Uncategorized
- Science & Society
Geneticist Krystal Tsosie advocates for Indigenous data sovereignty
A member of the Navajo Nation, she believes Indigenous geneticists have a big role to play in protecting and studying their own data.
By Joseph Lee - Health & Medicine
Under very rare conditions, Alzheimer’s disease may be transmitted
Alzheimer’s isn’t contagious. But contaminated growth hormone injections caused early-onset Alzheimer’s in some recipients, a new study suggests.
- Humans
Here’s why COVID-19 isn’t seasonal so far
Human immunity and behavior may be more important than weather for driving seasonality when it comes to COVID-19.
- Climate
Cold, dry snaps accompanied three plagues that struck the Roman Empire
New climate data for ancient Italy point to temperature and rainfall influences on past infectious disease outbreaks.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
What parrots can teach us about human intelligence
By studying the brains and behaviors of parrots, scientists hope to learn more about how humanlike intelligence evolves.
- Neuroscience
Handwriting may boost brain connections more than typing does
Students asked to write words showed greater connectivity across the brain than when they typed them, suggesting writing may be a better boost for memory.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter officially ends its mission on Mars
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter suffered damage during a recent flight and has ended its mission on Mars after nearly three years on the Red Planet.
By Adam Mann - Ecosystems
How an invasive ant changed a lion’s dinner menu
An invasive ant is killing off ants that defend trees from elephants. With less cover, it’s harder for lions to hunt zebras, so they hunt buffalo instead.
- Physics
A predicted quasicrystal is based on the ‘einstein’ tile known as the hat
The einstein tile can cover an infinite plane only with a nonrepeating pattern. A material based on it has features of both crystals and quasicrystals.
- Animals
A bird flu outbreak is sweeping the globe. Its long-term effects are unclear
A reporter’s recent trip to the Galápagos offered a chance to reflect on the bird flu outbreak, which has killed millions of birds and other animals.
- Earth
Many but not all of the world’s aquifers are losing water
Many aquifers are quickly disappearing due to climate change and overuse, but some are rising because of improved resource management.
- Physics
What happens when lawn sprinklers suck in water? Physicists answer that quirky question
Experiments with a floating sprinkler and laser-illuminated microparticles revealed the surprisingly complex physics behind a simple question.