The pill works by releasing hormones into the body which prevents ovulation, or the release of an egg, which inhibits sperm from fertilizing the egg. The pill can also thicken the cervical mucus and thin the lining of the uterus which also helps prevent the egg and sperm from joining together. When taken correctly, the pill can be 99 percent effective against pregnancy, but human error such as forgetting to take the pill every day can lessen its efficacy.

Saint Albertus Magnus, a Dominican bishop and philosopher, wisely said in the 13th century, “Does there exist many worlds, or is there a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature.” For thousands of years, humans have looked to the night sky and wondered about the possibility of life beyond this world we call home. The universe is vast and fascinating, and to chain our minds to terrestrial matters and assume that life solely came into existence on planet Earth would be a foolish mistake.

A recent experiment conducted by Russian scientists has allowed them to grow seeds of Silene stenophylla (narrow-leafed Campion) that are more than 30,000 years old. This is the oldest plant to date that has been regenerated, and it produces white flowers as well as viable seeds. Previously, Canadian researchers have managed to regenerate younger plants, and the former record for successful regeneration of an ancient plant species was held by scientists who planted 2,000-year-old date palm seeds at the Masada Fortress near the Dead Sea in Israel the 1960s.

Green Means is a new column brought to you by the Mount Holyoke College Eco Reps. Each month, we will give the scoop on our latest campaigns and answer your green living questions.

As reported in Science on March 30, a team of researchers has discovered that the pathways of fibers in our brains are more akin to the organized streets of New York City than the plate of spaghetti previously envisioned. The study, led by Van Wedeen of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School, is part of a larger project known as the Human Connectome Project and funded by the National Institute of Health. According to its website, the Human Connectome Project is a collaboration between MGH and UCLA that aims “to construct a map of the complete structural and functional neural connections in vivo (in a living organism) within and across individuals.”

Pretty much anywhere you go in the world today, you can see thousands of people talking or texting on their cell phones. I mean, what’s not to like about these handy gadgets? They are compact devices that connect you to the rest of society at the touch of a button. The longer they are around, the more advanced they become and the more people own them. By the end of 2011, the number of cell phone subscriptions reached six billion globally in a population of about seven billion. But have you ever thought that cell phones could be detrimental to your health?

The spring semester has seen some changes that will make recycling on campus easier than ever before. Firstly, the local recycling company revamped their rules, and now bottles can be recycled with their lids on. We’re currently in the process of updating our how-to-recycle signs.

Many of us wonder what our descendents looked like thousands of years ago. Mother Nature has provided us with a picture. He is Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, at the age of 5,300 years old. Ötzi’s remains were first discovered in the Ötztal Alps in September 1991 by German tourists Helmut and Erika Simon while they were hiking near the border between Austria and Italy.

Women are told that their bodies are supplied with a fixed amount of eggs from birth. The quality of these eggs diminishes with age, and by 45 to 55, the body undergoes menopause and stops releasing eggs. As a result, a biological clock starts to tick as time passes, prompting women to feel obligated to have children before their eggs expire. However, new research has the potential to completely change what is known about reproduction today. Recently, scientists have found stem cells that generate new egg cells in adult human ovarian tissue.

Q: I have a lot of questions about sex, but I’m uncomfortable asking my friends. Can you recommend any good books for me to read?