Washington, DC May 30, 2018 – Data for 2016 reveals that states with weak gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership have the highest gun suicide rates in the nation, according to a Violence Policy Center (VPC) analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury […]
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Study finds big savings in removing dams over repairs
May 29, 2018 – A new study by Portland State University researchers finds billions of dollars could be saved if the nation’s aging dams are removed rather than repaired, but also suggests that better data and analysis is needed on the factors driving dam-removal efforts. The study, published online in May in the journal River […]
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Mars rocks may harbor signs of life from 4 billion years ago
May 25, 2018 – Iron-rich rocks near ancient lake sites on Mars could hold vital clues that show life once existed there, research suggests. These rocks – which formed in lake beds – are the best place to seek fossil evidence of life from billions of years ago, researchers say. A new study that sheds […]
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World’s biggest fisheries supported by seagrass meadows
May 21, 2018 – The study entitled ‘Seagrass meadows support global fisheries production‘ published in Conservation Letters, provides evidence that a fifth of the world’s biggest fisheries, such as Atlantic Cod and Walleye Pollock are reliant on healthy seagrass meadows. The study also demonstrates the prevalence of seagrass associated fishing globally. The study, carried out […]
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NASA satellites reveal major shifts in global freshwater
May 17, 2018 – In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and to determine why. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, finds that Earth’s wet land areas are getting wetter […]
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NOAA finds rising emissions of ozone-destroying chemical banned by Montreal Protocol
May 16, 2018 – Emissions of one of the chemicals most responsible for the Antarctic ozone hole are on the rise, despite an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010, a new NOAA study shows. Trichlorofluoromethane, or CFC-11, is the second-most abundant ozone-depleting gas in the atmosphere and a member of […]
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Gun safety programs do not prevent children from handling firearms, Rutgers study finds
May 15, 2018 – Children who participate in gun safety programs often ignore what they learned when encountering a real firearm, according to a Rutgers School of Nursing study. The report, published recently in Health Promotion Practice, reviewed 10 studies on the effectiveness of strategies for teaching gun safety to children ages 4 to 9. […]
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Record-breaking ocean heat fueled Hurricane Harvey
BOULDER, Colo. May 11, 2018 — In the weeks before Hurricane Harvey tore across the Gulf of Mexico and plowed into the Texas coast in August 2017, the Gulf’s waters were warmer than any time on record, according to a new analysis led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). These hotter-than-normal conditions supercharged […]
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US boycott of Chinese researchers could ‘stifle’ global progress
May 11, 2018 – Academics are warning that proposed measures by the Trump administration to restrict Chinese researchers from working in the US could ‘stifle’ global progress. The White House is discussing whether to limit the access of Chinese citizens to the United States, including restricting certain types of visas available to them and greatly […]
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Study: Cars Are Safer and Sell Better As Fuel Efficiency Improves
Washington D.C. May 10, 2018 – A new analysis, “Fuel Economy Standards: There is No Tradeoff with Safety, Cost and Fleet Turnover,” from the Consumer Federation of America, finds that as average fleet fuel efficiency increased from 24.2 MPG in 2013 to 25.2 MPG in 2018, passenger vehicles became both safer and more popular, with […]
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Sustaining the Greater sage-grouse may come down to maintaining genetic connectivity
MISSOULA, Mont., May 10, 2018 – The Greater sage-grouse, once estimated to have a population of 16 million across the western United States, is now believed to number less than one million. The population decline is related to their habitat, much of which has been degraded by non-native grasses and fragmented by development. Because of […]
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Dementia Risk Doubles Following Concussion, UCSF Study Shows
May 7, 2018 – Dementia should join the expanding list of possible complications following concussion, even if the patient did not lose consciousness, say researchers from UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System. In their study, which tracked more than one-third of a million veterans, the likelihood of […]
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Coalition Pushes Tech Companies To Be More Transparent, Accountable About Censoring User Content
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 7, 2018 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called on Facebook, Google, and other social media companies today to publicly report how many user posts they take down, provide users with detailed explanations about takedowns, and implement appeals policies to boost accountability. EFF, ACLU of Northern California, Center for Democracy & Technology, […]
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Magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Hawaii near Leilani Estates and ongoing Kīlauea eruptions
May 4, 2018 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred 16km SW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii. Hawaii County police, fire, and county agencies, along with the National Guard and partners, continue to assist with an evacuation of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions in the face of a volcanic eruption in the area. All Leilani […]
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Glaciers in decline (video)
May 3, 2018 – Apart from Antarctica, Patagonia is home to the biggest glaciers in the southern hemisphere, but some are retreating faster than anywhere else in the world. This is because the weather is relatively warm and these glaciers typically terminate in fjords and lakes, exacerbating surface melting and causing them to flow faster […]
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New study sheds light on the complex dynamics of Parkinson’s disease
May 2, 2018 – Parkinson’s disease affects around 10 million people worldwide, yet exactly how the disease and treatments for its symptoms work remains a bit mysterious. Now, Stanford researchers have tested a seminal theory of Parkinson’s and found it wanting, a result that could have implications well beyond Parkinson’s disease itself, the team reports […]
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Survey: Medical marijuana could reduce opioid use in older adults
May 1, 2018 – A questionnaire of older men and women suffering from chronic pain who were given medical marijuana found that the drug significantly reduced pain and their need for opioid painkillers, Northwell Health researchers report. The results of the study, “Older Adults’ Use of Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain: A Multisite Community-Based Survey,” […]
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Study finds very few pages devoted to climate change in introductory U.S. science textbooks
April 30, 2018 – As an ASU graduate student, Rachel Yoho wanted to push the boundaries of renewable energy research. What she didn’t fully anticipate is that it would also lead her to questioning how climate change is taught in today’s universities. In the Biodesign Center for Environmental Biotechnology, led by director and ASU Regents’ […]
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Personal care products contribute to a pollution ‘rush hour’
April 30, 2018 – When people are out and about, they leave plumes of chemicals behind them–from both car tailpipes and the products they put on their skin and hair. In fact, emissions of siloxane, a common ingredient in shampoos, lotions, and deodorants, are comparable in magnitude to the emissions of major components of vehicle […]
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Stricter gun control could stop violent men killing their partners and themselves
April 27, 2018 – Men who use guns to kill their partner are also likely to commit suicide. Those planning to commit suicide are not deterred by severe penalties, and therefore the most successful way of preventing such homicides is to restrict gun access to batterers. So says Sierra Smucker of Duke University Sanford School […]