Credit: CC0 Public Domain Cities in the Global South are more exposed to extreme heat because they lack cooling green spaces, new research shows. The study found that Global South cities have just 70% of the “cooling capacity” provided by urban greenery in the Global North. The paper, published in the journal Nature Communications, is … Read more
After disappearing in the 19th century, wolves have gradually returned to Austria in recent years. After wolves swooped from the forest and savaged her lambs, Austrian sheep farmer Renate Pilz feels like giving up. Others, to the anger of conservationists, are reaching for their rifles. “I lost two ewes and two lambs” to the wolf … Read more
This stunning new mosaic of images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope showcases the nearby star-forming cluster, NGC 1333. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana Rogue planets, or free-floating planetary-mass objects (FFPMOs), are planet-sized objects that either formed in interstellar space or were part of a planetary … Read more
by Zhi-Ping Zhong, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Lonnie Thompson, Matthew Sullivan and Virginia Rich, The Conversation Glacier ice sampling. Credit: Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01508-z As humans alter the planet’s climate and ecosystems, scientists are looking to Earth’s history to help predict what may unfold from climate change. To this end, massive ice structures like glaciers serve … Read more
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain We all imitate one another in conversation. We use similar gestures, our accents converge, our tones of voice align, and we mirror each other’s facial expressions. But, as my team’s recent study showed, subtle differences in the way we mirror each other can reveal a lot about our identities and even … Read more
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Imagine the decisions you make every day, such as what to buy, who to trust, or who to vote for, are heavily influenced by a simple yet powerful flaw in your reasoning. Economists at the University of Surrey argue that people are systematically deceived by repeated information, leading to irrational decisions. … Read more
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain One of my favorite summer pastimes is enjoying a cold beer in a bar with friends after work. But not just any beer—it has to be a lager. And I am not alone. With its crisp and refreshing profile, lager accounts for more than 90% of the global beer market. However, … Read more
What would happen if humans dried out the Mediterranean sea, turning it into a giant salt lake? Would its wildlife survive, and if so, how long would it take to recover? These may seem like wildly theoretical questions, but not for Herman Sörgel, a Bavarian architect who dedicated much of his life to this exact … Read more
This photo provided by SpaceX shows, from left, Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA’s Nick Hague, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., on May 6, 2024. Credit: SpaceX via AP NASA on Friday cut two astronauts from the next crew to make room on the return trip for the two stuck … Read more
Chocolate callets are displayed at the California Cultured office in West Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop cocoa substitutes. Scientists and … Read more
