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Cindy Cobb, проспект Валерія Лобановського, 94, Kyiv (2025)

13/07/2023

Material traces of Azerbaijan's Zoroastrian past are harder to come by. Some scholars believe that one of Azerbaijan's national icons, the 29m-tall Qız Qalası (Maiden's Tower) – a 12th-Century Unesco-inscribed monument set in Baku's historical Old City – could have Zoroastrian origins. When standing under the tower, two different layers of bricks can be clearly seen, and some historians posit that the lower part of the building could have had a previous life as a dakhma, a Zoroastrian funerary tower, where dead bodies were purified through excarnation.

Human remains would be placed above the towers and left for vultures to eat so the land would remain uncontaminated – another sacred element in Zoroastrianism. According to scholar and researcher KE Eduljee, dakhmas were designed to ensure that corpses and their fluids don't come into contact with the earth or run into rivers, thereby polluting the soil and rivers and spreading disease. This practice developed in small mountain valleys where arable land was scarce and disease would decimate an entire village.

Persians made Zoroastrianism the official state religion in modern-day Azerbaijan in the 6th Century BCE and altars, temples and towers dotted much of the area until the end of the Sasanian Empire in the 7th Century AD. As Zoroastrianism spread across Asia and the Caucasus, thousands of fire temples were built to protect the religion's sacred flames. But as Islam took hold in the 7th century AD, many of these ritual spaces started to disappear.

Today, Azerbaijan's population is predominantly Shia Muslim, but its two remaining ateshgah fire temples offer the best evidence of the nation's enigmatic Zoroastrian history. At Khinaliq, a small, stone pyramid stands on its rooftop and four open, arched entrances frame the green hills that rise into snowy peaks all around. The current structure is relatively recent – a sign points to its construction financed by London-based World Zoroastrian Organisation in 2016, on what are believed to be the ruins of a former altar local residents had always referred to as "ateshgah" (literally: "house of fire" in Farsi).

10/07/2023

Hard conditions and existential worries

Following a passion-based career can be exhilarating – after all, the old adage goes, ‘if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life’. Yet as fulfilling as it can be to pursue a dream career, experts say there can also be major downsides to taking this path.

One of the reasons many passion jobs become unsustainable is that dedicated workers are often undervalued and overworked, yet willing to put up with poorer work conditions because of their love for the job. “If someone is that committed to the work that they’re doing, and see it as a core part of their identity, it’s harder to come to terms with the day to day toxicity of one's workplace,” says Erin Cech, associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, US.

Cech explains that not only are passionate workers more likely to put in more hours and do additional work, they can also be “willing to look past a lot of potential downfalls of their employment”, she says. “That can be things like compensation and benefits and stability, but it could also likely be things like unfair practices in your organisation or a supervisor or co-workers who are troubling to be around.”

Cech says this can also lead to passion exploitation when these ultra-committed workers aren’t being fairly compensated for their extra efforts (which happens often – so often that young South Koreans have coined the term ‘passion wages’ to describe how employers use passion as an excuse to pay less).

If you then leave that job, or the organisation goes away, suddenly you’re at risk of losing a core part of who you think you are, and that can be devastating – Erin Cech
Conditions like this, including the added stress of job-security concerns in certain industries, are driving some workers to consider leaving their passion jobs for other careers. And although it’s always difficult to leave a job, Cech says quitting one of these positions can be particularly stressful when workers’ identities are intertwined with the jobs they love. Leaving can take an existential toll.

“If you then leave that job, or the organisation goes away, suddenly you’re at risk of losing a core part of who you think you are, and that can be devastating,” she says. This can be particularly taxing when workers internalise the narrative that ‘finding your passion’ is the definition of success.

“When I used to tell people my job, I was so proud,” says Carpentier. “When I opened my eyes to how toxic it was, it was really hard.” Despite being burnt out, Carpentier only thought about quitting when her boss suggested she take some time off. “He said, ‘Let’s take a break because I don’t want to lose you’, and I just decided I wanted to stop completely,” she says. Now, Carpentier doesn’t bring her current job up in conversation – it doesn’t feel like part of her identity anymore. “I close my computer and that’s it.”

05/07/2023

The human cost

Extreme heat is currently the deadliest natural hazard in the US, with young children and adults over the age of 65 among the most vulnerable to heat-related illness and death. Analysis by The Texas Tribune found more than 275 people in Texas died from heat-related illness in 2022, which was a two-decade high, and this year's heatwave appears to be worse.

Young children, the elderly, the sick, and the poor who cannot afford technology including air-conditioning to help keep them cool are particularly vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. High air temperatures can cause heat stroke, dehydration and affect people's cardiovascular and nervous systems.

"This heatwave has been very stressful for people in the region, and especially dangerous for people with underlying health risks," says Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at Climate Central, a non-profit that analyses climate science. Research by Climate Central found a "significant increase" in the number of days above local "risky heat thresholds" in several Texas cities, when heat-related health risks increase. For example, Austin has 53 more risky heat days per year than in 1970.

"Climate change is increasing the number of risky heat days in most places, mostly by increasing the length of the heat season," he explains. So far, the current heat dome has claimed at least a dozen lives in Texas and Louisiana.

The upper environmental limit that healthy people can handle is a wet-bulb temperature of 95F (31C) at 100% humidity
At what point the heat becomes unbearable is personal, but a study published in 2010 estimated that a "wet-bulb" temperature of 95F (35C) at 100% humidity, or 115F at 50% humidity is probably as hot as most humans can maintain a healthy core body temperature by sweating. Above that "critical environmental limit" our body temperature rises continuously and the risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke increases.

