Dec 13, 2023 | Salon.com
When Justin Holcomb described the future for humans on the Moon, the Kansas Geological Survey postdoctoral researcher began with a commonplace answer about the rapid pace of human progress.
“The first crewed airplane with an engine that actually flew occurred in 1905,” Holcomb said, referring to the Wright Brother’s Flyer....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 12, 2023 | Salon.com
Free-ranging cats are “invasive carnivores” and among “the most problematic invasive species in the world,” according to a recent study published in the journal Nature. Defining “free-ranging cats” as “owned or unowned cats with access to the outdoor environment,” researchers from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and France reviewed 533 studies on free-range cat diets to learn more about their impact on local ecosystems....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 12, 2023 | Salon.com
With all of the depressing news in the world, many people are justifiably afraid that humanity is careening toward extinction. A 2021 poll of 10,000 young people aged 16 to 25 found that 56% believed humanity is “doomed” due to climate change. Even if climate change doesn’t take us out, there are the existential threats posed by war with nuclear explosives or other weapons of mass destruction, a lurking specter thanks to global conflicts spanning from Israel to Ukraine....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 11, 2023 | Salon.com
When scientists attempt to transfer genetic material into an organism, they often use an electric field, a technique called “electroporation,” that makes cell walls more permeable. This sophisticated form of genetic engineering is thought to be something restricted to laboratory equipment, not nature. Yet a recent study published in the journal PeerJ reveals that electric eels — which produce an electric organ discharge (EOD) that can reach up to 860 volts — may be able to transfer genetic material through their infamous jolts....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 10, 2023 | Salon.com
Sex is more than just a pleasurable experience, it’s an important part of one’s mental and physical health. One of the essential elements of maintaining that health is monitoring for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). But the landscape of diseases that most people learned about in sex ed — if they had it at all — is changing, with new conditions emerging without the same level of surveillance for things like gonorrhea and syphilis....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 10, 2023 | Salon.com
In a further red flag for penguin populations in Antarctica, a new report reveals that hundreds of elephants seals have been found dead. While on the surface the two trends may seem unrelated, the chair of the Antarctic Wildlife Health Network, Dr. Meagan Dewar, told The Guardian on Friday that “at some sites we’ve had mass mortalities, where we are getting into the hundreds” when it comes to elephant seal populations....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 8, 2023 | Salon.com
Climate scientists currently face a dilemma. A scientist’s chief responsibility is to report the observed and analyzed facts as neutrally and accurately as possible. On the surface, this would seem to preclude offering policy recommendations. Yet when comes to an issue as dire as climate change, where the stakes are literally humanity’s continued existence, it could be argued that failing to prescribe solutions is equally irresponsible....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 7, 2023 | Salon.com
A study in the journal Neuron revealed something surprising about mouse intelligence — specifically, that they can recognize their own reflections. That may seem insignificant, but sociologists starting with Charles H. Cooley in 1912 argue that animals which pass the so-called “mirror test” possess an advanced sense of self-awareness, which has intriguing implications for the evolution of our own intelligence....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 7, 2023 | Salon.com
It may sound a little gross, but analyzing wastewater for traces of diseases is one of the best ways to understand how populations are handling illness. It is can be a gold mine of information regarding the prevalence of respiratory viruses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19)....
Originally posted on salon.com
Dec 6, 2023 | Salon.com
Scientists have long been concerned by the link between plastic pollution and lower sperm counts in humans. Similarly, experts agree that the amount of plastic being dumped in the ocean is threatening both innocent marine life and the health of planet Earth as a whole.
Now a recent study in the journal Environmental Pollution indirectly reinforces both of those concerns with its discovery about shrimp-like creatures known as Echinogammarus marinus. ...
Originally posted on salon.com