Hawaii is home to some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes. Striking blue waters, lush jungles, and pristine beaches make it a paradise. It’s also home to other unique inhabitants, such as sea turtles, dolphins, and… plastics? According to a new study from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa, plastics are becoming the most prevalent form of pollution in the ocean, which can be detrimental to marine species and their habitat. However, researchers from UH discovered a fungus fro ...read more
Romance is in the air today — and also predicted to be in space tonight. The conditions are perfect for a Valentine’s Day date with the aurora borealis on February 14, 2025. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says a solar wind stream is heading toward Earth just in time for the star-crossed lovers to gaze upon it together.Northern Lights CreationAuroras occur when electrons from space enter Earth’s magnetic field and collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atm ...read more
The world’s biggest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), sits in a circular tunnel about one hundred meters beneath the Swiss French border near Geneva. It is huge—some 17 kilometers in circumference—and capable of accelerating sub-atomic particles to energies of 10^12 electronVolts (Tera eV or TeV), the highest ever achieved. Constructed in the 1990s and switched on in the noughties, the LHC is getting old and physicists now want to smash particles together at even highe ...read more
Ancient peoples didn't have the luxury of air-tight containers to keep insects out of food, screens to keep insects out of the house, or a local pest control specialist that could help keep your home pest-free. These menacing pests could cause much more than an inconvenience. They could spoil food stores or ruin crops. However, archeologists have found that ancient people had their own ways of coping with bugs, rodents, and other annoyances. Ancient people weren't about to let these pests ruin ...read more
One would expect a mummy to smell moldy, musty, and mildewy. But the first study to systematically sniff the wrapped human remains report much more pleasant scents, describing whiffs as "woody," "spicy," and "sweet," according to a report in in Journal of the American Chemical Society.“The smell of mummified bodies has for years attracted significant interest from experts and the general public, but no combined chemical and perceptual scientific study has been conducted until now,” lead auth ...read more
Space missions take a toll on astronauts’ bodies, especially when it comes to bone and joint health, but jumping exercises may mitigate damage and even improve physical conditioning. A recent study showed that knee cartilage was strengthened in mice that engaged in jumping workouts, a benefit that scientists think could possibly extend to humans. This type of training could become a crucial preventative measure for astronauts, who often experience weakening of cartilage due to low gravity in s ...read more
Lake Mead and Lake Powell could be in for another record year for low water levels as a snow drought persists throughout the Western U.S. With minimal snowfall in the last two months, the Colorado snowpack will likely not provide an abundant water supply to the lakes. And the snow drought could impact crucial drinking water sources.Why are Lake Mead and Lake Powell Important Lake Mead and Lake Powell are crucial reservoirs that provide water to several states, including California, Nevada, Ari ...read more
While lung cancer continues to be the deadliest form of cancer globally, people who have never smoked are making up a growing proportion of those who are battling the disease. In 2022, about 2.5 million people were diagnosed with it.Fewer smokers in many countries — including the U.S. — may account for some of that shift in cancer causation. But air pollution may also be playing a growing role, according to a World Health Organization study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journa ...read more
We’ve all been there: You’ve just eaten a big dinner, but you find yourself craving a little sweet treat. Is there a biological explanation for why we always want to leave room for dessert?A team from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research says yes, there is actually science behind the “dessert stomach,” and it all starts in the brain.Sugar on the BrainIn their initial study, researchers used mice to investigate the brain’s reaction to sugar. More specifically, they focused o ...read more
Our planet offers many sources of information on how past climates influenced the environment, such as glaciers, sediments, tree rings, and pollen. But to reconstruct past climate events, researchers in the field of historical climatology go beyond these natural indicators to examine those of society: the records and everyday-life reports of people who lived in those times. Together, these insights from the past help to make more accurate predictions about how climate change will impact our envi ...read more
