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GENERAL INTEREST
6 Ancient Resurrection Stories
History, March 22, 2024
Jesus wasn't the only one believed to have risen from the dead. Stories of resurrection appear in ancient cultures around the world.
Sacred Hares, Banished Winter Witches and Pagan Worship – The Roots of Easter Bunny Traditions Are Ancient
The Conversation, April 13, 2022
In European traditions, the Easter Bunny is known as the Easter Hare. The symbolism of the hare has had many tantalizing ritual and religious roles down through the years.
10 Math Tricks That Will Blow Your Mind
Thought Co., April 05, 2020
Are you ready to give your mathematics skills a boost? These simple math tricks can help you perform calculations more quickly and easily. They also come in handy if you want to impress your teacher, parents, or friends.
Discovering a New Neolithic World
Archaeology, March-April, 2024
Excavations in southeastern Turkey are revolutionizing how archaeologists understand the monumental achievements of hunter-gatherers.
How Is Flocking Like Computing?
Quanta, March 28, 2024
Birds flock. Locusts swarm. Fish school. From chaotic assemblies of life, order somehow emerges. In this episode, co-host Steven Strogatz interviews the evolutionary ecologist Iain Couzin about how and why collective behaviors arise.
COSMOS
During an Eclipse, Try These Alternative Ways to Experience the Event
Atlas Obscura, April 01, 2024
From spotting mysterious shadow bands to proving Einstein right (again), there’s more to eclipse viewing than just looking up.
Extremophiles: Why Study Them? What Can They Teach Us About Finding Life Beyond Earth?
Universe Today, March 31, 2024 (w/video, examples)
“The study of extremophiles represents the edge of the human knowledge in terms of the environmental limits where life forms can live, withstand, or preserve their integrity and living potential,” Dr. Paulino-Lima tells Universe Today.
What Is the '3 Body Problem'? Astrophysicist Explains Concept Behind Hit Netflix Show
Phys.Org, March 27, 2024
Systems with two objects exerting gravitational force on one another, whether they're particles or stars and planets, are predictable. Scientists have been able to solve this two-body problem and predict the orbits of objects since the days of Isaac Newton. But as soon as a third body enters the mix, the whole system gets thrown into chaos.
Black Holes Are Even Weirder Than You Imagined
New Yorker, March 30. 2024
It’s now thought that they could illuminate fundamental questions in physics, settle questions about Einstein’s theories, and even help explain the universe.
The Universe: A History.
Big Think (a great collection of articles)
From before the Big Bang to the galaxies, stars, planets, and life present in our modern day Universe.
INNOVATION
US Aiming to ‘Crack the Code’ on Deploying Geothermal Energy At Scale
The Guardian, April 92, 2024
Recent $74m investment made alongside assessment that 10% of electricity could be generated by geothermal by 2050
Green Truckin': US Finalizes New Heavy-Vehicle Pollution Standards
TechXplore, March 29, 2024
Heavy goods vehicles account for 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the US transport sector, which itself is the main source of emissions in the country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Following last week's crackdown on car emissions, President Joe Biden's administration on Friday unveiled finalized pollution standards for trucks, placing vehicle tailpipes at the forefront of his climate crisis agenda.
What Do You Get When You Cross Ecology, Acoustics, and Artificial Intelligence?
Anthropocene, September, 2023 (scroll down)
As daily headlines document the uncanny ability of programs such as ChatGPT to solve complex puzzles and carry on conversations with humans, AI is also being used to decipher what other animals are doing based on the squawks, groans and clicks that fill our natural world.
Loney Buoy Seeks Next-Generation Wave Energy Converter
Clean Technica, April 01, 2024
To collect all the data all the time, from all the instruments, researchers are looking for new sources of ocean-based energy resources, and a new generation of wave energy converters is in the running.
The Food is Medicine Movement Originators Are Trying to Standardize Medically Tailored Meals
STAT News, March 27, 2024
Food corporations, grocery stores, and even tech companies are claiming they are a part of the growing effort to use food to treat medical conditions. Now, the nonprofits that pioneered the work want to standardize it.
HEALTH
As Obesity Rises, Big Food and Dietitians Push ‘Anti-Diet’ Advice
Washington Post, April 03, 2024
General Mills warns of ‘food shaming’; dietitian influencers promote junk foods and discourage weight loss efforts
Why Do Muscle Spasms (Muscle Cramps or Twitches) Happen?
Medical News Today, January 26, 2024
Common causes include stress, exercise, or dehydration, but nerve disorders and thyroid problems may increase the risk.
To Sleep Better, You Should Move More
Futurity, April 01, 2024
A new study provides the most reliable validation to date of the connection between physical activity, sleep quality, and psychological health.
