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GENERAL INTEREST
Bronze Age to Byzantine: Scientists Uncover 46 Archaeological Sites Thought To Be Lost to History
Sci-Tech Daily, March 18, 2024
Scientists from the University of Leicester have successfully relocated over forty lost archaeological sites in Cyprus, ranging from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period.
Einstein’s Only experiment Is Found in French Museum
Physics World, March 17, 2024
Albert Einstein is famous as a theoretical physicist, but he also did one significant experiment. This was the Einstein–de Haas experiment, which he did in 1915 with the Dutch physicist Wander de Haas. This work showed that the magnetization of ferromagnetic materials such as iron is related to the angular momentum of electrons.
The Spring Equinox Is Here. What Does That Mean?
Phys.Org, March 18, 2024
During the equinox, the Earth's axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. This year, the alignment happens March 19 at 11:06 pm Eastern Daylight Time.
Australian Farm Grows World's Biggest Blueberry
BBC News, March 14, 2024
An Australian farm has smashed the record for the world's largest blueberry with a fruit the size of a ping-pong ball.
Mathematician Who Tamed Randomness Wins Abel Prize
Nature, March 20, 2024
Michel Talagrand laid mathematical groundwork that has allowed others to tackle problems involving random processes.
COSMOS
Space Telescopes Zoom In On How Fast the Cosmos Is Expanding
Cosmos, March 14, 2024
How fast is the universe expanding? How fast should it be? These two questions are at the heart of understanding one of the basic questions of the cosmos.
A Nearby Star Is Expected to Go Nova This Year. Here's How You Can See It.
Science Alert, March 19, 2024
The star, which is 3,000 light-years from Earth, is expected to burst in a gigantic explosion – known as a nova – in the coming months. NASA said in a statement that the once-a-lifetime event could be so big that it can be seen by the naked eye. It should be visible for up to a week.
Do Astronauts Experience 'Space Headaches'?
Phys.Org, March 13, 2024
Space travel and zero gravity can take a toll on the body. A new study has found that astronauts with no prior history of headaches may experience migraine and tension-type headaches during long-haul space flight, which includes more than 10 days in space.
What Is Emergent Gravity, and Will It Rewrite Physics?
Space, March 19, 2024
The idea is still new and requires a lot of assumptions in its calculations to make it work. Over the years, experimental results have been mixed.
The 'Devil Comet' Is Visible in the Night Sky, and Is Sticking Around for the Eclipse
NPR, March 14, 2024
Even more unusual is that the latest arrival of the comet — known officially as 12P/Pons-Brooks — coincides with next month's total solar eclipse and could be spotted during the event.
INNOVATION
Bridge in a Box: Unlocking Origami's Power to Produce Load-Bearing Structures
EurekAlert!, March 18, 2024
For the first time, load-bearing structures like bridges and shelters can be made with origami modules—versatile components that can fold compactly and adapt into different shapes—University of Michigan engineers have demonstrated.
First US Offshore Wind Farm goes Live off Long Island in Omen of a Green Future, Cheaper Electricity
Informed Comment, March 17, 2024
The US is now playing catch-up in this sector. China has the most offshore wind farms, followed by Britain, Germany, Vietnam and Denmark. But China has 105 wind farms, and Britain has 39. No one is in China’s league here.
Building Intelligent Machines Helps Us Learn How Our Brain Works
Scientific American, March 19, 2024
Designing machines to think like humans provides insight into intelligence itself
New Solar Cells Break Efficiency Record
Futurity, March 18, 2024
To achieve this, the team engineered a new cyanate-integrated perovskite solar cell that is stable and energy efficient.
AI vs.Elections: 4 Essential Reads about the Threat of High-Tech Deception in Politics
The Conversation, March 18, 2024
New this year are powerful generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Sora that make it easier to “flood the zone” with propaganda and disinformation and produce convincing deepfakes: words coming from the mouths of politicians that they did not actually say and events replaying before our eyes that did not actually happen.
HEALTH
Untangling the Causes of Obesity
Environmental Health News, March 19, 2024
Researchers are taking different paths in understanding obesity, but there’s a common thread: harmful chemicals are spurring weight gain.
Weight Training Isn't Such A Heavy Lift. Here Are 7 Reasons Why You Should Try It
NPR/Shots, September 26, 2021
Turns out there are loads of good reasons to add weight training to your regime or maybe even switch to it as a mid-pandemic fitness goal: improved movement control, better cognitive abilities, enhanced cardiovascular health, better bone development, reduction in chronic pain — and just plain old feeling better.
