As coronavirus vaccines hurtle through development, scientists are getting their first look at data that hint at how well different vaccines are likely to work. The picture, so far, is murky. On May 18, US biotech firm Moderna revealed the first data from a human trial: its COVID-19 vaccine triggered an immune response in people, and […]
What is oxytocin? You know those warm and fuzzy feelings you get when you cuddle a puppy, hug your friend, or kiss your partner? That’s oxytocin at work. You may already have heard of oxytocin—what people have called the love hormone, cuddle hormone, or even the moral molecule. This is because oxytocin has been in […]
If all goes according to plan, humans will be visiting—and developing—the moon and its resources well before the decade is out, following multiple nations ramping up their lunar-exploration efforts. But will this new frontier be a stage for competition or collaboration? NASA’s newly released set of ideals—called the Artemis Accords—aims to ensure international cooperation and […]
Catastrophic flooding in Michigan yesterday was a harbinger of climate change as Rust Belt cities are thrust into the crosshairs of intensifying disasters, experts say. The dangers of extreme weather, like the deluge in Midland, are rising in frequency and intensity across the Midwest. It speaks to underlying climate conditions such as heavier downpours that […]
Bumblebees are a resourceful bunch: when pollen is scarce and plants near the nest are not yet flowering, workers have developed a way to force them to bloom. Research published on Thursday in Science shows that the insects puncture the plants’ leaves, which causes them to flower, on average, 30 days earlier than they otherwise […]
NASA has renamed its Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), a flagship observatory set to launch in 2025, to honor the renowned astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, also known as the “mother of Hubble.” The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope—or Roman Space Telescope for short—will help astronomers answer some of the biggest questions of cosmology, like why the […]
Originally published in January 1917 Credit: Scientific American Advertisement “Why is it that motion pictures are so popular? Why are they able to compete side by side with our best plays? It is difficult indeed to hold the interest of a metropolitan audience through three acts of a drama when the plot can be anticipated […]
On March 11, 2020, the NBA suspended its season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19. Within a week, March Madness was canceled, and soon after that, many states began to issue stay-at-home orders that have lasted for weeks if not months. Super-spreading events (the Biogen conference, a Washington state choir practice and […]
As coronavirus vaccines hurtle through development, scientists are getting their first look at data that hint at how well different vaccines are likely to work. The picture, so far, is murky. On May 18, US biotech firm Moderna revealed the first data from a human trial: its COVID-19 vaccine triggered an immune response in people, and […]
In a rare piece of COVID-19 good news, the Thai government recently announced that endangered leatherback turtles are returning to nesting beaches now devoid of tourists. However, at the same time, I was being interviewed by the BBC concerning the loss of three of one of Cambodia’s rarest birds, the giant ibis—acts we believe to […]