ScienceDesk

ScienceDesk, 2 hours ago to science

Most of us will undergo a procedure requiring a general anesthesia at some point in our lives. Although it’s one of the safest medical practices, we still haven’t grasped what the anesthesia does to our brains. A new study, however, sheds some light on why the drug seems to only affect specific parts of the brain. Science Alert explains: https://flip.it/SV41nP
#Science #Health #Medicine

ScienceDesk, 1 day ago to science

Last year, data from the James Webb Space Telescope soured hopes that TRAPPIST-1 c had an atmosphere that could support life. But recent results have revived those earlier atmospheric hopes. Read more from Big Think. https://flip.it/ClyATt
#Science #Space #JWST

ScienceDesk, 2 days ago to science

New research on black holes suggests these enigmatic objects of the universe could actually be entirely different celestial entities known as gravastars. Live Science has more: https://flip.it/30YfFs
#Science #Space #BlackHoles #SpaceExploration

ScienceDesk, 2 days ago to science

The low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet comes with promises of weight loss, but a new study says it also has some serious health risks. In mice, a keto diet increases the buildup of zombie-like cells in the heart, kidneys, lungs and brain, which can accelerate organ aging and other health problems. New Scientist has more: https://flip.it/HNFJFR
#Science #Health #Diet #Nutrition #Keto

ScienceDesk, 2 days ago to science

Millennia ago, Neanderthals and humans met, mingled and mated. And your health may depend on DNA from these long-lost ancestors. Live Science explains how "in some places in our genome, we're more Neanderthal than we are human.” https://flip.it/qiJdOD
#Science #Humans #Neanderthal #Health #History

ScienceDesk, 3 days ago to science

Climate Change presents a range of dire environmental and health challenges. Add brain disease to the list. New research shows that as weather conditions worsen, certain brain diseases — stroke, migraines, meningitis, even Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s — follow suit. Read more from Science Alert: https://flip.it/RDG4WP #Science #ClimateChange #Health #Brain #Neurology

ScienceDesk, 4 days ago to science

More than five million people are bitten by snakes every year, resulting in thousands of deaths and permanent disabilities. Those chilling statistics didn’t stop one PhD student, João Miguel Alves-Nunes, from stepping on deadly and dangerous vipers more than 40,000 times. Alven-Nunes tells Science about putting himself in danger for a scientific experiment, what happened when one snake’s fangs broke through his protective boot, and why even that harrowing experience won’t diminish his love for "working with these animals." https://flip.it/zRaVCF #Science #Animals #Snakes #Health

ScienceDesk, 5 days ago to science

For the fifth time in three years, a group of orcas has sunk a ship in southwest Europe. This time an unknown number of killer whales attacked a 50-foot sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar, ripped open its hull and sent the boat to the seafloor. Live Science has more, including what happened to the crew and why researchers believe the attacks are a learned behavior that could increase in the coming months. https://flip.it/0KoMeL
#Science #KillerWhales #Orcas #Europe

ScienceDesk, 5 days ago to space

"The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places."

AP reports: "The good news is that Earth should be out of the line of fire this time because the flare erupted on a part of the sun rotating away from Earth."

https://flip.it/Qpr8WJ

#Sun #SolarFlare #Space #NorthernLights #NOAA #NASA

ScienceDesk, 5 days ago to evolution

"An evolutionary biologist and a science fiction writer walk into a bar ... and mull over survival."

From MIT Press Reader: The Collapse Is Coming. Will Humanity Adapt?

https://flip.it/9fMhyd

#Evolution #Humanity #ClimateChange #Extinction #Science #ScienceFiction

ScienceDesk, 6 days ago to science

"Stranger than science fiction." That's how an ecologist describes a strange fungus that hijacks cicadas’ bodies and behavior, turning them into "zombies."

CNN reports on the the fungus Massospora cicadina and how it's impacting some of the cicadas emerging this year: https://flip.it/cxfw5K

#Cicadas #Insects #Bugs #Entomology #Biology #Science #Fungus

ScienceDesk, 6 days ago to Energy

In a nation where many revere cows, the animals' waste has become an energy resource.

BBC News reports: "Indian cattle produce around three-million tonnes of cow dung a day. ... The government wants more of that dung, and other agriculture waste, to be made into methane."

https://flip.it/._x51N

#Energy #Methane #Agriculture #Cows #India #Environment

ScienceDesk, 6 days ago to animals

Who’s the father? For these baby animals, one doesn’t exist.

