A composite image of the supernova Cassiopeia A. A similar event may have triggered wildfires and led to ecological changes on Earth millions of years ago. (Credit: NASA)
In one fiery burst, an exploding nearby star millions of years ago may have helped change the course of life on Earth.
Upon its death, this supernova sent high-energy charged particles, called cosmic rays, racing across the universe. Now, a new study says those cosmic rays may have led to an uptick in wildfires across t ...read more
(Credit: sirirat/Shutterstock)
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics can spread among microbes in just two hours, reports a team of researchers. The finding, though alarming, could also lead to better ways to treat bacterial infections that do not promote the spread of antibiotic resistance.
“It all happens very quickly,” said Christian Lesterlin, a geneticist at the University of Lyon in France, who led the new research. Lesterlin and his team discovered that bacteria can transf ...read more
Changing Methods of Science Communication
When we discuss science communication, we often talk about it as either targeted at professional scientists or as targeted at the public. However, with the increase in citizen science and public engagement in science, new ways to communicate about science — modes that exist somewhere between separate professional and public genres — have developed apace.
In my new book, Science Communication Online, from The Ohio State University P ...read more
A paper in a peer-reviewed medical journal makes the suggestion that physicist Stephen Hawking's disability, which famously confined him to a wheelchair and robbed him of his speech, was psychosomatic in nature.
Hmm. I think this says more about the author than it does about Hawking.
The paper is called Delusional Health Beliefs and it comes by British doctor Peter May. It was published a few days ago in the Medico-Legal Journal.
May begins the paper by discussing conversion di ...read more
Heading to the beach this weekend? Consider engaging in water quality testing with the Surfrider Foundation. The Surfrider Foundation is a grassroots environmental organization whose mission is to protect and enjoy the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches.
Surfrider volunteers work in their communities across the country testing the water to provide more information to inform safe beach recreation. The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is the Surfrider Foundation’s volunteer-run ...read more
Violent thunderstorms boiled up across Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri on May 22, 2019, as seen in this animation of infrared images acquired by the GOES-16 weather satellite. Tornadoes, including one that ravaged parts of Jefferson City, MO, are indicated by blue-colored T's. (Note: The animation may take awhile to load. It's worth the wait! Source: CIMSS Satellite Blog)
It certainly has been a wild — and deadly — few weeks for weather.
Since the first and 23rd of May, 340 torna ...read more
The series of paper cells developed by researchers at the University of Washington uses origami folds to absorb the force of impacts. (Credit: Kiyomi Taguchi/University of Washington)
Whether applied to auto collisions or rocket landings, absorbing energy from impacts is a valuable trait, and industries have been working on various solutions for years. For spacecraft, landing safely has entailed everything from inflatable airbag systems to sky cranes to retro-thrusters. But what if the force ...read more
Sara Futch, a graduate student at North Carolina State University, won Best Overall Poster at the Citizen Science Association Conference 2019 for her poster, “Uncovering Connections across Citizen Science Projects: A Social Network Analysis.” Conference attendees selected Sara’s poster via in-person votes during the poster session.
Sara Futch's poster
Here’s more from Sara about her research:
“My name is Sara Futch, and I’m a graduate student in F ...read more
Radar reveals that Mars is hiding past ice caps under the ones visible today. (Credit: SA/DLR/FU Berlin; NASA MGS MOLA Science Team)
Bands of ice and sand at Mars' north pole reveal an ancient climate that swung between warm and cold.
Mars, now dry and dusty, still holds water ice at its poles, and evidence strongly suggests it was once a planet where water flowed freely across the surface.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Shallow Radar (SHARAD) has peered deep into the northern ...read more
