SCIENCE

Cloud clustering causes more extreme rain

by
Cloud clustering causes more extreme rain

Understanding cloud patterns in our changing climate is essential to making accurate predictions about their impact on society and nature. Scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology published a new study in the journal Science Advances that uses a high-resolution global climate model to understand how the … Read more

Ancient DNA reveals children with Down syndrome in past societies. What can their burials tell us about their lives?

by
Ancient DNA reveals children with Down syndrome in past societies. What can their burials tell us about their lives?

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain After analyzing DNA from almost 10,000 people from ancient and pre-modern societies, our international team of researchers have discovered six cases of Down syndrome in past human populations. Our results, published today in Nature Communications, show people with Down syndrome lived in ancient populations. Although these individuals were very young when … Read more

Time watching videos may stunt toddler language development, but it depends on why they’re watching

by
Cloud clustering causes more extreme rain

A new study from SMU psychologist Sarah Kucker and colleagues reveals that passive video use among toddlers can negatively affect language development, but their caregiver’s motivations for exposing them to digital media could also lessen the impact. Results show that children between the ages of 17 and 30 months spend an average of nearly two … Read more

Side-effects of expanding forests could limit their potential to tackle climate change—new study

by
Side-effects of expanding forests could limit their potential to tackle climate change—new study

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Tackling climate change by planting trees has an intuitive appeal. They absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without using expensive technology. The suggestion that you can plant trees to offset your carbon emissions is widespread. Many businesses, from those selling shoes to booze, now offer to plant a … Read more

These tiny power converters run on vibrational energy

by
Cloud clustering causes more extreme rain

University of California San Diego and CEA-Leti scientists have developed a ground-breaking piezoelectric-based DC-DC converter that unifies all power switches onto a single chip to increase power density. This new power topology, which extends beyond existing topologies, blends the advantages of piezoelectric converters with capacitive-based DC-DC converters. The power converters the team developed are much … Read more

The EPA seems fine with that

by
The EPA seems fine with that

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent adoption of a more stringent annual limit on fine particulate matter, or soot, fulfills an overdue obligation to curb a pervasive and deadly type of air pollution that triggers asthma, heart attacks, strokes and a host of other health problems. But the agency made a … Read more

How AI can help spot early risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease

by
Cloud clustering causes more extreme rain

UC San Francisco scientists have found a way to predict Alzheimer’s Disease up to seven years before symptoms appear by analyzing patient records with machine learning. The conditions that most influenced prediction of Alzheimer’s were high cholesterol and, for women, the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. The work demonstrates the promise of using artificial intelligence (AI) to … Read more