Life

The ‘Malleus Maleficarum,’ a medieval handbook, was used to try and execute supposed witches. Its influence lasted for centuries – including at the Salem Witch Trials. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Melissa Chim, General Theological Seminary Books have always had the power to cast a spell over their readers – figuratively. But one […]

SACRAMENTO – California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón today warned consumers about the risks associated with wearing decorative contact lenses. “Advertised as color, cosmetic, fashion and theatrical contact lenses, decorative contact lenses are especially popular around Halloween,” said Dr. Aragón. “Wearing any kind of contact lens, including […]

October 27, 2021 – USGS researchers frequently brave potentially haunted field sites and study spooky-looking creatures. Here’s a list of 13, right in time for Halloween. Equipped with maps, water and sunscreen, Kate Scharer was studying the active Simi-Santa Rosa Fault just outside of Los Angeles this past summer. While looking for the best place to park the field truck for the day, she opened her phone to […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Premiering November 5, 2021, the California Academy of Sciences’ newest original, all-digital planetarium show, Living Worlds, takes viewers on a revealing exploration of the ways life has transformed Earth’s surface and atmosphere over billions of years, and invites audiences to journey through the cosmos in search of life in our Solar […]

Denial of climate science emerged simultaneously with key scientific discoveries about humanity’s impact on our planet, according to a new book. Professor Peter Stott – author ofHot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial – began 25 years ago in the then-obscure field of the detection and attribution of climate change. As […]

Marketplaces for short-term accommodations have emerged as a way for landlords to promote their properties to short-term renters. This can lead some landlords to switch from long-term rentals and affect the supply and affordability of rental housing. Despite recent government regulations to address this concern, it is unclear how many and what types of properties […]

October 13, 2021 – By some lights, it seems curious how authoritarian leaders can sustain their public support while limiting liberties for citizens. Yes, it can be hard to overthrow an entrenched leader; that does not mean people have to like their ruling autocrats. And yet, many do. After all, authoritarian China consistently polls better […]

Bea Arthur was best known for her acting roles in the 1966 Broadway musical “Mame;” the 1970s sitcoms “All In The Family” and “Maude;” the 1985-1992 sitcom “The Golden Girls;” and many other notable parts in film, TV and theater. Less known is that Arthur enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II. On Feb. […]

From the congressman who led the first impeachment of Donald J. Trump, the vital inside account of American democracy in its darkest hour, and a warning that the forces of autocracy unleashed by Trump remain as potent as ever. “If there is still an American democracy fifty years from now, historians will be very grateful […]

The world’s climate is changing in every region and across the whole climate system, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group confirmed in its report Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis in August 2021. [1] Described by the United Nations secretary general António Guterres as a “code red for humanity,” the report’s alarm bells were “deafeningly loud,” […]

Warming temperatures over the past 60 years have led to increased wine quality, but a new study looking at sugar and color content in grapes indicates the industry may be facing trouble if trends continue, according to collaborative research out of the University of California, Davis, and University of Bordeaux. “Quality has increased steadily up […]

This week our host, Sam, chats with renowned baker Peter Reinhart and learns how a couple of small chemistry tweaks can transform a terrible pizza into an amazing one: We show you how two simple changes can turn cardboard-y pizza into award winning pie (okay, award-winning might be a slight exaggeration, but we awarded ourselves […]

People love stories. We find it easier to remember events when they are part of an overarching narrative. But in real life, the chapters of a story don’t follow smoothly one from another. Other things happen in between. A new brain imaging study from the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, shows […]

GENEVA (23 September 2021) – Under international human rights law, States must ensure sexual and reproductive health services, including modern forms of contraception, and information and education on family planning. Ahead of the World Contraception Day on 26 September, the experts* issued the following statement: “Access to family planning and contraception services, free of coercion […]

Today the Alice Project – a collaboration among The Sentencing Project, the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, and the Cornell University Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide – released a new report analyzing extreme sentences imposed on thousands of women in the U.S. One of every 15 women in prison – amounting to more than […]

Fall is still days away but at coffee shops and grocery stores, it’s already peak autumn thanks to the arrival of a certain flavor that has come to signal the season’s unofficial start. Everyone knows, it’s pumpkin spice time. But why? Johns Hopkins University perception researchers can say a key to understanding why people love […]

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Tree felling — whether by professional loggers in a forest setting or by landscapers in urban and rural landscapes — is the most dangerous job in what are two of the most dangerous industries, according to Penn State researchers who conducted a new study of associated deaths. The Occupational Safety and […]

Cats are our most common pets, and feline behavior is increasingly being investigated due to a range of behavioral problems. Another topic of interest in addition to behavior traits is personality since it can be connected to behavioral problems. “Compared to dogs, less is known about the behaviour and personality of cats, and there is […]

oday Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a series of fact sheets about surveillance advertising.  Also known as targeted advertising or behavioral advertising, surveillance advertising is the practice of showing individual consumers different advertisements based on inferences about their interests, demographics, and other characteristics drawn from tracking their activities over time and space. “Surveillance advertising […]

August 17, 2021 – With the window of opportunity to take meaningful action on climate change and mass extinction closing, a growing number of communities, organizations, and governments around the world are calling for Rights of Nature (RoN) to be legally recognized. RoN advocates are creating new laws that recognize natural ecosystems as subjects with […]