This poem is inspired by recent research, which has used millimetre-sized computers to reveal how one species of Pacific Island land snail has used the sun to escape extinction.

Snail Survivors

This poem was inspired by recent research, which has found that dragonflies can migrate thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean, from India via the Maldives to Africa, and back again.

Dragons Across The Ocean

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that the world's largest mass extinction may have begun with a volcanic winter.

A Winter Of Extinction

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that a globalised diet that increasingly includes ultra-processed foods is having a negative impact on both human and planetary health.

Deadly Diets

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has investigated how an extra-terrestrial stone found on Earth provides clues about supernova events.

Supernovae In The Stones

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found evidence of a beautiful songbird potentially becoming an invasive species in the UK.

Invasive Singing

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that soil carried on sea freight is loaded with dangerous pests and diseases.

Soiled Stowaways

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has discovered an Earth-sized planet in ‘our solar backyard’.

Cosmic Reflections

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has used wobbling stars to find new exoplanets.

Wobbling Stars And Super Earths

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that meteorite impact rate on Mars can help date planetary surfaces.

The Red Crater Clock

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that underground acoustics amplify soil health.

Echoes In The Earth

This poem is inspired by recent research, which explores the emerging archaeological record of Mars.

The Bones of Mars

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that barn owls have evolved to camouflage themselves by moonlight.

Beneath The Hunter’s Gaze

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that wildfire suppressants contain toxic metals.

Burned to Earth

This poem is inspired by recent research, which found war-related trauma changes DNA in Syrian refugee families, affecting children and grandchildren.

Held in the Blood

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that decaying jellyfish blooms create hotspots for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Where Resistance Grows

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that matcha green tea reduces DNA damage and oxidative stress in bone marrow after gamma radiation exposure.

A Bitter Leaf Against the Fire

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that insect brains might calculate the sun’s position using internal clocks and trigonometric circuits.

Truing the Sun

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found a permanent global decline in terrestrial water storage, especially soil moisture.

Drying the Spine

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that US Bitcoin mining uses more electricity than Los Angeles, mostly from fossil fuels.

The Cost of Crypto

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that carrion crows can spontaneously detect geometric regularity - like right angles and symmetry – just like humans.

Crowsight

This poem was inspired is inspired by recent research, which has found a link between wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits.

Ash Weight

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that a 50% drop in US childhood vaccination could cause 51 million measles cases in 5 years.

Refusal Archive

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that citizens in more democratic nations report greater wellbeing.

Disposition

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that the richest 1% of people caused 20 times more warming than the global average since 1990.

Inheritance Pattern

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that democratic countries often appear greener because they offshore pollution to less democratic nations. 

Proxy Measures

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that beers brewed across the US contain 'forever chemicals' linked to health risks.

Brewer’s Trace

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that removing fluoride from US water would cost $9.8 billion.

Line Decay

This poem was inspired by recent research, which found that living within proximity to a golf course increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Overspill

This poem is inspired by recent research, showing that climate change and cheese quality are directly linked.

Cheese Weather

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that oceans are getting greener near the poles and bluer in the subtropics.

Ocean Colour Change

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that artificial lighting along coastlines could be having a significant impact on species that rely on the moon and stars for navigation.

Lost In The Glow

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that compensating those farmers who provide habitats for wild bees will lead to benefits for all.

The Tragedy Of The Bees

This poem is inspired by recent research, which suggests that the magnetic 'sixth' sense that some animals possess is likely to come from bacteria.

Symbiotic Senses

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that millions of wild birds were once sacrificed to Ancient Egyptian gods.

Wild Offerings

This poem is inspired by research published in Nature Geoscience, which has found that the ways in which Arctic wildfires burn are potentially changing, with strong consequences for the global climate.

Zombie Fires

Hi! I'm an academic whose work is dedicated to making science more accessible to diverse audiences via the medium of poetry.

sam.illingworth

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