Europe is in the midst of a heat wave, and while Olympic athletes in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games might be spared the worst of it, the weather will still be hot.As global temperatures have risen, major sporting events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup have had to adapt to high heat and extreme storms to keep athletes and fans safe and allow the games to go on.Olympic organizers have moved events such as marathons to early mornings and even to cooler cities. FIFA, the governing body for wor ...read more

Humanity has long been captivated by the dark side of the moon, known for its mystery and opportunities for discovery. For decades, though, the moon’s darkest and most distant regions were thought to be unreachable. But in August 2023, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which became the first spacecraft to land near the moon’s south pole.Outfitted with groundbreaking temperature detection and chemical analysis technology, Chandrayaan-3 collected ...read more

For many people, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is the start of a great day. But caffeine can cause headaches and jittersin others. That’s why many people reach for a decaffeinated cup instead.I’m a chemistry professor who has taught lectures on why chemicals dissolve in some liquids but not in others. The processes of decaffeination offer great real-life examples of these chemistry concepts. Even the best decaffeination method, however, does not remove all of the caffeine – about 7 mi ...read more

Nikolai Kardashev, a Russian astrophysicist, was one of the founders of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). In 1964, Kardashev published a paper proposing a way to categorize a planet's energy use, a system that has come to be known as the Kardashev Scale. In 1964, when Kardashev published his paper, SETI was still a very young field. But now, a growing number of researchers are actively looking for technosignatures that indicate intelligent life elsewhere in the galaxy.Pinchen ...read more

When Neil Armstrong took his first step upon the cratered, dusty surface of the moon, the only thing protecting him from battering rays of direct sunlight, space radiation, and shooting lunar particles was the meticulously designed spacesuit he’d donned.But before Armstrong stepped on the moon, the suit kept making rapid trips back and forth between Delaware and Houston. Experts took it down to Texas in a suitcase for testing before sending it back upstate for fixes – including swapping out ...read more

In July 2023, three military veterans testified before the U.S. Congress about their experiences with UFOs. A navy fighter pilot described seeing a dark, cube-like spacecraft near the coast of Virginia in 2014. The pilot was flying an F-18 in hurricane-force winds and was stunned to see the dark object hovering, unbothered by the gusts.Another navy pilot reported how he saw an aircraft near San Diego that resembled a Tic Tac. The apparent UFO was smooth, without wings or rotors. And when the nav ...read more

As a species, humans like to think that we are fully in control of our decisions and behavior. But just below the surface, forces beyond our conscious control influence how we think and behave: our genes.Since the 1950s, scientists have been studying the influences genes have on human health. This has led medical professionals, researchers and policymakers to advocate for the use of precision medicine to personalize diagnosis and treatment of diseases, leading to quicker improvements to patient ...read more

Cheese is a relatively simple food. It’s made with milk, enzymes – these are proteins that can chop up other proteins – bacterial cultures and salt. Lots of complex chemistry goes into the cheesemaking process, which can determine whether the cheese turns out soft and gooey like mozzarella or hard and fragrant like Parmesan.In fact, humans have been making cheese for about 10,000 years. Roman soldiers were given cheese as part of their rations. It is a nutritious food that provides protein ...read more

In 2023, there was a warning that sharks off the coast of Florida could be chowing down on bales of cocaine deposited by traffickers.Then, a high-profile experiment showcased during Shark Week tested out this warning. Hitting the headlines, the possibility of cocaine-fueled sharks became a hot topic. Despite the ensuing furor, this supposed problem remains highly skeptical.“The experiments that were done for the TV show were really just to show people that there's a connection between our impa ...read more

A surprising technique has helped scientists observe how Earth’s oceans are changing, and it’s not using specialized robots or artificial intelligence. It’s tagging seals.Several species of seals live around and on Antarctica and regularly dive more than 100 meters in search of their next meal. These seals are experts at swimming through the vigorous ocean currents that make up the Southern Ocean. Their tolerance for deep waters and ability to navigate rough currents make these adventurous ...read more