly fragmented and worn out. Name and know how to recognize these numerous facets of psychological violence it is ...

Walls and barriers to prevent the passage of people: which ones and where they are around the world

Walls and barriers to prevent the passage of people: which ones and where they are around the world

They are present in the world dozens of barriersconsisting of concrete walls or fences. Generally they are used for stop immigration or to prevent the passage of potentially hostile people And illegal goodslike drugs. Some walls, including the one between the United States and Mexico, are erected along the borders between the states; others are present in the territory of ...

5 practical tips to protect your online privacy and reduce risks

5 practical tips to protect your online privacy and reduce risks

There online privacythe control of one’s data on the internet, is an increasingly central topic in the society we live in. This is because digital welcomes more and more data and information about us: from our online habits, to the medical records saved on our smartphone, through to photos of our latest holidays shared on social media and career updates ...

If we spend a sleepless night, the brain "disconnects" while we are awake: the new study

If we spend a sleepless night, the brain “disconnects” while we are awake: the new study

Miss a single night’s sleepwe know, can have catastrophic effects on ours Attention. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), released on Nature Neurosciencehighlights the neurological mechanisms underlying the disaster of cognitive abilities in sleep deprivation, revealing that the brain activates processes that resemble the non-REM sleep even while awake, making us have those collapses of attention ...

The meaning and origins of applause, the gesture of clapping

The meaning and origins of applause, the gesture of clapping

Clapping is a universal gesture which tells the story of humanity: from the instinctive call of primates to the sacredness of ancient rites, from the theater of Dionysus to Roman politics, up to today’s stadiums and social media. From the sacred ritual of theantiquity from the stages of modern theatre, to contemporary stadiums and squares, applause tells how human beings ...

Comet Lemmon reaches perihelion, how to observe the show and where to see it

Comet Lemmon reaches perihelion, how to observe the show and where to see it

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) imaged from Italy. Credit: La Spezia Amateur Astronomers Association, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons There comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) it was certainly the most spectacular of the year as well as the brightest of 2025, having been above the naked eye visibility threshold in our skies for over 20 days with a suggestive green foliage. ...