If you are one of the millions of people in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. who turned your gaze toward the sky recently, you may have noticed the Sun shining through an odd, milky haze. This widespread opaque veil was caused not by clouds, but rather by smoke from wildfires in the Western U.S. The...
Science & Technology
Cities Beat Suburbs at Inspiring Cutting-Edge Innovations
The disruptive inventions that make people go “Wow!” tend to come from research in the heart of cities and not in the suburbs, a new study suggests. Researchers found that, within metro areas, the majority of patents come from innovations created in suburbs – often in the office parks of big tech companies like Microsoft...
Bacteria Could Survive Travel Between Earth and Mars When Forming Aggregates
Imagine microscopic life-forms, such as bacteria, transported through space, and landing on another planet. The bacteria finding suitable conditions for its survival could then start multiplying again, sparking life at the other side of the universe. This theory, called “panspermia”, support the possibility that microbes may migrate between planets and distribute life in the universe....
Meteorite Study Suggests Earth May Have Been Wet Since It Formed
A new study finds that Earth’s water may have come from materials that were present in the inner solar system at the time the planet formed — instead of far-reaching comets or asteroids delivering such water. The findings published August 28 in Science suggest that Earth may have always been wet. Researchers from the Centre de...
Nasal Vaccine Against COVID-19 Prevents Infection in Mice
Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a vaccine that targets the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can be given in one dose via the nose and is effective in preventing infection in mice susceptible to the novel coronavirus. The investigators next plan to test the vaccine in nonhuman primates and humans to...
Post-Pandemic Brave New World of Agriculture
Robots working in abattoirs, sky-high vertical farms, more gene-edited foods in our supermarkets and automated farming systems could all help guarantee food supply in the next pandemic. University of Queensland Professor Robert Henry said the technologies had all been in various stages of planning prior to COVID-19, but food producers would now be moving much...
Different from a Computer: Why the Brain Never Processes the Same Input in the Same Way
Rustling leaves, light rain at the window, a quietly ticking clock – muffled sounds, just above the threshold of hearing. One moment we perceive them, the next we don’t, even if we, or the sounds, don’t seem to change. Many studies have shown that we never process an incoming stimulus, be it a sound, an...
Science Elicits Hope in Americans – Its Positive Brand Doesn’t Need to Be Partisan
Harley-Davidson is one of the most iconic brands in the world. Harley-Davidson, however, doesn’t sell motorcycles – it sells a lifestyle. Look at any Harley-Davidson advertisement and you will see someone riding the open road. The Harley-Davidson brand is about freedom. Attitude. Living by your own rules. A brand is the unspoken starting point when...
Chinese, American Scientists Leading Efforts on COVID-19
Despite the political tensions between the United States and China, scientists in the two countries are working together more than ever to study the COVID-19 virus, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed the scientific papers that researchers around the world produced on coronaviruses before and after the arrival of COVID-19. They found that the United...
Twitter Hack Exposes Broader Threat to Democracy and Society
In case 2020 wasn’t dystopian enough, hackers on July 15 hijacked the Twitter accounts of former President Barack Obama, presidential hopeful Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian and Apple, among others. Each hijacked account posted a similar fake message. The high-profile individual or company wanted to philanthropically give back to the community during...