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GENERAL INTEREST
‘In Britain, We Are Still Astonishingly Ignorant’: The Hidden Story of How Ancient India Shaped the West
The Guardian, September 01, 2024
The flow of knowledge to Europe on math, astronomy and much more has gone unacknowledged by historians.
How the Higgs Field (Actually) Gives Mass to Elementary Particles
Quanta, September 03, 2024
In this article adapted from his new book, "Waves in an Impossible Sea," physicist Matt Strassler explains that the origin of mass in the universe has a lot to do with music.
What a Submerged Ancient Bridge Discovered in a Spanish Cave Reveals About Early Human Settlement
Phys.org August 30, 2024
A new study led by the University of South Florida has shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean, revealing that humans settled there much earlier than previously believed.
String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi
Scientific American, August 29, 2024
Two physicists have come across infinitely many novel equations for pi while trying to develop a unifying theory of the fundamental forces.
The One Cosmic Secret That Demands a New Particle Collider
Big Think, September 03, 2024
The observation that everything we know is made out of matter and not antimatter is one of nature’s greatest puzzles. Will we ever solve it?
COSMOS
What You Should Know About the 2024 Fall Equinox
Mental Floss, September 03, 2024
The 2024 fall equinox can be pinpointed to an exact time on Sunday, September 22. At 8:44 a.m. EDT, the center of the sun will line up perfectly with the Earth’s equator.
Dark Matter Could Have Helped Make Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe
Science Daily, August 28, 2024
Supermassive black holes typically take billions of years to form. But the JWST is finding them not that long after the Big Bang -- before they should have had time to form.
A Nova Explosion May Soon Be Visible in the Night Sky. Here’s Where and When to Look
PBS, August 24, 2024
In the second half of 2024, a nova explosion in the star system called T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, will once again be visible to people on Earth. T CrB will appear 1,500 times brighter than usual, but it won’t be as spectacular as the event in 1054.
Belief in Alien Visits to Earth Is Spiraling Out of Control – Here’s Why That’s So Dangerous
The Conversation, September 03, 2024
Around a fifth of UK citizens believe Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and an estimated 7% believe that they have seen a UFO. The figures are even higher in the US – and rising. The number of people who believe UFO sightings offer likely proof of alien life increased from 20% in 1996 to 34% in 2022. Some 24% of Americans say they’ve seen a UFO.
A Brief History of Astronauts Stuck in Space
Astronomy, August 30, 2024
NASA’s Boeing Starliner crew is far from the first to require a Plan B to return from orbit.
INNOVATION
Device Provides Air Conditioning Without Conditioning Air
Cosmos, September 04, 2024
Researchers have made a cooling device that they say can chill environments with 50% of the energy used by conventional air conditioning. They are using the physics of radiative cooling.
'Closer Than People Think': Woolly Mammoth 'De-Extinction' Is Nearing Reality — And We Have No Idea What Happens Next
Live Science, August 30, 2024
Scientists are getting very close to bringing a few iconic species, like woolly mammoths and dodos, back from extinction. That may not be a good thing.
What’s Next in Chips
MIT Technology Review, May 13, 2924
How Big Tech, startups, AI devices, and trade wars will transform the way chips are made and the technologies they power.
What Are ‘Click Frauds’ – And How Can We Stop Them?
The Conversation, August 29, 2024
In the world of the internet, clicks are currency. The more people click on a website, social media post or an advertisement, the more that content generates revenue. But cybercriminals can exploit this rapidly growing market for clicks through what are known as “click frauds”.
Collecting Water from the Air to Tackle a Global Crisis
Earth, September 03, 2024
Water is a vital part of our existence, yet millions of people around the globe are struggling to gain access to safe drinking water. But imagine if we could create water from the mere air around us? That would be a revolutionary game-changer.
HEALTH
These 6 Exercises Are Fundamental to How You Move
New York Times, August 28, 2024
Practicing these movements can make everyday tasks — like carrying groceries and walking up stairs — easier.
No Link Between Cellphone Use, Brain Cancer, Major Report Finds
MedicalXpress, September 04, 2024
In news that should reassure folks glued to their cellphones all day, a new international review finds no link between cellphone use and brain cancer.
17 Science-Based Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Healthline, January 17, 2023
Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to many health benefits. In particular, they may help promote brain and heart health, reduce inflammation, and protect against several chronic conditions.
