When a baseball pitcher throws a fastball, the speed pops up on the jumbotron thanks to radar. The technology is also useful for air traffic control, highway speed traps and weather forecasting—and it’s not reserved for Earth. Astronomers have used radar to probe the planets and asteroids around us, measuring their speed as they whiz […]
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Lab-Made Enzymes Could Chop Up the Virus That Causes COVID
Artificial enzymes can fight the COVID-causing virus by selectively snipping apart its RNA genome, a new study suggests. Researchers say the technique may overcome key problems with previous technologies and could help create rapid antiviral treatments as threats emerge. When the COVID pandemic struck, University of Cambridge chemical biologist Alexander Taylor scrambled to repurpose a […]
Why Is the Amazon So Important for Climate Change?
Viewed from high above, the Amazon in South America is a lush emerald quilt, home to millions of animals and the planet’s largest river by volume. It is also key to protecting our planet from the detrimental effects of climate change. But why? And what could happen to the global climate if we lost it? […]
Chemical Health Risks from the Ohio Train Accident–What We Know So Far
About two weeks after a train carrying toxic and combustible materials derailed just outside a small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and filled the skies with black smoke, questions abound over the health and environmental impacts of the disaster. The February 3 derailment of the train, operated by Norfolk Southern, near East Palestine, Ohio, sparked […]
Here’s What Scientists Are Learning about Women’s Health from Other Female Animals
Projected on the massive screen behind me onstage, a herd of giraffes rushes across a sweep of savanna. With the video set to loop, the giraffes gallop endlessly, giving me time to slowly lean across the podium and ask my audience: “Did you spot the pregnant giraffes?” I am delivering a plenary lecture at the […]
Love and the Brain: The Animal Matchmaker and the Panda Romeo and Juliet
[CLIP: Panda sounds] Shayla Love: What you’re hearing are the sounds of two pandas in love. Meghan Martin: She kept going to his side of the pen—and just, you know, calling to him and checking in on him. And [it] just felt like one of those very unfortunate, like, Romeo and Juliet–type stories or something. […]
Survivors of Deadly Earthquakes Must Deal with Lasting Trauma
The major earthquake in Turkey and Syria last week killed tens of thousands of people and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. It is also taking a toll on survivors’ mental health. Research has confirmed that natural hazards such as this magnitude 7.8 temblor lead to acute trauma and an increased risk for […]
We May Never Predict Earthquakes, but We Can Make Them Less Deadly
Can scientists predict a particular earthquake? In short, no. Science has not yet found a way to make actionable earthquake predictions. A useful prediction would specify a time, a place and a magnitude – and all of these would need to be fairly specific, with enough advance notice to be worthwhile. For example, if I predict […]
Ignoring Climate Risks Has Inflated Property Values in Flood Zones
Homebuyers nationwide are ignoring flood risk and paying inflated prices to create a housing bubble that could crash as climate change intensifies flood damage. A study released Thursday says the climate-driven housing bubble threatens homeowners with plummeting values and municipal governments with losing a big chunk of tax revenue if local property values fall. The […]
Snakes Can Hear You Scream, New Research Reveals
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Experts have long understood that snakes can feel sound vibrations through the ground – what we call “tactile” sensing – but we’ve puzzled over whether they can also hear airborne sound vibrations, and particularly over how they react to sounds. […]