Tag: scientists
As Oceans Warm, Scientists Fight to Save Lush Kelp Forests
See the Lush Kelp Forests Scientists Are Fighting for as Oceans Warm New research helps the “ocean’s veins” thrive under heat stress By Avery Schuyler Nunn edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Join Our Community of Science Lovers! While free diving to photograph kelp forests along the California coastline, I’ve viscerally felt the consequences of finiteness…
RFK, Jr. Is Completely Wrong about Autism, Say Scientists and Parents
What RFK, Jr. Got Wrong about Autism, according to Scientists A coalition of autism scientists has formed to counter RFK, Jr.’s misrepresentations of science and of autism spectrum disorder By Allison Parshall Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Department of Health and Human Services…
Scientists Use Ancient Chinese Poetry to Study Endangered Yangtze Porpoise
Ancient Poems Reveal the History of the Endangered Yangtze Porpoise Mentions of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise in ancient Chinese poetry have revealed missing information about the habitat of the world’s only freshwater porpoise By Gennaro Tomma edited by Andrea Thompson Yangtze finless porpoise. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Around 1745, Chinese emperor…
Under Trump, National Science Foundation Cuts Off All Funding to Scientists
National Science Foundation Halts Funding Indefinitely National Science Foundation staff were told to freeze outgoing funding days after NSF leadership introduced a new policy that requires that grants be screened for “alignment with agency priorities” By Dan Garisto & Nature magazine Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Staff members at the US National Science Foundation…
Trump Dismisses Scientists Writing the National Climate Assessment
Trump Dismisses Scientists Writing Key Climate Report President Trump has dismissed hundreds of scientists working on the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment, raising concerns about whether the void will be filled with pseudoscience By Scott Waldman & E&E News Firefighters watch as flames and smoke move through a valley in the Forest Ranch area of…
Marie Curie’s Mentorship Led to Networks of Support for Female Scientists
Marie Curie’s Mentorship Led to Networks of Support for Female Scientists Author Dava Sobel discusses how she discovered the many forgotten female scientists who were mentored by Marie Curie in early 20th-century Paris By Deborah Unger, Natalia Sánchez Loayza & The Lost Women of Science Initiative In The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow…
Wild chimpanzees filmed by scientists bonding over alcoholic fruit
Humans have gathered to feast and enjoy a tipple together for thousands of years, but research suggests chimpanzees may also bond over a boozy treat. Wild chimpanzees in west Africa have been observed sharing fruit containing alcohol – not in quantities to get roaring drunk but, possibly, enough for a fuzzy beer buzz feeling. The…
Harvard’s Stand against Trump Interference Cheered by Scientists despite Risk to Research
Scientists Rally behind Harvard’s Stand against Trump Interference despite Risk to Research The Trump administration has frozen billions in funding to the world’s richest university after Harvard refused to acquiesce to its demands By Tanya Lewis edited by Dean Visser Harvard University. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! After Harvard University pushed back against the…
NIH Director Removes Four Main Scientists amid Massive Staff Purge
NIH Director Removes Four Main Scientists amid Massive Staff Purge The Trump Administration has fired four leaders and thousands of employees at the National Institutes of Health in “one of the darkest days” By Max Kozlov & Nature magazine Jay Bhattacharya took office as director of the US National Institutes of Health on April 1,…
Trump Cuts Threaten Universities, Could Lead to ‘Lost Generation’ of Scientists
Universities Reeling from Trump Cuts Fear for a ‘Lost Generation’ of Scientists Some conservative lawmakers are quietly urging the president to restore research funding as cuts threaten academic institutions in their states By Corbin Hiar, Chelsea Harvey & E&E News CLIMATEWIRE | Drastic cuts to federal science programs are draining millions of dollars in research…
When Will We Reach 1.5 C of Warming? And How Will Climate Scientists Know?
How Will Climate Scientists Know When the World Gets to the 1.5 C Mark? As the world gets closer to the mark 1.5 degrees Celsius in Paris climate agreement, scientists are racing to establish a single way to monitor current warming By Sara Schonhardt & E&E News Climate activists gather with signs for a demonstration…
Scientists identify ‘tipping point’ that caused clumps of toxic Florida seaweed
Giant blobs along 5,000-mile-wide sargassum belt has killed animals, harmed human health and discouraged tourism Scientists in Florida believe they have identified a “tipping point” in atmospheric conditions in the Atlantic Ocean they say caused giant clumps of toxic seaweed to inundate beaches around the Caribbean in recent summers. Previous theories for the Great Atlantic…
News spotlight: What happened to Alaska’s snow crabs? Scientists have a few leads.