Causes of Obesity
WebMD, January 06, 2023
Along with eating and activity patterns, your genes, your environment, and your emotions play a role. So can your hormones, medical conditions you have, and medications you take.
These Proteins Have Been Secretly Managing Your Cells
Knowable, August 28, 2024
Scientists have long known that histones spool DNA and help regulate genes. They may be doing a lot more.
NATURE
In This Beautiful Library, Bats Guard the Books
Atlas Obscura, August 30, 2024
For centuries, small colonies of these helpful creatures have lent their considerable pest control expertise to the library. In the daytime—as scholars lean over historic works and visitors admire the architecture—the bats roost quietly behind the two-story bookshelves.
Scientists Find Seismic Role in Formation of Large Gold Nuggets
The Guardian, September 02, 2024
The mystery is how large [gold] nuggets, some weighing tens to hundreds of kilograms, can form when the fluids that seep into quartz veins have gold concentrations around one part per million at best. To form 10kg of gold would require about five Olympic swimming pools of water.
The Biology of Smell Is a Mystery — AI Is Helping to Solve It
Nature, September 03, 2024
Scientists are beginning to crack the fiendishly complex code that helps us to sense odors.
Deep Sea ‘Dark Oxygen’ Raises Questions about Alien Life
Futurity, August 29, 2024
These deep-sea rocks, called polymetallic nodules, don’t only host a surprising number of sea critters. They also produce oxygen on the seafloor, the researchers report.
A New Study Reveals Migration Isn’t a Solo Affair—It’s the Social Event of the Season
Audubon, August 26, 2024
Migrants face myriad challenges. That's why certain songbird species choose to travel (and possibly even work) together, according to research drawing on a trove of bird banding records.
ENVIRONMENT
Physicist MV Ramana on the Problem with Nuclear
The Guardian, September 04, 2024
With a PhD in physics, and a previous book examining why India’s nuclear program had not worked and would not work, Ramana is well versed in not just the moral but the technical and practical arguments against nuclear. He lays these out in his new work and then looks at what he originally set out to explore: why, despite the overwhelming evidence against nuclear, governments and corporations continue to invest in it.
Great Barrier Reef Hangs in the Balance
Cosmos, September 02, 2024
The window to save the Great Barrier Reef is closing rapidly, according to a the most recent government report.
Something’s Poisoning America’s Land. Farmers Fear ‘Forever’ Chemicals.
New York Times, August 31 2024
Fertilizer made from city sewage has been spread on millions of acres of farmland for decades. Scientists say it can contain high levels of the toxic substance.
Biden Administration Backs Plastic as Coal Replacement to Make Steel. One Critic Asks: ‘Have They Lost Their Minds?’
Inside Climate Change, August 30, 2024
After a Pennsylvania business scored $182.6 million in loan guarantees with promises the project would fight climate change, environmentalists called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to change course.
How One Company’s Plan to Help the Planet Went Off the Rails
Washington Post, September 01, 2024
C-Quest Capital claimed it could improve people’s lives in Africa with cleaner cookstoves. But an investigation by The Post shows it promised more than it could deliver.
CLIMATE
Voters Love This Climate Policy They’ve Never Heard Of
Yale Climate Connections, September 03, 2024
The Inflation Reduction Act funds popular measures such as tax credits for home electrification and electric vehicles, plus investments in clean energy technology and infrastructure.
The Time to Act Is Now: The World’s Highest Court Must Weigh In Strongly on Climate and Nature
Nature, August 08, 2024
The International Court of Justice is set to clarify the responsibilities of states to act on global warming. Governments must step up in support — before it’s too late.
Leaders Are Cutting Fossil Fuel Finance – Next Comes Unlocking Clean Energy for All
Climate Change News, August 29, 2024
Comment: While international public finance for coal, oil and gas has fallen by two-thirds, little of that money has gone to boost green energy in poorer countries.
The Arctic Has Warmed ‘Nearly Four Times Faster’ Than the Global Average
Carbon Brief, August 11, 2024
The phenomenon means Arctic temperatures are rising much faster than the global average, with previous estimates finding the region is warming two times as quickly.
Surging Methane Emissions Could Be a Sign of a Major Climate Shift
Inside Climate News, August 28, 2024
New studies suggest global warming boosts natural methane releases, which could undermine efforts to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas from fossil fuels and agriculture.
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