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GENERAL INTEREST
10 Places That Smell Like Nowhere Else
Atlas Obscura, November 12, 2024
Follow your nose through these unique scent-scapes.
Mathematicians Discover a New Kind of Shape That’s All over Nature
Scientific American, November 19, 2024
In all the centuries that thinkers have tinkered with tiles, no one seems to have seriously pondered whether there’s some limit to how few vertices—sharp corners where lines meet—the tiles of a tessellation can have.
Clay Cylinders Upend the Origin Story of the Alphabet
Futurity, November 25, 2024
The writing, which is dated to around 2400 BCE, precedes other known alphabetic scripts by roughly 500 years, upending what archaeologists know about where alphabets came from.
How Physics Moves from Wild Ideas to Actual Experiments
Ars Technica, November 15, 2024
One hundred trillion neutrinos fly through your body every second, but each one has only a tiny chance of jostling one of your atoms, a consequence of the incredible weakness of the weak nuclear force that governs neutrino interactions. That tiny chance means that reliably detecting neutrinos takes many more atoms than are in your body. Here's a wild idea about how to detect neutrinos.
The Curious History of The International Flat Earth Society
The Smithsonian, January 29, 2016
The recent resurgence of this ancient idea reminds us that flat Earth believers have a long history.
COSMOS
It’s 100 Years Since We Learned the Milky Way Is Not the Only Galaxy
The Conversation, November 20, 2024
On Sunday November 23 1924, 100 years ago this month, readers perusing page six of the New York Times would have found an intriguing article, amid several large adverts for fur coats. The headline read: Finds Spiral Nebulae are Stellar Systems: “Dr Hubbell Confirms View That They Are ‘Island Universes’; Similar to Our Own”.
First Rocks Returned from Moon’s Far Side Reveal Ancient Volcanic Activity
Nature, November 18, 2024
Scientists release the first analyses of samples from China’s Chang’e-6 mission.
Uranus and Neptune Have Weird Magnetic Fields — This Might Be Why
Astronomy, November 25, 2024
New models using Voyager 2 data from the 1980s show that separate layers in the planets’ mantles could be creating disordered magnetic fields.
Most Precise Large-Scale Gravity Map of Universe Tests Einstein’s Theories
Cosmos, November 20, 2024
Researchers have compiled a map of 6 million galaxies in the most precise test of how gravity works on large scales in the universe.
Curiosity Cracked Open a Rock on Mars And Found a Big Surprise
Science Alert, November 24, 2024
When the rover rolled its 899-kilogram (1,982-pound) body over the rock back in May, the rock broke open, revealing yellow crystals of elemental sulfur: brimstone. Although sulfates are fairly common on Mars, this represents the first time sulfur has been found on the red planet in its pure elemental form.
INNOVATION
Extremely Fast Battery-Charging Technology Could Make EVs an Easier Choice for More Consumers
TechXplore, November 21, 2024
Batteries made using this new design are also able to withstand more charges—up to 800 cycles, a feat not possible with current EV batteries.
So You’re Thinking of Leaving X for Bluesky. How Does It Work?
New York Times, November 21, 2024
The apps look & feel similar. Here is how to use Bluesky & what you might miss from X.
Visible Light-Powered Catalysts Clean Up ‘Forever Chemicals’
Chemistry World, November 26, 2024
Chemists in China and the US have discovered catalysts enabling light-driven reactions that can break down fluorine-containing chemicals that are attracting concern as pollutants.
First Commercial Demonstration of an Offshore Wind Seaweed Farm
Eco, November 22, 2024
In collaboration with Simply Blue Group, Van Oord, Algaia, and Amazon, North Sea Farmers opened the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm within the offshore wind farm ‘Hollandse Kust Zuid’ (HKZ), located about 18 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen in the North Sea.
How Communities Are Giving New Life to Polluted Land
Grist, November 20, 2024
Cleaning up contaminated land is a struggle. Meet some of the community leaders who are taking matters into their own hands.
HEALTH
Foods Linked to Better Brainpower
Harvard Health, April 03, 2024
Research shows that the best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels, including those on this list.
Is Raw Milk Safe? Science Has a Clear Answer.
Popular Science, November 18, 2024
Debate over raw milk has been heating up in recent years, and especially the past few months. Raw milk sales are rising, despite emerging concerns over live avian flu in unpasteurized dairy, and it’s increasingly a political talking point.
