The word “leprosy” conjures images of biblical plagues, but the disease is still with us today. Caused by infectious bacteria, some 200,000 new cases are reported each year, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, leprosy has been entrenched for more than a century in parts of the South where people came into contact with armadillos, the principle proven linkage from animal to humans. However, the more recent outbreaks in the Southeast, especially Florida, have not ...read more

Gamma rays are weightless, high-energy packets of electromagnetic radiation — the same stuff that makes up light. However, while visible light can comfortably light up a room, gamma rays can penetrate concrete, and cause serious damage to the human body as they pass through. While we may assume we’re safe from the effects of gamma radiation, one particular cosmic phenomenon — gamma-ray bursts — poses a chilling question: What would happen if one of these massive spikes of radiation hit t ...read more

In Argentina, where beef is a symbol of national pride, a government-led partnership has started certifying certain livestockas carbon neutral. It’s a big step that shouldn’t be underestimated, but getting the certification process right is crucial.The world’s livestock sector is a key driver of climate change, contributing around 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirdsof agriculture’s annual greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, with raising cattle for meat typically ...read more

Is or was there life on Mars? That profound question is so complex that it will not be fully answered by the two NASA rovers now exploring it.But because of the literal groundwork the rovers are performing, scientists are finally investigating, in-depth and in unprecedented detail, the planet’s evidence for life, known as its “biosignatures.” This search is remarkably complicated, and in the case of Mars, it is spanning decades.As a geologist, I have had the extraordinary opportunity to wo ...read more

Imagine opening your front door wide and inviting the world to listen in on your most private conversations. Unthinkable, right? Yet, in the digital realm, people inadvertently leave doors ajar, potentially allowing hackers, tech companies, service providers and security agencies to peek into their private communications.Much depends on the applications you use and the encryption standards the apps uphold. End-to-end encryption is a digital safeguard for online interactions. It’s used by many ...read more

In both December 2023 and February 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft soared over Jupiter’s moon, Io. Shooting past at a distance of around 930 miles, the twin flybys — the two closest flybys of Io in over 20 years — produced images of the moon’s lava lakes and volcanic plumes, fleshing out our impression of our solar system’s most volcanic world.According to NASA scientists, the images could contribute to our understanding of Io’s volcanism, confirming the patterns and the origins of th ...read more

Words, like biological species, are engaged in what Charles Darwin called a “struggle for existence.” Some have what it takes, earning the right to roll off the next generation of tongues, while others get consigned to the pages of Merriam-Webster — or become forgotten entirely.What sets the survivors apart? A recent study in the journal PNAS, by a team of international researchers, found that many successful English words have three crucial traits: they’re acquired early in life, they r ...read more

For years, whale watching enthusiasts have flocked to West Coast shores to catch a glimpse of migrating gray whales. These gentle giants inhabit waters in the Pacific Ocean, while their numbers in the Atlantic Ocean gradually dwindled to the point of extirpation, or local extinction, centuries ago. It came as a colossal shock, then, when a single gray whale was spotted on the other side of the country near New England earlier this month. On March 1, aquarium scientists first noticed the whale d ...read more

Scientists very rarely get access to most sharks, the development of their young or the nursery grounds where they grow. So seeing a hammerhead shark(Sphyrna tiburo) embryo, halfway through its five-month development, is very unusual.Access to growing embryos is key for developmental biologists like me as we try to understand the diversity of animals on Earth. Usually the fishes I study, including other shark species, lay eggs, which allows us to easily watch development in real time.Hammerhead ...read more

In recent years, many people have turned to SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators) as a safer alternative to steroids. But that’s not a good idea. Though SARMs are often marketed as “dietary supplements,” the FDA categorizes them as unregulated drugs. And they can be dangerous. Here’s what you need to know. What Are SARMs?SARMs are compounds that mimic the effects of testosterone and anabolic steroids. They were developed in the early 2000s in an attempt to find an alternative t ...read more