Rhino horns have got smaller over time as poachers target big prizes
A database of photos taken from 1886 to 2019 reveals that horn size has gradually decreased in five species of rhinoceros, probably due to poaching Life 1 November 2022 By…
New Omicron Variants Are Here—What We Know So Far
The Omicron family of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, has some new menacing members. At the end of the week ending October 29, data from the U.S. Centers for…
The Most Urgent Science, Health and Climate Issues in the 2022 Midterm Elections
Yet again, the stakes going into U.S. Election Day are soberingly high—and the results at all levels of government will have lasting ramifications for millions of human lives on issues…
The Supreme Court’s Abortion Ruling Upholds White Supremacy
The recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson erased the constitutional right to an abortion, immediately putting reproductive freedom in jeopardy for millions across the country. This unprecedented stripping…
Researchers Are Making Nightmarish ‘Coffee’ with Invasive Sea Lampreys
TRANSCRIPT Kandace Griffin: It’s like we’re making coffee. You’re passing a hot liquid over a solid and making lamprey coffee. We have a flask of solvent, and as that heats…
Blue whales could be eating 10 million pieces of plastic every day
Combining data on pollution concentrations and whale feeding habits has revealed that filter-feeding whales could be ingesting huge levels of microplastics Environment 1 November 2022 By Madeleine Cuff A blue…
COP27 must deliver on existing promises, says Egypt’s climate diplomat
Mohamed Nasr, Egypt’s chief climate negotiator, tells New Scientist that COP27 will focus on making sure existing promises are kept, rather than extracting new pledges Environment 1 November 2022 By…
Having AIs train robot dogs to balance makes them a lot cheaper
An AI has been used to train robot dogs to toss cups into a garbage can or wipe a whiteboard with an eraser while cutting out hand-coding, which makes them…
Phantom notes played by violins turn out to be a real sound
For hundreds of years it’s been known that a mysterious third note can be heard when playing two notes together on a violin – now we know why Physics 1…
This Lemur’s Creepily Long Finger Is Perfect for Nose-Picking
A long-fingered lemur has been caught on camera picking its nose—and eating the slimy goods. The culprit was Kali, an aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) at the Duke Lemur Center who now…