Videos showing floods of milk rushing down the drain circulated on social media this month, vividly illustrating the agriculture industry’s losses during the novel coronavirus pandemic. After businesses and schools closed in response to social distancing measures, large-scale farms lost their normal customers and many had to throw out food. The breakdown of those dumped […]
Momentum is building to speed the development of coronavirus vaccines by intentionally infecting healthy, young volunteers with the virus. A grass-roots effort has attracted nearly 1,500 potential volunteers for the controversial approach, known as a human-challenge trial. The effort, called 1Day Sooner, is not affiliated with groups or companies developing or funding coronavirus vaccines. But co-founder […]
NASA nears the end of a winding path to commercial astronaut launches This artist’s concept shows Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, currently under development for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, docking to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Advertisement Editor’s Note (4/22/20): On April 17 an official launch date of May 27 was announced for the historic […]
Last month Spanish authorities put out an urgent call for donations of snorkeling masks to build improvised devices to help COVID-19 patients breathe. Shortages of ventilators, which push air into failing lung, have inspired members of maker culture worldwide. Innovation has continued as the shape of the pandemic has shifted. In addition to addressing the demand […]
As we mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the nation is in the throes of a terrible public health crisis. In these desperate times, we are reminded that the protection of public health is a paramount duty of governments—and that our economic prosperity depends on our government diligently undertaking that responsibility. This year also marks […]
Originally published in August 1913 Credit: Scientific American Advertisement “The Sesse Islands in Lake Victoria are a specimen of Nature’s jewelry. But, exquisite as is their scenery, death is over them. This is a land of silence. The voice of the child is unheard, the chant of Baganda women, so full of cadence, comes no […]
The United States is facing four interconnected crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, a looming economic recession, extreme inequality and a climate emergency. Congress will be forced to pass multiple stimulus bills to stave off these converging crises. But politicians, policy makers and everyday people are facing a unique challenge. What kind of stimulus will best protect […]
No fundamental obstacle prevents us from developing an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Other troubles of human nature, such as violence, greed and intolerance, have a bewildering variety of daunting causes and uncertainties. But Alzheimer’s, at its core, is a problem of cell biology whose solution should be well within our reach. There is a […]
On April 22, 1970, millions of Americans took part in demonstrations, cleanups and other activities to make the first Earth Day. The event was the brainchild of then Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, and it was a watershed moment for the growing U.S. environmental movement: Americans had become increasingly aware that the same industrialization […]
The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the United States. To tamp down community spread of the virus, most states have issued complete or partial “stay-at-home” orders. The economy has convulsed under these restrictions. Goldman Sachs has estimated that the gross domestic product (GDP) will decrease 24 percent in the second quarter of 2020. […]