Sci-News Roundup March 27 - April 02, 2021
General Interest  Cosmos   Innovation   Health  Nature  Environment  Climate

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Mar 08 Neutron Stars and Gravitational Waves (video available)
Mar 22 A Wearable Brain-Stimulation Device (video available)
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New York Times, March 30, 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued new guidelines, and other experts have weighed in with their thoughts.

Nature, March 30, 2021
Risks shoot up when virus particles accumulate in buildings, but it’s not clear how best to improve ventilation.

The Conversation, March 23, 2021
A great account of the many ways our current pandemic has mirrored the one experienced by our forebears a century ago.

STAT, March 25, 2021
Congress, in a rare show of bipartisanship, is gearing up to try to prevent the next pandemic.

Washington Post, March 31, 2021
the seven-day average of new cases is just under 62,000 cases per day, which marked a nearly 12 percent spike from the prior seven-day period.


GENERAL INTEREST 

Aeon, October 30, 2017
Before it became a staple of video-games, the maze was a test of reason and courage, a way to find yourself by getting lost.

Atlas Obscura, March 25, 2021
Afghans developed this method of food preservation, which uses mud-straw containers and is known as kangina, centuries ago in Afghanistan’s rural north.

Quanta, March 24, 2021
The zoo of spontaneously emerging particle-like entities known as quasi-particles has grown quickly and become more and more exotic. Here are a few of the most curious and potentially useful examples.

Phys.Org, March 26, 2021
Generally thought of as fierce horse warriors, the Scythians were a multitude of Iron Age cultures who ruled the Eurasian steppe, playing a major role in Eurasian history.

Cosmos, March 19, 2021
The science of sourdough bread is anything but run of the mill.


COSMOS

Phys.org, March 31, 2021
Until now, researchers have believed that dark energy accounted for nearly 70 percent of the ever-accelerating, expanding universe.

Science News, March 29, 2021
Scientists simulate how humans trace patterns in the night sky.

Symmetry, March 30, 2021
A super-precise experiment at Fermilab is carefully analyzing every detail of the muon’s magnetic moment.

Science Daily, March 25, 2021
The first moments of the Universe can be reconstructed mathematically even though they cannot be observed directly. Physicists have greatly improved the ability of complex computer simulations to describe this moment, discovering that a complex network of structures can form in the first trillionth of a second after the Big Bang. These microscopic clumps have masses of only a few grams and fit into volumes much smaller than particles.

New York Times, March 30, 2021
A neutrino-spotting telescope beneath the frozen Lake Baikal in Russia is close to delivering scientific results after four decades of setbacks.


INNOVATION 

Treehugger, March 29, 2021
We often complain about buildings that are too tall or cars that are too heavy, so it should be no surprise that we might wonder if the Ever Given – the giant container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal – is too big.

TechXplore, March 26, 2021
To that effect, Google seeks to make the phone form factor easier to use, most demonstrated by its new Memory feature.

The Guardian, March 23, 2021
Cloud seeding involves adding small particles of silver iodide to clouds to spur rainfall – but will it work?

i-News, March 24, 2021
The Crown Estate is set to issue leases allowing developers to construct pioneering floating turbines in the Celtic Sea

STAT, March 24, 2021
Scientists have created a microrobot that can pass the near-impenetrable blood-brain barrier to treat brain tumors in mice.


HEALTH

New York Times, March 22, 2021
Indoor fitness classes, which often result in heavy breathing in poorly ventilated rooms, can be risky. Here’s a guide to help you decide if your gym is doing enough to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Healthline, April 09, 2019
If you’re interested in trying breathing exercises to reduce stress or anxiety, or improve your lung function, here are 10 different ones to sample.

CNN Health, March 30, 2021
A dozen major companies earned an F for failing to publicly address the growing problem of toxic chemicals that may be in the products they sell to consumers.

Science Daily, March 18, 2021
If you reach for water when a muscle cramp strikes, you might want to think again. New research has revealed drinking electrolytes instead of pure water can help prevent muscle cramps.

The Guardian, March 31, 2021
A nine-month investigation by the Guardian and Consumer Reports found alarming levels of forever chemicals, arsenic and lead in samples taken across the US.


NATURE 

Quanta, March 25, 2021
New data indicating that Earth’s surface broke up about 3.2 billion years ago helps clarify how plate tectonics drove the evolution of complex life.

WBUR, March 29, 2021
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there were 89 right whales spotted in the bay on March 21, including three pairs of mothers and babies.

Phys.Org, March 29, 2021
With NASA preparing to send humans to Mars in the 2030s, researchers are studying the physical effects of spending long periods in space.

The Guardian, March 30, 2021
The UK’s woods are full of strange specimens. But they aren’t easy to identify – even for the experts.

New York Times, March 08, 2021 (w/video)
Their severed heads get around just fine until they regenerate perfectly functioning, parasite-free new bodies, scientists say.


ENVIRONMENT

Mongabay, March 30, 2021
Our species — due largely to rapid population growth and explosive consumption — is destabilizing these Earth processes, endangering the stability of the “safe operating space for humanity.”

C&EN, March 30, 2021
To start, the EPA will assess the risks of all uses—known and potential—of a new chemical, and it will mandate necessary protections for workers.

Washington Post, March 29, 2021
Initiative by Commerce, Energy, Interior and Transportation departments aims to tackle climate change while boosting union jobs

Treehugger, March 26, 2021
Zero waste lifestyle products will be available in 9 pop-up shops.

NJ.com, March 27, 2021
The greatest increase in sea level rise during the 2,000-year period beginning in year 1 CE occurred in the last 100 years, from 1900 to 2000.


CLIMATE

Washington Post, March 29, 2021
The record bloom fits into a long-term pattern toward earlier spring flowering, a compelling indicator of climate change, experts say.

New York Times, March 31, 2021
There were bright spots, but the total lost acreage increased by 12 percent over all from the year before, according to new research.

Yale Climate Connections, March 23, 2021
Report shows meeting Paris climate goals would add trillions of dollars in economic growth.

Reuters, March 31, 2021
An internal presentation outlining the World Bank’s new climate plan, seen by Reuters and due to be discussed by the bank’s board on Thursday, commits to “align its financing flows with the objectives of the Paris Agreement” by July 2023.