Researchers say closing a top USDA research lab will slow responses to honeybee deaths
When beekeepers saw honeybee die-offs last year, experts at a USDA research center stepped in to help. The Trump administration plans to close the facility
Category: Science
Preserving pollinators is good for health — and income
Pollinators have economic and health benefits, but those benefits have been difficult to quantify. A new study puts some numbers to how important pollinators are
What Causes Lightning? The Answer Keeps Getting More Interesting.
Before he changed the way we understand lightning on Earth, Joseph Dwyer studied the weather in more cosmic settings. Using the sensors on NASA’s Wind
Unlocking the Mystery of X-ray Dots
A newly discovered object may be a key to unlocking the true nature of a mysterious class of sources that astronomers have found in the
A low-cost rotavirus test could save childrens’ lives in Nigeria
Nigerian virologist Margaret Oluwatoyin Japhet has designed a rapid test that could diagnose rotavirus at a child’s bedside.
Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools
Finds at sites in Spain and France suggest that Neandertals used the teeth of ancient rhinos for heavy-duty fabrication.
The brain’s memory center doesn’t start as a blank slate, study suggests
Early in life, neural networks in the brain’s memory center are highly connected, and they are only later refined into precise systems, a mouse study
Quantum battery charges in a quadrillionth of a second with a laser — larger prototypes could last for years after charging for just a minute
Quantum batteries can be charged remotely and could allow for far better energy density than conventional batteries used in devices today.
Space junk falls back to Earth faster as sunspot numbers climb
A new study links the sun’s 11-year cycle to accelerated orbital loss, with debris falling faster once sunspot numbers near their cycle peak.
Diagnostic dilemma: A woman turned black and blue weeks after starting a new medication
A woman’s sudden hyperpigmentation was a side effect of a medicine she was taking.
Clean hydrogen created from plastic waste using battery acid from old cars and solar power
Researchers turned hard-to-recycle plastic into hydrogen using battery acid. This circular upcycling system tackles multiple problematic waste streams at once, the scientists claim.
‘Food insecurity is no longer just about low-income countries’: Environmental economist explains how climate change is pushing agricultural systems to the brink
As a U.N. report warns that extreme temperature swings are disrupting crops and endangering agricultural workers, we spoke with environmental economist Shouro Dasgupta about farming
Both very low and very high heart rates may be linked to higher stroke risk, study says
Both unusually low and high resting heart rates may be linked to an increased stroke risk, though more research is needed to confirm a causal
Icy object beyond Pluto has an atmosphere that shouldn’t exist, study suggests
Observations suggest there’s a small, icy object with an atmosphere beyond Pluto, challenging assumptions about which bodies can sustain atmospheres.