But a team of researchers from Penn State University discovered our resilience to heat is probably lower than this after testing how healthy people handle hot temperatures in a sweaty experiment in their laboratory. They showed that the upper environmental limit is a lower wet-bulb temperature of 95F (31C) at 100% humidity.

The heatwave in Texas has in places exceeded this band of dangerous temperatures, so whether people can live happily in the state also largely depends on whether they have access to air conditioning and can afford to use it, or whether they have to work outside under the hot Sun.

This has left people asking: when it is too hot to work? In Houston, McDonalds workers went on strike this week after experiencing issues with their air conditioning. Meanwhile roofers, welders and those in professions that can't rely on these technologies have been struggling to keep their body temperatures within the normal range.

And even when they aren't life-threatening, hotter temperatures can impair cognition, motor control and affect our ability to perform everyday tasks. This is problematic, because whatever happens to the climate in Texas, most people will still need to work.

There are also wider implications for society. It's well-established that warmer weather can make us more aggressive, increasing rates of violent crime and the probability of social unrest. (Read more from BBC Future about the strange ways heatwaves can warp the mind).

30/06/2023

"We showed that the degree of facial baby schema in dogs and cats is a salient trait affecting 'cuteness perception' in children," says Borgi.

Ugly animals often have other value – some, like the blobfish or the naked mole rat, live in extreme environments that they have adapted to in remarkable ways. Scientists are keen to study these animals to understand whether their biology might provide fresh insights that could lead to treatments for human health conditions such as cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases.

But while many ugly creatures are exquisitely adapted to their life in the wild and can provide enormous benefits to the ecosystems they live in, they often still don't get as much attention as more traditionally cute and cuddly animals. This can result in a bias which leads to many of the less attractive species being overlooked in terms of research. (Read more about the value of unloved animals.)

There are culture-led other factors that also drive our obsession with ugly-cute animals. "The ugly-cute thing is very fashionable," says Rowena Packer, lecturer in companion animal behaviour and welfare science at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, in the UK. This is partly driven by social media, with many celebrities and influencers showing off pet pugs and French bulldogs on Instagram, she says.

But there are some serious welfare concerns around this trend. Veterinarians are urging people to not choose a brachycephalic, or flat-faced dog breed, because they suffer from serious health problems. Pugs and French bulldogs which have been selectively bred experience breathing difficulties, repeated skin infections and eye diseases.

A 2022 study concluded that pugs can "no longer be considered a typical dog from a health perspective" as they face such severe health problems. Pugs in the UK are almost twice as likely to suffer from one or more health disorders each year compared to other breeds.

23/06/2023

Another factor could be the effects of a reduction in pollution from shipping.

Regulations reducing the sulphur content of fuel burned by ships were brought in by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2020.

This significantly reduces the amount of aerosol particles released into the atmosphere, the IMO says.

But aerosols that pollute the air can also help reflect heat back into space, so removing them may have caused more heat to enter the waters.

It looks like the impacts of the exceptional temperatures in the North Atlantic are already beginning to be felt.

The eastern tropical Atlantic is the main spawning ground for North Atlantic hurricanes and the Met Office says an Atlantic tropical storm looks likely to form east of the Caribbean by the middle of this week.

Julian Heming, a tropical cyclone expert at the Met Office, says it is very unusual to see a storm developing in that area so early in the season.

Hurricane development is normally supressed during El Niño periods, but the Met Office's forecast suggests an above average season for tropical storms and cyclones in the North Atlantic basin this year because of the high surface temperatures.

The Met Office says we can expect the hot weather to continue.

It says there is a 45% chance - significantly higher than usual - that the UK will have what it describes as a "hot summer".

20/06/2023

Childhood friends in Oman who figured out how to turn carbon dioxide into rock are among five winners chosen for the Prince of Wales's prestigious Earthshot Prize.

The annual awards were created by Prince William to fund projects that aim to save the planet.

Each winner will receive £1m ($1.2m) to develop their innovation.

Prince William announced the winners on Friday at an awards ceremony in Boston in the US.

"I believe that the Earthshot solutions you have seen this evening prove we can overcome our planet's greatest challenges," Prince William said during the ceremony.

"By supporting and scaling them we can change our future," he said.

The winning projects are based in Kenya, India, Australia, the UK and Oman.

15/06/2023

The technical goal of CaSSIS is to look at potential landing sites for future missions - one being Esa's Exomars mission that is due to launch in 2022.

However, as part of its scientific activities, it has also observed a variety of minerals, canyons, craters and other geological features on the surface.

The images, which have been published on Instagram, also show frost deposits and dust storms.

06/06/2023

How we get humans back to the Moon
The rocket had a number of important manoeuvres to perform high above the planet to get the Orion capsule on the right path to the Moon. All were performed "outstandingly", said John Honeycutt, Nasa's SLS programme manager.

The ship will now rely on its European propulsion module to shepherd it safely on the rest of the mission.

Josef Aschbacher is director general of the European Space Agency (Esa): "We have to make sure that Orion is powered safely to the Moon, circles the Moon, and then, as you know, we have to bring it back safely to Earth, making sure that the entry of the capsule into the atmosphere is on the right trajectory and at the right angle so that it can land in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, our job starts now, and it's a huge responsibility."

05/06/2023

Blink and you could miss them - but mysterious sightings of an extremely rare butterfly have set the hearts of enthusiasts fluttering.

The species, previously described as extinct in Britain for nearly 100 years, has suddenly appeared in countryside on the edge of London.

Small numbers of black-veined whites have been spotted flying in fields and hedgerows in south-east London.

To the non-expert, they could easily be mistaken for the common or garden cabbage white butterflies seen in Britain every summer.

Cindy Cobb

13/07/2023

10/07/2023

05/07/2023

30/06/2023

23/06/2023

20/06/2023

15/06/2023

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