Sci/Tech

Global supply issues related to the pandemic and war in Ukraine have highlighted yet another global vulnerability — food availability. While international trade allows countries to buffer against domestic food shortfalls and gain access to larger markets, what happens when supplies run short, or the global supply chain slows or even breaks down like it […]

We hear a lot about how climate change will change the land, sea and ice. But how will it affect clouds? “Low clouds could dry up and shrink like the ice sheets,” said Michael Pritchard, an Earth system scientist at the University of California, Irvine. “Or they could thicken and become more reflective.” These two […]

Physicists have a tendency of turning a complex problem into a simpler model that could be easily digested by mathematical equations or existing theories. Have you ever heard of “the spherical cow”? It’s a popular joke among scientists, but it captures how physicists often approach the objects they study. In short, it is easier to […]

Irvine, Calif., June 14, 2022 – A study led by the University of California, Irvine shows a strong relationship between prolonged exposure to low levels of radon and lung cancer, indicating a need for enhanced protection measures.  Radon gas in the air decays into tiny radioactive particles which can damage lung cells and lead to […]

North Carolina State University researchers found that four new designs for shelters to protect firefighters trapped in wildfires could increase the survival time inside the shelter compared with the current industry standard. In lab simulations of wildfire burn-overs – where a wildfire sweeps over a group of trapped firefighters or equipment – temperatures inside the […]

DALLAS, June 13, 2022 — Middle-aged women with higher blood concentrations of common synthetic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also called “forever chemicals” and found in water, soil, air and food, were at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, compared to their peers who had lower levels of these substances, according to new […]

LOS ANGELES (June 9, 2022) – A new analysis led by researchers with the University of California has found the top threats to Americans today regarding dementia in old age are obesity, physical inactivity, and lack of a high school diploma. Significantly, these risk factors are different from what were found to be the greatest […]

Viral surveillance and prediction may be key parts of figuring out what goes into a vaccine. Pexels Cover/500px via Getty Images David R. Martinez, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines means having had three or four doses of the same shot at this point. Current boosters are […]

We hear a lot about how climate change will change the land, sea, and ice. But how will it affect clouds? “Low clouds could dry up and shrink like the ice sheets,” says Michael Pritchard, professor of Earth System science at UC Irvine. “Or they could thicken and become more reflective.” These two scenarios would result […]

Have a look at this image. Do you perceive that the central black hole is expanding, as if you’re moving into a dark environment, or falling into a hole? If so, you’re not alone: a new study shows that this ‘expanding hole’ illusion, which is new to science, is perceived by approximately 86% of people. Dr […]

Over 100 participants from 18 countries – including NASA scientists and the agency’s NEOWISE mission – took part in the international exercise. Watching the skies for large asteroids that could pose a hazard to the Earth is a global endeavor. So, to test their operational readiness, the international planetary defense community will sometimes use a […]

As Earth’s climate continues to warm, researchers predict that wild animals will be forced to relocate their habitats — likely to regions with large human populations — dramatically increasing the risk of a viral jump to humans that could lead to the next pandemic. The link between climate change and viral transmission is described by […]

A new study published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology looked at the evolution of neurologic symptoms in non-hospitalized COVID-19 long-haulers at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and discovered most long-haulers continue to experience symptoms such as brain fog, numbness/tingling, headache, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus and fatigue on average of 15 months after disease onset. Researchers analyzed […]

Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year — which would make it the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. NOAA’s outlook for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, which extends from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, […]

May 18, 2022 – Our diets provide us with the building blocks we need to stay healthy and fight disease. The nutrients in foods and beverages can be tallied up to know if we are getting what our bodies need. Yet what if a nutrient has been overlooked? For instance, friendly microbes in raw and […]

In unvaccinated people, infection with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 provides little long-term immunity against other variants, according to a new study by researchers at Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco (UCSF), published today in the journal Nature. In experiments using mice and blood samples from donors who were infected with Omicron, the team found that the Omicron […]

A new study by researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland suggests that dreams – especially those that simultaneously appear realistic, but, upon a closer look, bizarre – help our brain learn and extract generic concepts from previous experiences. The study, carried out within the Human Brain Project and published in eLife, offers a new theory […]

One of the most contentious questions in evolutionary biology is: how did the Amazon become so rich in species? A new study focused on birds examines how the movements of rivers in the Amazon have contributed to the area’s exceptional biological diversity. The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded team, led by American Museum of Natural History scientists, found that […]

Washington, D.C.  –  During a press conference hosted by the U.S. National Science Foundation with the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in Washington, D.C. today, astronomers unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole […]

NASA’s InSight Mars lander has detected the largest quake ever observed on another planet: an estimated magnitude 5 temblor that occurred on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. This adds to the catalog of more than 1,313 quakes InSight has detected since landing on Mars in November 2018. The […]