ScienceDesk

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to ocean

Can probiotics protect corals from problems like bleaching?

Knowable Magazine reports: "Lab experiments suggest that a dose of carefully selected microbes may boost the health of these reef-building creatures and their symbiotic algae."

https://flip.it/sNwHwI

#Ocean #Coral #ClimateChange #Climate #Environment

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to Health

Isn't a cough one of the most annoying symptoms of sickness? "Scientists are revealing new secrets of the reflex that protects our lungs, spreads disease and irritates us all."

A fascinating explainer from Knowable Magazine: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2023/new-secrets-of-cough-reflex

#Health #Disease #Medicine #Science

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to climate

Farm fields don’t just feed us. They store carbon. But a big question is how much.

The AP reports on a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to monitor carbon in soil.

https://flip.it/T5uO75

#Climate #ClimateChange #Agriculture #Carbon

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to space

Space weather has been known to cause power outages and disrupt satellite function. Live Science tells us how a very powerful solar storm could wipe out the internet.
https://flip.it/6Na_Cy
#Space #Sun #SolarStorm

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to science

Ferocious black holes reveal 'time dilation' in early universe:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/ferocious-black-holes-reveal-time-dilation-early-universe-2023-07-03/

#blackholes #science #universe #space

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to animals

Blood-sicles and misters: Zookeepers look to keep animals cool in oppressive heat.

NBC News reports: "Many zoos are coping with how to adapt to a much hotter future, as global warming continues to affect the frequency and duration of heat waves."

https://flip.it/x8yKvP

#Zoo #Animals #ClimateChange #Climate #HeatWave

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to anime_titties

The Biden administration bets big on "climate smart" agriculture.

Grist reports: "The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated more than $3 billion to help farmers transition to practices that sequester carbon and reduce emissions."

https://flip.it/vqI4Bc

#Agriculture #ClimateChange #Climate #Biden #USPolitics

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to science

Exploring the ingenious science and science fiction of making things invisible.

@arstechnica interviews Greg Gbur, author of "Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not to be Seen."

https://flip.it/qh7MnT

#Science #ScienceFiction #Books #Bookstodon

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to Archaeology

Archaeologists in Louisiana save artifacts 12,000 years old from natural disasters and looters.

The AP reports: https://flip.it/DTC075

#Archaeology #Louisiana #History #NativeAmerican

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to space

The Webb Space Telescope spots most distant black hole yet. More may be lurking.

The AP reports: https://apnews.com/article/nasa-webb-space-telescope-black-hole-e8f54cd9d57284dd256091d22d0b9940

#Space #NASA #Astronomy #Science

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to climate

A "The Last of Us"-style pandemic may not be likely but scientists are very concerned about fungi that pose threats to public health.

Inverse reports on the race to create the first anti-fungal vaccine: https://flip.it/HrGm3O

#Fungi #Vaccines #PublicHealth #Pandemic #ClimateChange #Medicine #Health

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to FIRE

Wildfires are blazing around the world as a heat wave grips Europe, Asia, and North America.

Semafor has collected news and analysis on what's happening and why: https://flip.it/DZykZe

#Wildfires #Fire #Smoke #ClimateChange #Climate #Trees

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to space

Saturn’s rings are glowing in Webb Space Telescope’s latest cosmic shot.

https://apnews.com/article/saturn-webb-space-telescope-rings-792b812e7106206aa36d79a2f9269026

#saturn #space #telescope #science

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to science

Oppenheimer revealed the human and political sides of science.

Axios reports: "In the abstract, science is often extolled as a search for truth untouched by politics and traveling on a separate track, but in practice science, politics, culture and society can strongly influence one another."

https://flip.it/Hoto26

#Oppenheimer #Science #Politics #Nuclear

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to PetBirds

Bird flu remains a serious threat, with over half a billion birds dying globally in the last two years.

Vox answers 13 questions about the disease: https://flip.it/TACHkb

#Birds #BirdFlu #Disease #Science #ClimateChange

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to space

Webb Space Telescope reveals moment of stellar birth, dramatic close-up of 50 baby stars.

The AP reports: "NASA unveiled the latest snapshot Wednesday."

https://apnews.com/article/webb-space-telescope-new-photo-nasa-20726906c9e2909d3c2672a3904a5184

#NASA #Space #Webb #Astronomy

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to space

Astronomers are hoping the discovery of the earliest supermassive black hole — 9 million times the size of the sun — can resolve a lasting headscratcher: How did the black holes in the Cosmic Dawn grow to such large sizes in such a short amount of time? ScienceAlert has more: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-earliest-supermassive-black-hole-ever-found-has-been-identified
#BlackHoles #Space #Astronomy

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to space

NASA decides not to launch two already-built asteroid probes.

Ars Technica explains why: https://flip.it/BX26dN

#NASA #Space #Asteroid

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to books

If you’re looking for a science-themed book (or 2 or 3) to immerse yourself in this summer, The Irish Times offers this list of summer reads worth carving out some time for.
https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2023/06/29/summer-reads-for-the-science-inspired/
#Books #Reading #Science

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to space

A mission that would mark the pinnacle of a decades-long quest to explore Mars with robots is being evaluated as NASA reckons with its possibly extreme cost.

Axios explores the issue with this collection of stories: https://flip.it/ufGLuX

#NASA #Space #Mars #Robots

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to random

Kenya’s 250-kilometer-long Lake Turkana is home to at least 100 fish species. But the area has dealt with three straight droughts and the construction of a dam, forcing the Turkana people to change their way of life in the face of food and water insecurity. Here’s more from The Dial:
https://www.thedial.world/issue-6/lake-turkana-kenya-drought-photos
#Africa #ClimateChange #Drought

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to space

A supernova that exploded near our sun 4 billion years ago could have destroyed the developing solar system, if not for protection provided by molecular gas. Live Science reports: https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/a-nearby-supernova-nearly-blew-our-solar-system-to-bits-4-billion-years-ago-new-research-suggests
#Space #SolarSystem #Sun

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to random

“Stunning first videos from a new space-borne instrument designed to improve the monitoring of thunderstorms show the crackle of lightning over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.” Here’s more from Live Science, including how forecasters hope to better protect populations vulnerable to severe weather: https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/watch-thousands-of-lightning-bolts-crackle-over-europe-in-stunning-new-satellite-video
#SevereWeather #Lightning #ClimateChange

ScienceDesk, 11 months ago to science

Ariane 5 lifts off on last mission as Europe faces space gap:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/ariane-5-lifts-off-last-mission-europe-faces-space-gap-2023-07-05/

#science #ariane5 #space

ScienceDesk, 10 months ago to science

A “really bizarre” fossilized skull found 18 years ago belonged to a new species of extinct alligator from Thailand. Researchers say it differed a bit from modern alligators and must’ve had a taste for snails. Popular Science has more: https://flip.it/yA.NSe
#Science #Animals #Reptiles #Fossils