Sci-News Roundup October 16 - October 22, 2021
General Interest  Cosmos   Innovation   Health  Nature  Environment  Climate

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Sept 14 Galileo and the Science Deniers (video available)
Sept 20 The Real Key to Feeding the World (video available)




Elemental, October 16, 2021
We need to maximize control of the virus while minimizing harm.

Mental Floss, October 18, 2021 (a must-read! Includes Thomas Pulitzer)
The anti-vax trend is as old as vaccines themselves.

Nature, October 14, 2021
People who have previously recovered from COVID-19 have a stronger immune response after being vaccinated than those who have never been infected. Scientists are trying to find out why.

The Guardian, October 18, 2021
At least eight types of bird flu, all of which can kill humans, are circulating around the world’s factory farms – and they could be worse than Covid-19.


GENERAL INTEREST

The Conversation, October 14, 2021
In many respects, the vampire of today is far removed from its roots in Eastern European folklore.

The Guardian, October 20, 2021
Analysis of wood from timber-framed buildings in Newfoundland shows Norse-built settlement 471 years before Columbus.

Plus, October 08, 2021
Currently almost ninety countries hold International Mathematical Union (IMU) membership, spanning all continents apart from Antarctica, and inclusivity is an overarching aim.

Scientific American, November 2021 issue
Studies of living and mummified baboons hint at why ancient Egyptians revered these pesky primates and uncover the probable location of the fabled kingdom from which they imported the animals.

Phys.Org, October 19, 2021
Results announced by the LHCb experiment at CERN have revealed further hints for phenomena that cannot be explained by our current theory of fundamental physics.

Science Alert, January 26, 2018
We all know that math is really hard. So hard, in fact, that there's literally a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to unsolved mathematical problems, despite some of the greatest minds in the world working on them around the clock.

COSMOS

The Conversation, October 18, 2021 
AI in the future may be able to use vastly more data than it does today. It seems to follow that it could then get exponentially smarter, surpassing human general intelligence.

Scientific American, 2021 update of 2018 article
Astronomers are puzzled about how the oldest supermassive black holes could have grown so big so early in cosmic history.

Aeon, October 11, 2021
Does the existence of a multiverse hold the key for why nature’s laws seem so simple?

Quanta, October 19, 2021
After a search of neutron stars finds preliminary evidence for hypothetical dark matter particles called axions, astrophysicists are devising new ways to spot them.

Sci-News, October 19, 2021
“If we were to look up in the sky, we would see this tunnel-like structure in just about every direction we looked — that is, if we had eyes that could see radio light.”


INNOVATION

New York Times, October 19, 2021
A kidney grown in a genetically altered pig functions normally, scientists reported. The procedure may open the door to a renewable source of desperately needed organs.

Cosmos, October 18, 2021
Study of ancient Australian fossils receives funding from NASA.

Grist, October 19, 2021
During the pandemic, commuter trains ran nearly empty while buses shuttled essential workers. Now, cities are reevaluating where they spent their transit dollars.

The Verge, October 12, 2021
Poll, Q&As, and comment sections could turn podcasting interactive.

Futurism,October 11, 2021
But there are still concerns about its efficacy.


HEALTH

Healthline, September 07, 2021
Research has shown that including certain foods in your diet, especially those high in specific nutrients like potassium and magnesium, reduces your blood pressure levels.

CNN Health, October 18, 2021
Many of us are trying to get in those recommended 10,000 steps a day that our wearable fitness technology urges us to achieve.

NIH News In Health, March 2014
A headache may feel like a pain inside your brain, but it’s not. Most headaches begin in the many nerves of the muscles and blood vessels that surround your head, neck, and face.

Science Daily, October 14, 2021
18-year study measures increase in industrially manufactured foods that may be contributing to obesity and other diseases.

NPR/Shots, October 16, 2021
Sitting is not just bad for our waistlines — it's hurting our mental health.

Washington Post, October 20, 2021
Top medical journal warns that rising temperatures will worsen heat and respiratory illness and spread infectious disease.


NATURE

Cosmos, October 15, 2021
Viruses lack many of the features that are considered signs of life.

The Conversation, October 15, 2021
Decomposition in conditions so different from the Earth’s environment means that external factors would be more complicated, such as with the skeleton.

Live Science, October 19, 2021 (see images)
From swirls to circles to orderly rows, each delicate design is created when similarly-sized stones clump together across a landscape.

Earth, October 18, 2021
A new study from Stellenbosch University is investigating how the biodiversity of Earth’s natural ecosystems will be impacted by the loss of animal pollinators.

New York Times, October 19, 2021
A growing number of forensic researchers are questioning how the field interprets the geographic ancestry of human remains.


ENVIRONMENT

Nature, October 04, 2021
Atmospheric rivers, which carry moisture towards the poles, are expected to intensify unless greenhouse-gas emissions are curbed.

Chemistry World, October 14, 2021
Report for the UN Human Rights Council condemns agrochemical industry and calls for a treaty to phase out toxic pesticides.

Inside Climate News, October 13, 2021
The state’s massive poultry industry is largely unregulated, leaving the state to guess about the number and location of giant production facilities producing millions of chickens.

Common Dreams, October 17, 2021
"This pro-corporate agriculture agenda must change under your watch."

Environmental Health News, October 15, 2021
"It's a call on consumers to return their electronics because without that, the alternative is the need to mine the materials, which is a lot more environmentally damaging."


CLIMATE 

Gizmodo, October 15, 2021
Climate talks are coming to Glasgow next month. Here's what to expect from the negotiations, including what the biggest fights will be.

Futurity, October 14, 2021
Unless CO2 emissions drop significantly, global warming will make the Amazon barren, the American Midwest tropical, and India too hot to live in by 2500, according to a team of scientists.

Grist, September 27, 2021
Farmers and ranchers of all stripes have expressed interest in tapping into the benefits of climate-smart practices.

The Guardian, October 14, 2021
From destructive land use to invasive species, scientists have identified the main drivers of biodiversity loss – so that countries can collectively act to tackle them.

Science News, October 14, 2021
Our planet dimmed by 0.5 percent in 20 years, but the trend may not last.