Dismantling Doomsday: Daniel Ellsberg on the Risk of Nuclear Apocalypse
Speaking with the authority of an insider, Ellsberg reveals that practically everything the American public believes about nuclear war and nuclear weapons is a "deliberate deception." Nuclear war is...
View ArticleAs Pruitt’s Industry Ties Hold Strong, EPA Rollbacks Continue
Topping our weekly news roundup: As EPA administrator Scott Pruitt continues to face criticism for his close relationship to industry, news came that the agency has spent the last few months easing the...
View ArticleIn Ethiopia’s Wheat Diversity, the Seeds of a Wheat Rust Solution
Over thousands of years, the environment and farmers in Ethiopia have interacted by selecting and breeding in order to adjust old crop varieties to regional conditions. The result is a unique variety...
View ArticleWill Future Cameras See Behind Walls?
You may already be pleased with the camera technology in your smartphone. But single-pixel cameras, multi-sensor imaging, and quantum technologies will likely change the way in which we take photos....
View ArticleIn the Maldives, the Virtues and Limitations of Pole-and-Line Tuna Fishing
The pole-and-line fishing method employed around the island nation is lauded for its limited impact on other marine life. But given the additional resources it requires, its unclear whether or even how...
View ArticleLiving With an Agricultural Enemy
Tests conducted by the Julius Kuehn Institute, Germany’s federal research center for cultivated plants in Berlin, showed that even without Ug99, four out of five wheat varieties in Germany are...
View ArticleThe Magnetic Field Is Shifting. The Poles May Flip. This Could Get Bad.
The poles have changed places hundreds of times, most recently 780,000 years ago, and the North Pole is now on the run. When next they flip, many species could be in danger and the consequences for the...
View ArticleWith Nuclear Threats Looming, Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer to Midnight
Topping our weekly news roundup: The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' symbolic Doomsday Clock inched forward on Thursday, signaling what is said to be the closest the planet has come to total nuclear...
View ArticleA Rollback of DACA Would Undercut American Science, Too
With the onus on Congress to pass permanent legislation regarding the fate of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, input from students, professors, and scientists who know...
View ArticlePodcast #23: Food Fight
Join our podcast host and former NYT editor David Corcoran as he talks with Kerstin Hoppenhaus and Sibylle Grunze about their Undark documentary on stem rust. Also: Seth Mnookin on how people get...
View ArticleA Mysterious Amnesia, Related to Opioid Overdose, Creeps Beyond New England
There are real barriers to determining the true scope of the problem, and amid the larger opioid crisis, pinning down the cause of a dozen or so amnesia cases can seem trifling. But some experts argue...
View ArticleAI Is the Weapon of the Next Cold War
As during the Cold War after World War II, nations are developing and building weapons based on advanced technology. During the Cold War, the weapon of choice was nuclear missiles; today, it’s...
View ArticleIn Australia, ‘Thunderstorm Asthma’ Fuels the Quest for a Cure
During a severe thunderstorm in Melbourne, Australia in 2016, thousands of people rushed to hospitals complaining of respiratory difficulties. The weather-triggered asthma attacks claimed 10 lives, and...
View ArticleOf Science, Certainty, and the Safety of Cell Phone Radiation
The scientific consensus is clear: The low-energy radiation emanating from cell phones is not known to be a health concern. But study of the issue continues, and many consumers — and even some...
View Article‘River of Consciousness’: Oliver Sacks’ Final Essays on Attention, Memory,...
In 2015, six months before his death, Sacks wrote something akin to his own obituary for The New York Times. “Over the last few days,” he wrote, “I have been able to see my life as from a great...
View ArticleCDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald Resigns Over Financial Conflicts of Interest
Topping our weekly news roundup: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly resigned from her post on Wednesday, after a report from Politico revealed that she had...
View ArticleCan Pregnancy Help Scientists Better Understand Cancer?
The knowledge could one day lead to earlier cancer detection and better treatments, though for now, researchers are focused on deciphering the underlying process — and answering a simple but sobering...
View ArticleWe’re Killing Our Lakes and Oceans. The Consequences Are Real.
The entire eastern half of the Mediterranean Sea once became a massive 'dead zone.' More recently, nutrient runoff in the shallow waters of Lake Erie's Western Basin led to a cascade of environmental...
View ArticleIn India, Stakeholders Drive Down Drug Prices for the Benefit of All
The ability of this eclectic mix of stakeholders to force down the costs of an important Hepatitis C medicine has been heralded as a victory for those who argue that it is a moral outrage to keep drugs...
View ArticleAre Electronic Cigarettes a Gateway to Tobacco?
Smokers and parents aren’t the only ones uncertain about e-cigarettes. Accomplished, respected scientists are engaged in a real debate about the potential role of non-cigarette tobacco products and...
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