Citizen Science Day 2019: Add Real Scientific Research to Your Library Programming!

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

From the NIH/ National Network of Libraries of Medicine Libraries are hubs for discovery and community engagement; imagine your library joining a real-time event with others around the world and contributing to real scientific research to speed up Alzheimer’s research! Citizen Science Day 2019 is Saturday, April 13. You and your library are invited to participate in the Stall Catchers Megathon, in which people all over the world will analyze real research data in a game format that ...read more

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the ocean and atmosphere have coupled — giving birth to a weakling El Niño

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

It's finally here. This morning, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made it official: El Niño conditions are present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. There's a 90 percent chance that they'll continue through winter, and a 60 percent chance through spring. True to predictions, this El Niño is a weakling. Climate scientist Emily Becker summarized the situation at the ever-awesome ENSO blog: After several months of flirting, the tropical Pacific ocean and atmosp ...read more

New citizen science tools database to discover and access the right instruments

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

Citizen science (public participation in scientific research) often calls for tools you won’t find lying around the house, such as a rain gauge to record precipitation or an air quality sensor. “I think a database of water quality monitoring tools is something that anyone who samples recreational water quality dreams of: the idea of a one-stop-shop for such information would be incredibly helpful and save a lot of time for the people and volunteers that run water quality monitor ...read more

Mice Deprived of ‘Love Hormone’ Oxytocin Sit Alone in the Cold

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Inside Science) -- Perhaps it's not a coincidence that Valentine's Day falls at a chilly time of year. In biological terms, social drives like love may be bound up with the need to keep warm. The same hormone, oxytocin, helps regulate both physical and emotional warmth, increasing body heat and facilitating social bonding. And according to recent research, baby mice deprived of the hormone are less likely to cuddle with other mice or crawl toward heated surfaces. "We're working with i ...read more

This Is What Your City Might Feel Like in 60 Years Due to Climate Change

Posted on Categories Discover Magazine

(Inside Science) -- In 60 years, the climate of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will feel kind of like a contemporary Jonesboro, Arkansas, with higher temperatures and more winter precipitation, according to a new study. That's assuming fossil fuel emissions continue to rise; if instead we succeed in curbing emissions, Pittsburgh will instead become more like Madison, Indiana. Pittsburgh is one of 540 cities in the U.S. and Canada for which scientists have found doppelgangers of their climate f ...read more