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1. How Seeds Shape Our World

   https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2023.1065280  

   Sondervan, Veronica M; Zumajo-Cardona, Cecilia; Ambrose, Barbara (July 2023, Frontiers for Young Minds)

   Have you eaten bread or rice recently? Or maybe something with oil in it? If you said yes, then you were likely eating foods made from seeds. Seeds are an important food source for humans and animals, and they make up our grains, lentils, nuts, and cooking oils. But seeds are also important for the plant itself, as they can be planted in the ground to grow new plants. In some plants, the seeds are covered with fruit. For example, the tomato fruit is full of seeds, and the avocado has a large seed inside. Other plants like pine trees have so-called naked seeds, with no fruit covering them. What exactly are seeds, and how do they make new plants? Why do seeds grow when you plant them and not in seed packets in the store? Keep reading and you will find these answers, and learn how fascinating, complex, and extraordinarily diverse seeds can be. 

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2. Surfaces in which every point sounds the same

   https://doi.org/10.1090/proc/17013  

   Wang, Feng; Wyman, Emmett; Xi, Yakun (February 2025, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society)

   We address a maximally structured case of the question, “Can you hear your location on a manifold,” posed by Wyman and Xi [Can you hear your location on a manifold?, https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.04659, 2023] for dimension $2$. In short, we show that if a compact surface without a boundary sounds the same at every point, then the surface has a transitive action by the isometry group. In the process, we show that you can hear your location on Klein bottles and that you can hear the lengths and multiplicities of looping geodesics on compact hyperbolic quotients. 

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3. Crack the Code: 5 Must-Ask Questions About Your University’s Pay System

   Bennett, Jessica; Blackwell, Gloria L; Marchetti, Carol (September 2024, YouTube)

   Higher education compensation systems have a significant impact on not just individual pay, but also on the broader economic health of communities and families. Yet, many of us don’t fully understand how these systems operate. So, how well would you rate your knowledge of your university’s compensation system? [Webinar] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGWnpI6TF9Q 

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4. Conducting Space Physics Research: Wind the Frog, Work Hard, and Be Nice

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2022CN000197  

   Liemohn, Michael W. (December 2023, Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists)

   Abstract This report briefly summarizes the key mentors in my scientific career and some lessons learned from those influential people. My primary advice to others: it is okay to do something wrong. By doing science we are doing something hard that, by definition, has not been done before. I believe that impostor syndrome is a real threat to researcher wellbeing and we should acknowledge its presence and support each other to get through it. Regarding an approach to science, I encourage you to get started and make something bad. Also, take time for yourself, it really does help your productivity. To lead others, I recommend to be enthusiastic, actively listen, and make connections across disciplines. I think it is important to foster creativity in those around you. I advocate that you actively make the future that you want to have. 

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5. A Time Machine to Pangea’s Climate Past

   https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2024.1254286  

   Cantner, Kat; Soreghan, Gerilyn; Pfeifer, Lily S; Benison, Kathleen Counter; Myrbo, Amy (June 2024, Frontiers for Young Minds)

   If you could time travel to the central U.S. 300 million years ago, you would find yourself at the equator of the supercontinent Pangea. At first you might enjoy a warm climate, surrounded by seas filled with life. But, after some millions of years, the seas would vanish as the climate turned increasingly hot, dry, and hostile. Billowing dust would engulf you, and nearly all life on Earth would vanish in an event called the Great Dying. How do we know? Geoscientists reconstruct past landscapes and climates by drilling into ancient sediments—tiny grains of sand and silt. These tiny particles tell us how fast the mountains rose and which way the wind blew. Microscopic fossils reveal water and air temperatures. And miniature bubbles trapped in salt preserve actual fossil water, from nearly 300 million years ago. Travel back in time with us to explore the Great Dying. 

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