Browsing Category
SCIENCE
The Climate Anxiety Discussion Has a Whiteness Problem
Sarah Jaquette Ray has spent her career etching out an academic niche at the intersection of environmental issues and social justice. In the late 2010s, as concern around the climate crisis finally began to swell toward today’s…
Cilia Are Minuscule Wonders, and Scientists Are Finally Figuring Out How to Mimic Them
One tiny flick of a microscopic cellular hair, known as a cilium, can’t do much on its own. But together, these structures routinely pull off biological marvels within the body. Cilia remove inhaled pathogens from the respiratory tract,…
Quantum Advantage Showdowns Have No Clear Winners
Last month, physicists at Toronto-based startup Xanadu published a curious experiment in Nature in which they generated seemingly random numbers. During the pandemic, they built a tabletop machine named Borealis, consisting of lasers,…
Wildfires Followed by Severe Rain Will Become More Common
Graphics show how the two weather extremes will more often pair up Credit: Jen ChristiansenAdvertisement
Climate change tends to bring out the worst in the weather, be it extreme cold or heat, rain or fire. A new study found that…
Why Do Mental Illnesses–From Depression to Schizophrenia–Raise the Risk of Dementia?
Age is the single biggest risk factor for dementia, with the odds doubling about every five years after age 65. But many things influence those odds for a given individual. Genetic vulnerability is a contributor, as are so-called…
The Brain Has a ‘Low-Power Mode’ That Blunts Our Senses
Since leptin is released by fat cells, scientists believe its presence in the blood is likely to signal to the brain that the animal is in an environment where food is ample and there’s no need to conserve energy. The new work suggests…
Science Needs to Shrink Its Carbon Footprint
What is science worth? For many researchers, the answer is “priceless.” It's not just that science has provided the basis for modern life through sanitation and energy and electricity and telecommunications or that technology gives us…
News Briefs from around the World: July 2022
MEXICO
Scientists discovered six new species of micro frog, including one that now holds the record for Mexico's smallest frog. When fully grown, these forest amphibians are smaller than a human thumbnail.
ARGENTINA
Genetic analysis…
A Long-Lost Rare Crayfish Resurfaces in an Alabama Cave
Historically, Shelta Cave was one of the most diverse cave systems in the eastern United States. Long before Niemiller and other scientists came along, beetles, salamanders, shrimp, crayfish, and other animals lived out their days in the…
Hope Dims that the U.S. Can Meet 2030 Climate Goals
CLIMATEWIRE | Nearly everything needs to go right for America to reach the climate targets set by President Joe Biden. So far, very little has.
The Supreme Court has limited EPA’s authority to craft greenhouse gas regulations for power…