This year may already be on track to be the second hottest on record, after 2024. Floods and tornadoes are wracking wide swathes of the United States. And more wild weather is expected to be on the horizon. But the federal government’s ability — and long-standing charge — to warn the nation about the future…
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 JHVEPhoto/Alamy Stock Photo Staff members at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) were told…
Charging an electric vehicle at night can reduce the demand on the power grid ifeelstock/Alamy A small financial reward can persuade many electric vehicle owners to charge their electric cars during off-peak nighttime hours – even when behavioural nudges fail to have the same effect. That is the finding of a real-world trial that demonstrated…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the United States’ top public health official, recently claimed some religious groups avoid the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine because it contains “aborted fetus debris” and “DNA particles”. The US is facing its worst measles outbreaks in years with nearly 900 cases across the country and active outbreaks in several…
Astronomers have found a giant interstellar cloud surprisingly close to Earth. Lurking about 300 light-years from our solar system, this immense cloud of gas and dust is the closest of its kind ever found to Earth, beating the previous record holder by roughly 90 light-years. Despite being some 5,500 times as massive as the sun,…
CLIMATEWIRE | A futuristic geoengineering proposal might be easier to accomplish in the real world than scientists previously thought. New research suggests that a planet-cooling strategy known as solar radiation management is already possible with existing commercial airplanes. Until now, many experts suggested the technology probably would require specialized high-altitude aircraft. And assembling a large…
The treatment protected mice against the venom of common taipans, as well as other snake species Matthijs Kuijpers/Alamy A snake antivenom based on antibodies from a hyperimmune man seems to be effective against the bites of multiple species, raising the possibility that a universal treatment may be within reach. Snake bites cause up to 137,000…
Even in a blocky world with zombified piglin chicken jockeys, human ingenuity still stands out. A Minecraft video game tweaked by scientists revealed clues about what makes people such good learners. The results, published April 25 in Nature Communications, suggest that people who change strategies at opportune moments come out on top. “The main thing…
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Even if you don’t know what the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List is off the top of your head, I can pretty much guarantee you’ve heard of it: the IUCN keeps tabs on the conservation status of living organisms all over the…
Greenland sharks’ eyes don’t seem to deteriorate with age WaterFrame/Alamy Greenland sharks, the longest-lived vertebrates in the world, show no signs of physical deterioration in their retinas even after living for hundreds of years. The finding is especially surprising as some scientists suspected the animals were functionally blind since they live in such deep, dark…
