The wildfire season is off to a roaring start. The hot summer is worsening drought and drying out vegetation—an unfortunately ideal environment for wildfires to rage. But that’s just one consequence of global warming; it’s also leading to flooding, torrential rainstorms and heat-related deaths. In fact, the climate crisis has led to a widespread public […]
Every year, salmon come home to Alaska’s frigid rivers to mate, lay their eggs, and die. The state’s salmon runs are some of the biggest in the world. But over the past few decades, those big salmon runs have featured ever smaller salmon. “You talk to people up there who’ve been fishing for long time, […]
The items below are highlights from the free newsletter, “Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19.” To receive newsletter issues daily in your inbox, sign up here. Please consider a monthly contribution to support this newsletter. Women’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is stronger than men’s immune response to the virus, according to a study published 8/26/20 […]
In four days of speeches lasting more than eight hours at the Republican National Convention, climate change was never mentioned as a threat to the country. That silence stands apart from the climate alarm bells that have been sounding since Donald Trump accepted his first nomination for president four years ago. Thousands of Americans have […]
From the embryonic stages to late life, cells often make incredible journeys, sometimes even traversing an entire organism. They reach their destination by chemotaxis, following signals that lead them to the goal like a chemical yellow brick road. The catch is that different levels, or gradients, of a chemical drawing cells to a target only […]
Wildfires have recently devastated regions across the world, and their severity is increasing. Hoping to reduce harm, researchers led by Yapei Wang, a chemist at Renmin University of China, say they have developed an inexpensive sensor to detect such blazes earlier and with less effort. Current detection methods rely heavily on human watchfulness, which can […]
While the nation roils with ongoing protests against police violence and persistent societal racism, many organizations have released statements promising to do better. These promises often include improvements to hiring practices; a priority on retaining and promoting people of color; and pledges to better serve those people as customers and clients. As these organizations work […]
Ten thousand years ago, the Sahara had extensive grasslands, and was dotted with lakes and trees. But some 5,000 years ago, that “Green Sahara” dried up, to become the enormous desert we know today. And scientists now think that this climate shift had effects far away—including causing a megadrought in southeast Asia. Kathleen R. Johnson, […]
Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf—a large ledge of ice, jutting out from the edge of the continent into the ocean—captured international attention in 2002. Over the course of just a few weeks, the ice shelf splintered, broke into pieces and collapsed entirely into the sea. Nearly 20 years later, it’s still one of the most […]
With the Hurricane Laura hitting Louisiana and Texas as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm and wildfires menacing the western U.S., millions of Americans are facing the complex risks of a natural disaster striking in the middle of a pandemic. The steps people normally take to prepare for a severe storm or to evacuate can […]