A Nobel Doesn’t Make You an Expert: Lessons in Science and Spin
Plenty of so-called experts have won fame by speaking out on subjects outside their fields. The climate-change skeptic Freeman Dyson has a distinguished record in physics, but he is hardly in the front...
View ArticleAbstracts: Hurricane Harvey, Mining in the Amazon, and More
At least five people in the Gulf Coast of Texas have been reported dead in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Brazil opened a 17,800-square mile reserve in the Amazon to mining, potentially threatening...
View ArticleIn Connecticut, a Nanoscale Agricultural Experiment With Global Potential
A large percentage of annual food crop production is lost to plant diseases, and farmers typically use toxic chemicals to combat the various blights. The Connecticut scientists are hoping that...
View ArticleFive Questions for Erik Brynjolfsson
In 2014, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argued that the world had entered a new era of technological advancement — a second Industrial Revolution, in which artificial intelligence would enable...
View ArticleA New Report Examines Low-Dose Chemical Exposures. The EPA Should Pay Attention.
Standard toxicity tests don’t always detect the effects that chemicals can have at lower levels. Even when the data does suggest such effects, scientists and policymakers may be slow to act....
View ArticleAbstracts: Harvey Aftermath, New Species, and More
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, at least 38 deaths, most of them from drowning, have been reported. Houstonians who came into contact with floodwater are being warned of the contaminants and...
View ArticlePodcast #18: Atomic Bill
Our podcast host David Corcoran discusses Undark’s latest Case Study about William "Atomic Bill" Laurence, with writer Mark Wolverton and science and media commentator Seth Mnookin. Also: Andy...
View ArticleThe Jackal and the Donkey: How Stories Saved a People’s Identity
Three generations ago the Ju/’hoansi were undisputed masters of this semi-arid land, but by the time I started living and working with them, they had been robbed of their lands — a racially stigmatized...
View ArticleAbstracts: Asteroids, Trump Nominees, and More
A three-mile wide asteroid flew past Earth on Friday, the largest asteroid to fly near us since 1890. President Trump announced his nominees for important positions at NASA and the National Oceanic and...
View ArticleThe Pros and Cons of ‘BPA-Free’
As regulations tighten and consumer pressure mounts regarding the use of BPA, manufacturers are rolling out 'BPA-free' plastics and packaging. But scientists suggest the chemicals being swapped in,...
View ArticleDecimated by a Moth, Russia’s Colchic Boxwood Is Now on the Brink
Ecologists will recognize the decimation of Russia's Colchic boxwood as a familiar lesson in the dualities of globalized life, where ease of transport and trade brings both economic benefits and...
View ArticleTrump Wants to Cut Food Stamps. Research Suggests That’s Unwise.
Anti-food stamp rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, with President Trump calling for a 25 percent reduction in benefits over 10 years. But advocates for the anti-hunger program have been here before,...
View ArticleWhy the Mind Deceives Itself (and How to Set It Right)
Whether it's the way we perceive space, our flawed memory of events, or unconscious bias, humans universally construct a version of their enviroment that may not square with reality. Two new books...
View ArticleAbstracts: Irma, NIH Budget Boost, and More
Hurricane Irma devastated the Caribbean Islands yesterday, killing at least 10 people. The storm now heads toward Florida. A Senate subcommittee approved a $2 billion raise for the National Institutes...
View ArticleGo Forth and Replicate: On Creating Incentives for Repeat Studies
The reasons for the replication crisis in science are many, but some stakeholders say the root cause is obvious: a lack of direct incentives to replicate other researchers’ work. This raises some key...
View ArticleBillion-Dollar Disasters Are Rising, But Mostly Because There’s More to Destroy
A typical year in the 1980s experienced on average 2.7 such disasters in the U.S. In the 1990s and 2000s, that average had climbed to 4.6 and 5.4 a year, respectively. Since then, the frequency of...
View ArticleAbstracts: Florida Destruction, Cassini, and More
Hurricane Irma swept through Florida yesterday, leaving millions without power and killing at least five people. After having studied Saturn for 13 years, the international probe Cassini is set to...
View ArticleFor the National Parks, a Reckoning
While the current administration may dismiss climate change, managers and scientists in places like Sequoia National Park can already see its impacts first-hand. Figuring out what, if anything, to do...
View Article$475,000 for a Cancer Drug? Time to Put a Lid on Costs
The FDA approval of Novartis’s first-of-its-kind immunotherapy drug for a deadly form of childhood leukemia is the culmination of nearly five decades of work on so-called recombinant DNA. It’s already...
View ArticleFood or Feed? A New Look at the Global Grain Drain
Feed for livestock could provide nutrition more efficiently to the world’s people if we skipped meat and focused on a plant-based diet. But Earth’s growing population also benefits from meat’s...
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