10 FAQs About Treatment for High Cholesterol, Answered
EveryDay Health, February 05, 2024
Here’s what you need to know if you’ve been prescribed medication to help lower your cholesterol.
Marvels of Mucus and Phlegm
NIH News In Health
Mucus has several names. Snot, the sticky goo that pours from your nose during a cold. Or phlegm, the gunk that can clog your lungs and make you cough. You probably aren’t a fan of the stuff. But mucus is so much more than a runny nose
NATURE
How Can a Baby Learn Two Languages at the Same Time?
The Conversation, March 27,2024
Language acquisition in children is one of the most fascinating features of the human species, as well as one of the most difficult problems in linguistics and cognitive science.
How Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Changed Over the Past 5.3 Million Years
Cosmos, March 28, 2024
In recent decades the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) has been speeding up, but scientists have been unsure whether this increase is connected to human-induced global warming.
The New Science of Death: ‘There’s Something Happening in the Brain That Makes No Sense
The Guardian, April 02, 2024
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be less distinct than previously thought
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
Yale Environment 360, March 26, 2024
A Spanish company is aiming to factory farm octopuses for their meat, contending that it would help conserve the creatures in the wild. But critics argue that caging these highly sensitive mollusks, whose intelligence science is still revealing, would be cruel and inhumane.
Do Animals Really Have Instincts?
Live Science, April 02, 2024
Across the animal kingdom, different species seem to have instinctual ways of finding their way through life: Newly hatched sea turtles that know to reach the ocean by moonlight, birds that migrate thousands of miles as the seasons change, and lioness mothers that know to nurse, protect and teach their young. But are these really instincts?
ENVIRONMENT
US Energy Industry Methane Emissions Are Triple What Government Thinks, Study Finds
The Independent, March 13, 2024
A new study calculates that U.S. oil and natural gas wells, pipelines and compressors are spewing three times the amount of the potent heat-trapping gas methane as the government thinks
One Thing Most Countries Have in Common: Unsafe Air
New York Times, March 19, 2024
New research found that fewer than 10 percent of countries and territories met World Health Organization guidelines for particulate matter pollution last year.
Sinking Coastal Lands Will Exacerbate the Flooding from Sea Level Rise in 24 US Cities, New Research Shows
Inside Climate News, March 27, 2024
In the affected cities, as many as 500,000 people and one in every 35 properties could be impacted by the flooding, and communities of color face disproportionate effects.
Banks Driving Increase in Global Meat and Dairy Production, Report Finds
The Guardian, March 18, 2024
Financiers providing billion-dollar support for industrial livestock companies to expand leading to unsustainable rise in production.
Low-Paid Immigrant Farm-workers Most at Risk From Toxic Weedkiller That US Refuses to Ban
Common Dreams, March 29, 2024
Concerns about the safety of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 to ban its use on golf courses—but the weedkiller is still permitted for agricultural use, and a new first-of-its-kind analysis shows how the EPA's continued approval of the substance has put low-income Latino communities at disproportionate risk for health impacts.
CLIMATE
Just 57 Companies Linked to 80 Percent of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Since 2016
The Guardian, April 03, 2024
Although governments pledged in Paris [2016 Paris Agreement] to cut greenhouse gases, the analysis reveals that most mega-producers increased their output of fossil fuels and related emissions in the seven years after that climate agreement, compared with the seven years before.
Climate Leaders, Oil Bosses Pitch Alternate Energy-Transition Realities
Climate Change News, March 22, 2024
As climate officials prepare the next steps in a globally agreed shift away from fossil fuels, oil and gas executives return fire
Analysis: New Oil and Gas Projects Since 2021 Could Emit 14 Billion Tons of CO2
Carbon Brief, March 28, 2024
These [projects] have all gone ahead since the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded, in 2021, that “no new oil and gas fields” would be required if the world were to limit global warming to 1.5C. Since then, world leaders gathering at the COP28 summit at the end of 2023 also agreed to “transition away from fossil fuels”. Despite this, nations such as Guyana and Namibia are emerging as entirely new hotspots for oil and gas development. At the same time, major historic fossil-fuel producers, such as the US and Iran, are still going ahead with large new projects. Additionally, oil majors such as Total Energies and Shell that have made public commitments to climate action, are among the biggest players investing in new oil and gas extraction around the world.
Climate Change Has Slowed Earth’s Rotation — And Could Affect How We Keep Time
Nature, March 27, 2024
The effect of melting polar ice could delay the need for a ‘leap second’ by three years.
Geoengineering Faces a Wave of Backlash Over Regulatory Gaps and Unknown Risks
Inside Climate News, March 26, 2024
Technologies to slow global warming by manipulating the environment are rapidly advancing, but some experts want to pump the brakes.
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