There’s a Far More Complex Condition Lurking Behind One Girl’s High Blood Pressure
Doctors find a surprising cause for a preteen’s stomach pain and high blood pressure. ...read more
Month: April 2019
The Midwestern Sand Mines Feeding the Fracking Industry
Pure, round and super strong: This is the only sand down for a fracking job. ...read more
A New Green Revolution: Scientists Are Using CRISPR to Re-domesticate Fruits and Vegetables
Gene editing can potentially cram millennia of agricultural progress into the blink of an eye. ...read more
UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Risk of Flooding Due to Climate Change
Sea-level rise predictions and flooding statistics show which UNESCO sites might be submerged by 2100. ...read more
Didn’t get to join the Megathon on #CitSciDay2019? You have until tomorrow at midnight!
Today is Citizen Science Day (#CitSciDay2019), and our featured event is the Stall Catchers #Megathon, an online game you can play from anywhere (with internet access) to help Cornell scientists better understand how stalled blood flow contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. We had our “catching hour” on Stall Catchers from 2 PM to 3 PM ET today. But because of technical difficulties, we’re extending the fun. If you didn’t get a chance to play Stall Catchers ...read more
Why Apollo Had a Flammable Pure Oxygen Environment
Fire, as we know, need three things: a source of heat, fuel or something to burn, and oxygen. Apollo lunar missions had all three in spades. There was plenty of electricity running through the spacecraft, lots of material that could be fuel, and a 100 percent oxygen atmosphere under pressure. So why exactly did NASA design a spacecraft that was an explosion waiting to happen? (This is a question I get *a lot* so I hope this gives a full answer!) [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvA7N ...read more
Ariana Grande’s PTSD Brain Scan
The brain became a celebrity this week when Ariana Grande shared the results of a scan of her brain seemingly showing signs of severe PTSD: Is there any science behind this? Not really. The source of the scan isn't clear but I'm 99% sure that the image was taken at one of Dr Daniel Amen's controversial clinics. Amen uses similar graphics in his brain scans. If it is an Amen scan, then the 'blobs' seen on Grande's brain represent areas of increased or decreased cerebral blood flow (C ...read more
Running Made Us Human: How We Evolved to Run Marathons
This Monday the 123rd annual Boston Marathon will take place, with an expected 30,000 participants and a half million spectators. The top finishers should complete the grueling 26.2-mile course in just over 2 hours by clocking a pace of under five minutes per mile. I know. It’s painful to imagine. Most of us couldn't maintain that speed for one mile — forget 26 of them. But take heart, recreational runners of the world. Your endurance abilities are actually extraordinary, when ...read more
Can you spare one hour tomorrow to help accelerate a year of Alzheimer’s research?
Tomorrow is Citizen Science Day (#CitSciDay2019) and there are many ways to celebrate. Add or find an event near you or access lots of free resources, including downloadable bookmarks, posters and more, on the Citizen Science Day page. The signature project this year is the Stall Catchers Megathon, an online game you can play from anywhere (with internet access) to help Cornell scientists better understand how stalled bloood flow contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. By reducing s ...read more
Watching Falcon Heavy Land is a Glimpse at the Future of Spaceflight
After a successful launch that delivered the Arabsat-6A satellite into its planned orbit, SpaceX also succeeded in landing all three of the boosters for their Falcon Heavy rocket — a first for the private space company. On a previous test flight, SpaceX landed and recovered only the side boosters. The launch was also Falcon Heavy's first commercial endeavor. [embed]https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1116553298176118784[/embed] Three for three After multiple delays throughout early Apr ...read more