Environment

Check out the strangely mesmerizing first video of plants taking a breath

A new imaging tool lets researchers watch stomata move in real time, and it is wild science with real-world stakes.

Those of us who remember our fifth-grade science all know that plants "breathe," in that they ingest carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. They are the other half of our ecological breathing cycle. But when we think of plants breathing, we don't think of them taking an actual breath. Well, we didn’t. But as Mark Wales reports, scientists just captured microscopic valves on a leaf opening and closing in real time, like a tiny pair of lungs.

That matters because stomata react instantly to stress. Heat, drought, humidity swings, light changes. Every shift forces a plant to decide how much water to sacrifice for carbon. Watching those decisions unfold live could point researchers to the genetic traits that make crops more efficient, more resilient, and less thirsty.

It’s also just, you know, crazy to actually see!

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And what did we learn?

Yesterday, we did a deep dive into the complex and evolving role of animals in film production.

With VFX poised to make real animals obsolete, what do GOOD readers think about using real furry friends on the set? 

• Love real animals in film as long as they’re treated well. (46.5%)

• Use real animals sparingly, only in the lowest stress moments. CG the rest. (28.2%)

• Go fully CG. Leave animals out of it. (15.5%)

• Something else (share your answers) (9.9%)

GOOD reader Katie Kingston thinks we should stick with the real thing in our movies and shows. “I just always know it's fake & it breaks the spell for me.”

Science

Odds are good you don’t really have your head around the idea of probability

Maybe don’t trust that coin toss.

What are the odds we'd bring you a deep dive on probability today? Exactly 100 percent. That was the warmup. But what are the odds that a coin tossed in good faith lands this side up or that? You’d be forgiven for blurting out 50 percent, but as Zachary Del Rosario reports, the universe loves a plot twist.

Turns out your humble coin flip is a tiny drama of physics, assumptions, microcheats, and one very sneaky starting position. Start heads up, and you’re slightly more likely to land heads up. Let someone wobble the coin instead of flipping it, and the odds tilt even more. Scientists have to build an entire model just to call something "fair."

From there, the rabbit hole gets deliciously deep. So what does probability actually mean? Del Rosario says it's a model, not a prophecy. But it's a model that helps us predict the long run, protect our data, and make decisions that matter.

Science

The line between protagonist and antagonist is thinner than you think

This isn’t sponsored, but if Snickers wants to send me a box or two, you know how to reach me.

We are told to look for the best in others, but others make it so hard! Have you met others? Woof. Still, as Mark Schroeder reports in this philosophical deep dive, trying to understand people generously can be the difference between connection and chaos.

Schroeder argues that charity is not about ignoring bad behavior. It is about figuring out what is signal and what is just hunger, hormones, or someone forgetting breakfast again. Sometimes, handing them a Snickers is the most enlightened move. Other times, you notice you always have a Snickers on hand because of them, and suddenly the vibes shift.

So, how do you see the good without erasing someone’s agency?

On February 20, 1792, in the United States, the Postal Service Act was passed, setting up a national mail system that would quietly become one of the country’s most important pieces of infrastructure. It did more than create routes and post offices: it baked in an early commitment to mail privacy, discouraging postal workers from opening letters, and it helped fuel democracy by making newspapers cheaper to distribute, so information could travel far beyond big cities.

Over time, the system kept innovating, reshaping everyday life. Free city delivery (1863) and later rural free delivery turned mail from something you fetched into something that reliably found you, accelerating standardized street addressing and national connectivity. Money orders (1864) offered a safer way to send funds than cash, while Parcel Post (1913) helped spark mail-order commerce, the ancestor of today’s e-commerce habits.

The U.S. wasn’t alone: postal networks became common worldwide, and international mail became far smoother once the Universal Postal Union (1874) standardized cross-border exchange.

Today’s USPS still delivers to around 169 million addresses, balancing a universal service mandate with modern logistics pressures and ongoing reforms, proof that a 1792 idea still shapes how a vast country communicates and trades.

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