Ecology

Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, at least 39 dead and over 150 injured: what we know

Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, at least 39 dead and over 150 injured: what we know

The train accident in Spain. Credit: Consulado Honorario de España, via X There was a serious train accident in Andalusia, Spain: the derailment of two high-speed trains caused at least 39 deaths and over 150 injuries, 24 of them seriously. The episode occurred yesterday, Sunday 18 January, near Adamuz (Cordoba), around 7.45pm: train 6189 of Iryo companytraveling from Málaga to ...

2026 is a mathematically happy year: what are happy numbers

2026 is a mathematically happy year: what are happy numbers

The 2026 it’s a happy number – and who knows maybe even a happy year. A happy number in mathematics it is defined like this: A number is said to be happy if adding the squares of your numbers and by repeating this operation, after a certain number of steps we will arrive at 1 as a result. Let’s take ...

The story of Times Beach, a ghost town in Missouri contaminated by dioxin

The story of Times Beach, a ghost town in Missouri contaminated by dioxin

Times Beach in 1990 (left) and 2009. Credit: EPA – US Geological Survey The town of Times Beachin the state of Missouri (USA) was evacuated in 1982 during a flood, but the inhabitants never returned to their homes: the land in the area had in fact been contaminated, over the years, by dioxins mixed with engine oil which was spread ...

More than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from food insecurity: what it means and why it is a problem

More than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from food insecurity: what it means and why it is a problem

For food insecurity refers to the difficulty in having access to sufficient quantities of healthy and nutritious food to lead an active and healthy life. In Italy, it is estimated that 5.5% of people are exposed to this condition more than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from moderate or severe food insecurity, especially in the South and among foreigners. What ...

More than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from food insecurity: what it means and why it is a problem

More than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from food insecurity: what it means and why it is a problem

For food insecurity refers to the difficulty in having access to sufficient quantities of healthy and nutritious food to lead an active and healthy life. In Italy, it is estimated that 5.5% of people are exposed to this condition more than 1 Italian in 100 suffers from moderate or severe food insecurity, especially in the South and among foreigners. What ...

Why San Siro is nicknamed the "Scala of football": the history of Milan's iconic stadium

Why San Siro is nicknamed the “Scala of football”: the history of Milan’s iconic stadium

One hundred years ago, in 1925the then president of Milan Piero Pirelliurged the construction of an English-inspired football stadium. Although its official name is Giuseppe Meazza Stadium – in honor of the two-time world champion who wore the shirts of both Milanese teams – for the whole world it is simply San Sirofrom the name of the neighborhood that hosts ...

When pigs and other animals ended up in court: animal trials in the Middle Ages

When pigs and other animals ended up in court: animal trials in the Middle Ages

AI-generated content For centuries, in Europe, pigs, horses, donkeys and even insects were tried as people: arrested, defended by lawyers, judged and condemned “in the name of the law”. It is not macabre folklore nor a medieval oddity: those trials tell of a precise moment in our history, in which the law tried to bring order not only to nature, ...