STAT, May 03, 2022
SARS-CoV-2 remains a long way from being ordinary. It has not yet found seasonal cadence...and it’s still capable of inflicting mass death and disability. But there are signs that the virus — and our relationship to it — is shifting in subtle ways that make it more like seasonal flu than it was at the start of the
pandemic.
Had the entire country reacted to the pandemic as the Northeast region, more than 316,000 deaths might have been avoided, 62 percent of those avoidable deaths being in the South, according to a new study.
GENERAL INTEREST
Atlas Obscura, May 02, 2022
Archaeological work at Tombos reveals the stories of people who lived more than 4,000 years ago—and inspires new interest from the people who live there today.
The Conversation, April 25, 2022
Testimony by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and recent regulatory efforts such as the online safety bill unveiled in the U.K. show there is broad public concern about the role played by technology platforms in shaping popular discourse and public opinion. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter highlights a whole host of regulatory concerns.
New York Times, May 01, 2022
A scientist who has studied falling playing cards, coiling rope and other phenomena has now analyzed what transforms a carpenter’s tool into a sonorous instrument.
Science News, April 08, 2022
Our canine companions, it turns out, are as individual as people
Quanta, May 03, 2022
Throwing out data seems to make measurements of distances and angles more precise. The reason why has been traced to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
COSMOS
The Conversation, April 29, 2022
While SETI has long been a part of mainstream science, METI, or messaging extraterrestrial intelligence, has been less common.
Universe Today, May 02, 2022
in what is sure to be the most exciting announcement yet, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and researchers from the EHT will announce the results of their survey that examined the SMBH at the center of our very own Milky Way Galaxy – Sagittarius A*! The results will be shared as part of a press conference on Thursday, May 12th.
The Guardian, May 01, 2022
Astronomers are hoping to witness the self-destruction of a star, which could help shed light on the creation of matter in our galaxy.
Phys.Org, May 02, 2022
The final piece of an all-new detector has completed the first leg of its journey towards unlocking some of the most enduring mysteries of the universe.
BBC News, April 07, 2022
Scientists just outside Chicago have found that the mass of a sub-atomic particle is not what it should be. The discovery could lead to the development of a new, more complete theory of how the Universe works.
INNOVATION
Gizmodo, April 26, 2022
The thin-film speakers use very little power and can be installed almost anywhere.
Grist, April 29, 2022
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn't the climate solution we'd hoped for.
Scientific American, May 01, 2022
Complex social information can be felt through a virtual touch.
National Geographic, May 02, 2022
Scientific advance leads to a new tool in the fight against hackers
After a $50 million cleanup, flowers and wildlife replace chemicals and rusting cars in one corner of Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
New York Times, May 02, 2022
By restoring soil health, Donald Wyse hopes to transform farms, to the benefit of farmers and their customers.
Science Daily, April 28, 2022
Quantum mathematicians have solved a mathematical riddle that allows for a person's geographical location to be used as a personal ID that is secure against even the most advanced cyber attacks.
HEALTH
The Atlantic, April 27, 2022
A new generation of fitness instructors teaches simple skills that make a difference. Why is beginner-level exercise treated like a niche?
Deutsche Welle, April 26, 2022
The rumble of road traffic and trains, the bustle of the bar downstairs or the roar of a plane taking off – noise is a problem that is increasingly hurting health and disrupting ecosystems.
Prevention, April 29, 2022
Even active people need to pay attention to their levels. Here’s what to buy the next time you go shopping.
Medical News Today, January 21, 2021
Losing weight, building muscle, and increasing endurance and stamina each require a different approach to training.
Well and Good, April 29, 2022
Vitamin E is an essential nutrient—this means that our bodies don’t produce it, and we therefore have to get it from the foods we eat.
The Guardian, May 01, 2022 (a true hero!)
Last month, an Ohio court certified a class action lawsuit brought by lawyer Rob Bilott that would cover 7 million people – and at some point possibly everyone living in the United States – who have been exposed to certain hazardous “forever chemicals” known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.
NATURE
Earth.com
While not very common, there are a handful of poisonous birds! But we wouldn’t be too worried next time you see a flock passing overhead.
Audubon, April 21, 2022
Our deep relationship with the trees of the Boreal Forest
Physics Today, May 2022 issue
Innovations in diffusion analysis and imaging techniques have gradually revealed the ubiquity and importance of extracellular space.
EOS, April 25, 202227, 2022
If subduction carries hydrous minerals deep into Earth’s mantle, they may “rust” the iron outer core, forming vast sinks of oxygen that can later be returned to the atmosphere.
Live Science, May 02, 2022
As you move up in the atmosphere, the pressure, or the weight of the atmosphere above you, weakens rapidly. Eventually, the air becomes too thin for conventional aircraft to fly at all, with such craft not able to generate enough lift. This is the area scientists have decreed marks our atmosphere's end, and space's beginning.
Sci-News, May 02, 2022
Parity tasks (such as odd and even categorization) are considered abstract and high-level numerical concepts in humans.
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental Working Group (EWG), April 28, 2022
The agency’s April 28 decision comes after repeated attempts over the past nine years to get the manufacturer, agrochemical giant AMVAC, to provide sufficient studies showing its herbicide dacthal, or DCPA, does not pose a risk to human health.
The Guardian, April 28, 2022
Tropics lost 11.1m hectares of tree cover in 2021, including forest critical to limiting global heating and biodiversity loss, finds World Resources Institute.
Particle, March 23, 2021
Fish farms, called aquaculture, are making up the gap between what we catch and what we eat. Now, over half the world’s fish supply is farmed.
Inside Climate New, April 28, 2022
Agriculture is the biggest degrader of land, the authors say. Transforming farming practices could restore billions of acres by 2050 for less than is spent on developed-world farm subsidies.
Washington Post, April 27, 2022
Its presence could boost spring tornadoes and portends yet another bad Atlantic hurricane season.
CLIMATE
Washington Post, April 04, 2022
The U.N.'s latest climate change report details the massive shifts necessary to cut the world’s emissions. But it also outlines various ways that can help hit the brakes on the planet’s warming.
PBS Frontline, April 26, 2022
In January 2001, just days into the George W. Bush administration, a headline-grabbing report MacCracken had participated in for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released. It cited “new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.” Exxon Mobil, then the world’s largest privately held oil company, was quick to intervene.
E&E News/Scientific American, April 27, 2022
Natural variations are currently the main cause, but climate change should continue to cause it to slow down
The Conversation, April 27, 2022
This backsliding on democracy and “creeping authoritarianism,” as the U.S. State Department puts it, is often supported by the same industries that are escalating climate change.
Inside Climate News, April 28, 2022
A new study suggests that warming, oxygen-starved seas could lead marine species to vanish at a rate matching the planet’s biggest extinction event on record.