Any Form of Exercise Can Help Rejuvenate the Brain
Medical News Today, November 22, 2024
The study found that common day-to-day activities, regardless of intensity, can provide a short-term improvement in mental reaction time similar to reducing one’s cognitive age by four years.
The 12 Best Ways to Stop Hair Thinning in 2024
Healthline, November 15, 2024
Thinning hair typically happens gradually, which means you have time to pinpoint the causes and figure out the best treatment measures.
11 Best and Worst Oils for Your Health
EveryDay Health, February 14, 2023
While certain oils provide a health boost, others should be used with caution. Here's what you need to know.
NATURE
When Wild Turkeys Attack: How to Survive and Thrive In a Great Gobbler World
Audubon, November 22, 2024
In towns across the United States, Wild Turkeys regularly make the news for their intimidating ways: chasing down postal workers, delivery people, and children; launching all-out attacks on parked vehicles; harassing cops who make traffic stops; and terrorizing visitors to local parks.
New Zealand’s 'Walking Tree': The Final Remains of a Lost Forest
Earth, November 25, 2024
Few sights can be as awe-inspiring as New Zealand’s legendary “walking tree,” a towering ancient giant that stands like a sentinel from a fantasy world.
The World’s Largest Mammal Migration Is Taking Place in Zambia Right Now
Smithsonian, November 25, 2024
Each year, millions of straw-colored fruit bats descend on Kasanka National Park for a few months, and scientists are working to understand their mysterious journey.
From 'Lucy' to the 'Hobbits': The Most Famous Fossils of Human Relatives
Live Science, November 26, 2024
Lucy may be the best-known prehuman fossil in the world. But other famous fossils have given us important insight into our evolutionary history.
China's Giant Sinkholes Are a Tourist Hit - But Ancient Forests Inside Them Are At Risk
BBC, November 22, 2024
Two-thirds of the world’s more than 300 sinkholes are in China. Its biggest and most recent find was two years ago: an ancient sinkhole containing a forest with trees reaching as high as 40m (130ft).
ENVIRONMENT
Plastics Lobbyists Make Up Biggest Group at Vital UN Treaty Talks
The Guardian, November 27, 2024
Fossil fuel and chemical industry representatives outnumber those of the EU or host country South Korea.
Substance Unknown to Science Identified in Tap Water
Cosmos, November 22, 2024
After eluding chemists for 40 years, a mystery compound found in drinking water has finally been identified. The compound – called chloronitramide anion – is previously unknown to science.
The World Bank Has a Factory-Farm Climate Problem
Grist, November 20, 2024
Development banks sent $2.3 billion to industrial animal agriculture last year, according to a new analysis.
To Protect Vast Expanses of Ocean Beyond All National Boundaries, 60 Nations Must Ratify the Treaty of the High Seas
Inside Climate News, November 16, 2024
After the treaty was adopted last year by the United Nations, more than 100 countries have signified their intent to ratify it, but so far only 14 countries have. Only around 8 percent of the oceans are currently considered protected.
Trees Alone Can’t Stop Climate Change
Scientific American, November 19, 2024
Forests absorb planet-warming pollution, but world leaders shouldn’t include them in plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a new study recommends.
CLIMATE
Cloudy with a Chance of Warming: How Physicists Are Studying the Dynamical Impact of Clouds on Climate Change
Physics Today, November 26, 2024
One of the biggest uncertainties in predicting future climate change is the impact of clouds.
Saudi Arabia Is a ‘Wrecking Ball’ in Global Climate Talks
New York Times, November 18, 2024
Despite endorsing a transition away from fossil fuels last year, Saudi officials have since worked to undermine it in at least five U.N. forums, diplomats said.
Key Atlantic Current Is Weakening Much Faster Than Scientists Had Predicted
Live Science, November 25, 2024
A current key to stabilizing climates across the Atlantic and beyond could be one-third weaker by 2040, a new study has revealed.
How the World Gave Up on 1.5 Degrees
Grist, November 25, 2024
A decade after the Paris Agreement, Andreas Malm and Wim Carton trace how we've kept on with business as usual.
COP29 Deal Fails to Consider Inflation So Is Not Tripling of Target, Economists Say
The Guardian, November 25, 2024
Experts say financial movements mean poor nations will in effect get billions less in value from £300bn pledge.
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