Writer at Terra Daily

Daniel Moran

Writer

Daniel Moran is a writer at Brown Brothers Media with a background in technology research. On Terra Daily he writes and reviews articles across its Earth-science, environment and natural-hazards coverage.

Profile on Brown Brothers Media →

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Saudi Arabia contains some of the world’s largest sand deserts yet imports sand from Australia — much of the windblown sand beneath its feet is too fine, smooth and rounded for conventional concrete, making it the wrong kind of sand for the cities rising above it

The wrong sand—too smooth, too fine—lies beneath Saudi Arabia's feet, forcing the kingdom to ship in construction-grade material from halfway around the world.

Sep 3, 2026

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The word anxiety traces back to a Latin verb meaning “to choke” or “to squeeze” — thousands of years before modern psychology, the language of fear was already tied to the physical sensation of the body tightening, the chest constricting and the throat seeming to close under stress

Your body knows it's in danger long before your mind catches up with a reason why.

Aug 31, 2026

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Psychology says people who always need the last word in an argument aren’t stubborn or childish, they’re often people who grew up in homes where silence meant losing and speaking last was the only way to feel safe

Childhood arguments that never resolve can rewire how we handle conflict, leaving some people compelled to reclaim what silence took from them.

Aug 26, 2026

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Psychology says people who don’t believe they genuinely deserve happiness aren’t pessimists or broken — they’re the ones who learned, very early, that their needs were often the least important thing in the room

The roots of self-sabotage run deeper than doubt—they're planted in childhood, where learning to disappear becomes survival.

Aug 23, 2026

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Dopamine is less about pleasure than anticipation — which is why finishing a Netflix series can feel strangely flat, and why the next episode always feels more exciting before it starts than after it ends

The neurological letdown isn't a flaw in the story—it's how your brain is wired to crave what's next, not what's here.

Aug 23, 2026

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Researchers painted black cows with white stripes to test whether zebra markings deter biting flies — and the painted cows drew 50 percent less flies, adding weight to the theory that zebras evolved their colouring not for camouflage or heat, but as an organic insect repellent

A simple coat of white paint may solve one of nature's longest-standing mysteries about why zebras really evolved their famous stripes.

Aug 21, 2026

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Psychology says people who slip out of gatherings without saying goodbye aren’t rude or antisocial—they often learned somewhere along the way that leaving is a negotiation, and the only way to protect the good evening they just had is to not put it up for debate

The Irish goodbye isn't rudeness—it's a survival tactic for protecting joy from the exhausting choreography of departure.

Aug 21, 2026

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Psychology says “opposites attract” is one of the most repeated ideas about love and one of the most wrong — decades of research point the other way, toward people who share our values, backgrounds and view of the world

What decades of rigorous research actually reveals about who stays together—and why the couples claiming to be "opposites" might be telling themselves a comforting story.

Aug 19, 2026