Editor’s note: News about conservation and the environment is made every day, but some of it can fly under the radar. In a recurring feature, Conservation News shares a recent news story that you should know about. Deep in the frigid east Bering Sea, snow crabs have historically flourished — supporting Alaska’s $160 million annual…
Scientists Create ‘Pockets’ of Music from Inaudible Ultrasound Waves
Bending Ultrasonic Beams Creates ‘Audible Enclaves’ Where They Cross Inaudible ultrasonic beams steered around obstacles can create pockets of sound in an otherwise quiet room, acoustics experts report By Dan Vergano edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Are you tired of earbuds? Are headphones too heavy? “Pockets” of audible noise…
Scientist’s Study Led FDA to Ban Food Dye Red No. 3. But He Says the Additive Is Safe
Scientist’s Study Led FDA to Ban Red No. 3 Food Dye. Yet He Says It Is Safe Almost 40 years ago, Joseph Borzelleca published a study on the food coloring Red No. 3. The FDA cited his work when banning the additive in January. But the researcher says the dye is safe By Phil Galewitz…
Measles Misinformation Sparks Concern, Supreme Court Limits EPA Power, and Scientists Create Woolly Mice
Measles Misinformation Sparks Concern, Supreme Court Weakens EPA, and Scientists Engineer Woolly Mice In this week’s news roundup, we dig into measles misinformation, ozone recovery and new findings on using nasal cartilage to treat knee injuries. By Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi & Alex Sugiura Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m…
Trump Orders U.S. Scientists to Skip Key IPCC Climate Report Meeting
Trump Orders U.S. Scientists to Skip Key Climate Meeting The U.S. is skipping a meeting for the next IPCC report, a sweeping science assessment on the current state of climate change, raising concerns about delays By Sara Schonhardt, Zack Colman, Zia Weise & E&E News CLIMATEWIRE | The Trump administration’s abrupt retreat from global climate…
In high seas, scientists see a lifeline for coral reefs
The vast, underexplored seas covering much of the planet could be the key to saving what remains of a more familiar undersea feature, a new study finds. The “living rock” that thrives in tropical shallows around the world, coral supports a quarter of all marine life. Yet around 20 percent of the world’s coral is…
In new film, top scientists urge action to avoid Earth’s ‘tipping point’
Earth is teetering perilously close to a tipping point — a state of environmental collapse beyond which humanity cannot survive. But it’s not too late to bring us back from the edge, says Conservation International’s Chief Scientist Johan Rockström in a new Netflix film. Released today, “Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet” is narrated…
In a long-lost city, scientists find an ‘exuberance’ of life
A team of researchers has begun to answer that question and will publish their full findings in the coming months. Meanwhile, in a story published this week by The New Yorker, Douglas Preston tells the story of the team’s mission to understand the rainforest that swallowed up the White City and kept it hidden for…
Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary
Scientists React to RFK, Jr.’s Confirmation as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has expressed support for some fields of science but has also declared he’d like a “break” in infectious-disease research. Here’s what he might do as the U.S.’s newly confirmed secretary of health and human services By Amanda Heidt, Heidi Ledford & Nature…
Scientists point to Andes potato pathogen as origin of Irish famine
Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated. Scientists have long been divided…
50,000 Scientists Urge Congress to Protect Research from Trump
50,000 Scientists Urge Congress to Protect Research from Trump Two open letters from scientists and science advocacy groups reflect a growing anxiety about the future of federal science under President-elect Trump By Chelsea Harvey & E&E News President-elect Donald Trump is greeted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage during a campaign event at Desert…
‘The worst way of dying’: scientists urge coordinated effort to stop whales getting tangled
Experts recorded 45 entanglements off Australia’s east coast in 2024 – but believe that’s ‘the tip of the iceberg’ At least 45 whales were entangled by fishing ropes and line on the east coast in 2024, and experts are calling for better management of fishing gear in Australia to prevent marine suffering. Dr Olaf Meynecke,…
The Real Reason People Don’t Trust in Science Has Nothing to Do with Scientists
Opinion The Real Reason People Don’t Trust in Science Has Nothing to Do with Scientists Propaganda works, is the real upshot of a survey showing lingering post-pandemic distrust of science By Dan Vergano edited by Jeanna Bryner Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks as U.S. President Donald…
Nanotech Scientists Build on an Insect’s Odd Soccer Ball-Like Excretions to Design Ingenious Camouflage
Nanotech Scientists Build on an Insect’s Odd Soccer Ball-Like Excretions to Design Ingenious Camouflage Artificial versions of nanoscale soccer-ball-like structures called brochosomes might be used to make new forms of military camouflage, self-cleaning surfaces or hydrogen fuel By Ivan Amato edited by Gary Stix Brochosomes “Our group first became intrigued by brochosomes around 2015, drawn…
The nameless dead: scientists hunt for identities of thousands who tried to reach Europe
Four years ago, the remains of a toddler encased in a lifejacket and a navy snowsuit washed up on a beach in southern Norway, having spent the previous two months being carried on North Sea currents. Though his face was barely recognisable, publicity about the sinking of the migrant boat he had been travelling on,…
New bone test could rewrite British history, say scientists
From the end of the Roman occupation through the Anglo-Saxon and Viking invasions – a new way of testing DNA in ancient bones could force a rethink of key moments in Britain’s early history, say researchers. Scientists could already track big alterations in DNA that occur over thousands or millions of years, helping us learn,…
Some of These Whales May Live Twice as Long as Scientists Thought
Some of These Whales May Live to 150—Double the Age Previously Thought Bowhead whales were known to live up to 200 years, and a new study finds that southern right whales may live up to age 150 if they aren’t being hunted By Greg Breed, Peter Corkeron & The Conversation US Southern right whale (Eubalaena…
The Public Distrusts Scientists’ Morals, Not Their Science
Opinion The Public Distrusts Scientists’ Morals, Not Their Science Reaction to a recent Pew survey on the public’s trust in science shows that the scientific community is not ready to address the real problem By John H. Evans edited by Daniel Vergano Our overlapping Trump and COVID eras have seen a fairly sharp downturn in…