From Vox: "More animals can occasionally reproduce asexually than scientists realized."

https://flip.it/hSTK4i

#Animals #Evolution #Biology #Science

ScienceDesk, 7 days ago to Health

Chronic asthma could be caused by cell overcrowding in the airways.

Science News reports: "A glitch in the mechanical process that drives normal turnover of epithelial cells lining the lungs could be to blame. ... Better understanding of this physical force underpinning chronic asthma attacks might lead to new ways of combating the disease."

https://flip.it/mrBLcQ

#Asthma #Health #Disease #Science

ScienceDesk, 8 days ago to science

Could magma be moving deep below the surface on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic? And if so, what is the significance? Recently installed seismometers in the Vogtland region captured a swarm of earthquakes, suggesting a “complex seismic situation” could be developing. Live Science explains.
https://flip.it/xMLNt9
#Science #Earthquakes #Germany #CzechRepublic #Geology

ScienceDesk, 8 days ago to science

Scientists may have found a way to make biodegradable plastic from algae, a development that could potentially diminish the harmful effects of microplastics that linger for thousands of years. ABC News reports: https://flip.it/mizbsY
#Science #Plastics #Environment

ScienceDesk, 10 days ago to ocean

Small but mighty, plankton are some of the most powerful creatures on Earth.

For @TheConversationUS, a marine conservationist writes: "Plankton are critical to marine ecosystems and to humans, but often glide under the radar of our interest."

https://flip.it/w_xF.r

#Plankton #Ocean #MarineBiology #Biology #Science #Animals

ScienceDesk, 10 days ago to space

A rare severe geomagnetic storm watch is issued for the first time in nearly 20 years amid "unusual" solar event.

CBS News quotes the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): "Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth's surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations."

https://flip.it/6cGvxW

#Sun #SolarFlare #Geomagnetic #Space #Science

ScienceDesk, 10 days ago to science

Several companies are offering people in mourning a chance to chat with a “simulation” of a deceased loved one. Some say it feels like they’re speaking to them from beyond the grave, while others find it disconcerting and manipulative. Ethicists Tomasz Hollanek and Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basińska from the University of Cambridge are the latest to voice their concerns over the risks of the "digital afterlife industry." Here’s more from Science Alert: https://flip.it/C6.06y
#Science #AI #Ethics #Humans

ScienceDesk, 11 days ago to science

When Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022, the underwater volcano in the South Pacific unleashed the most intense lightning storm ever recorded and set off a mega-tsunami that was hundreds of feet high. Research indicated the eruption was fueled by two merging magma chambers. Now, scientists are looking at another potential trigger. Live Science has more: https://flip.it/ZAjd2N
#Science #Geology #Volcano #Eruption #Tonga

ScienceDesk, 11 days ago to earthquake

Two giant blobs lurk deep within the Earth, but why?

From @popsci "Some scientists believe they could be responsible for plate tectonics."

https://flip.it/ZswokA

#Earth #Earthquake #Volcano #Science

ScienceDesk, 12 days ago to animals

Scientists are learning the basic building blocks of sperm whale language after years of effort.

AP reports on new research from the Caribbean island of Dominica: https://flip.it/43UWRD

#Whales #Animals #Language #Science

ScienceDesk, 12 days ago to climate

"Earth has just experienced its 11th straight warmest month on record -- a preview of the brutal temperatures forecast for the summer, according to scientists."

ABC News reports: "May 2023 through April 2024 was the warmest 12-month stretch on record with a global average temperature of 2.90 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1850 to 1900 pre-industrial average."

https://flip.it/.uYDvT

#Climate #ClimateChange #Heat #Environment

ScienceDesk, 13 days ago to space

"Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on the rocket Monday night."

AP reports: "The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing’s Starliner capsule for a flight to the International Space Station when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff."

https://flip.it/_Od3IK

#Boeing #Starliner #Space #NASA

ScienceDesk, 13 days ago to Medicine

Scientists have identified a genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease in older people, pinpointing a gene of which some people carry two copies. The gene, called APOE4, is not only a risk factor but an underlying cause for the disease when found twice in a person’s DNA, researchers say. Finding a way to target APOE4 in treatment is crucial because Leqembi, the only drug found to slow the disease, causes dangerous side effects in people with the gene. The Associated Press has more.

https://flip.it/vmFuUY

#Alzheimers #Medicine #OldAge #Disease #Genes