Gold actually does grow on trees

Scientists find small deposits in gumleaves.

Australian geochemists publish paper showing how trees act 'as a hydraulic pump … drawing up water containing the gold'

Contrary to popular belief, gold does grow on trees.

Scientists from Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), have proved that the leaves of certain eucalyptus trees contain minute amounts of the precious metal that have been naturally absorbed.

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Happiness Is … Being an Aussie

Yet again, Australia tops the list of happiest countries. 

 As I sit at our kitchen table on yet another unseasonably damp and chilly morning in Sussex, England, watching the rain streak down the windowpanes and listening to the dawn rush of traffic on our far-too-busy street, I find myself thinking longingly of my Australian passport.

Living in a Box: Amsterdam’s Shipping Container Homes

The crowded Dutch city has been meeting a pressing need for student and other low-income housing by using ubiquitous steel shipping containers. After years at sea, the containers were rusted and dented but ready for reuse to house people instead of products.

Amsterdam student Rose Mandungu stands in front of a colorful apartment complex constructed of a rather unusual material—discarded shipping containers.

We Didn’t Domesticate Dogs. They Domesticated Us.

Scientists argue that friendly wolves sought out humans.

In the story of how the dog came in from the cold and onto our sofas, we tend to give ourselves a little too much credit. The most common assumption is that some hunter-gatherer with a soft spot for cuteness found some wolf puppies and adopted them. Over time, these tamed wolves would have shown their prowess at hunting, so humans kept them around the campfire until they evolved into dogs.