Why You Suddenly Have Allergies
Time, March 12, 2024
Allergy symptoms happen when the immune system interprets typically harmless substances, such as grass or pollen, as threats.
Are Vitamins Causing You Upset Stomach?
EveryDay Health, March 18, 2024
Some vitamins are known to cause tummy trouble. Here’s what the experts say to do.
How Your Diet Affects Your Skin
New York Times/Well, October 10, 2023
Fruits, vegetables, dairy, soda — here’s what the evidence suggests about foods and skin health.
NATURE
Iceland Volcano: 'Most Powerful' Eruption Yet Narrowly Misses Grindavik But Could Still Trigger Life-Threatening Toxic Gas Plume
Live Science, March 18, 2023
The submerged volcano in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted for the fourth time in four months. The resulting lava flow narrowly missed Grindavík but could still reach the sea and potentially unleash a toxic gas plume.
Bug Adventure: The Six Superpowers of Bugs
Canadian Geographic, March 18, 2024
“Insects are the most diverse group of anything on our planet,” says Andrew Smith, an entomologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature. “They do everything. They’re involved with every different kind of food web and ecological or any different kind of habitat at all that you can find.”
Moving Trees North to Save the Forests
Knowable, March 06, 2024
As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.
Chasing the Silver Dragon: The Physics of Tidal Bores
Physics World, July 01, 2015
Occurring on only a few dozen rivers around the world, tidal bores are as rare as they are intriguing. Michael Berry outlines the science behind this natural phenomenon and describes his sighting in China of one of the most spectacular bores of them all
A Total Solar Eclipse Is Coming. How Will Birds and Other Wildlife React?
Audubon, March 15, 2024
When the moon covers the sun, animals get weird. April’s eclipse gives scientists—and you—a chance to learn more about their responses. Here's how and where you can take part.
ENVIRONMENT
Mexico Defends GM Corn Restrictions with Science
Inst Agricultural Trade Policy, March 14, 2024 (Tim Wise)
As the Mexican government notes in its 200-page response, “Far from there being a consensus on the safety of GMOs, scientific evidence points to various negative effects on health, on native corn and on the environment, derived from the cultivation and consumption of GM corn.”
Oil and Gas Flaring Linked to $7.4B in Health Damages
Boston Univ School of Public Health, March 13, 2024
A new study also found that flaring and venting activities contributed to more than 700 premature deaths and 73,000 asthma exacerbations.
Massachusetts Town Grapples with Sea Rise After Sand Barrier Fails
The Guardian, March 14, 2024
A $500,000 sand dune collapsed in days after being erected, and residents are looking for help to protect their homes.
Greenpeace Says Ban Deep-Sea Mining, Not Our Right to Protest Against It
Common Dreams, March 18, 2024
"How can Greenpeace's activists paddling on kayaks be a threat to the environment, but the plundering of the oceans be a solution to the climate catastrophe?"
Why the World Cannot Afford the Rich
Nature, March 12, 2024
Equality is essential for sustainability. The science is clear — people in more-equal societies are more trusting and more likely to protect the environment than are those in unequal, consumer-driven ones.
CLIMATE
Climate Adaptation Becomes Less Effective as the World Warms
Carbon Brief, March 15, 2024
Research suggests that existing limits and barriers to adaptation could take decades to overcome, particularly in vulnerable countries. And while adaptation measures are gradually being put in place, how might they be further affected by continued warming?
Banks Driving Increase in Global Meat and Dairy Production, Report Finds
The Guardian, March 18, 2024
The sprawling risks of industrial animal agriculture catalogued in the report include its contributions to the climate crisis, deforestation, pollution, animal abuse, biodiversity loss, worker exploitation, human sickness and antibiotic resistance.
Gore Calls Out Fossil Fuel Industry 'Shamelessness' in Lying to Public
Common Dreams, March 17, 2024
"They are continuing to do similar things today to try to fool people and pull the wool over people's eyes just in the name of greed," the former vice president said.
Why Is the Sea So Hot?
New Yorker, March 14, 2024 (Elizabeth Kolbert)
A startling rise in sea-surface temperatures suggests that we may not understand how fast the climate is changing.
MIT’s Sloan School Launches Ambitious Climate Center to Aid Policymakers
Inside Climate News, March 13, 2024
Still, some fear the university could turn to fossil fuel companies, as it has in the past, for additional funding, which could compromise the initiative’s objectives.
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