Tag: Science
Coping with Western wildfires: 5 essential reads
As wildfire smoke turns Western skies orange and red, millions of people face serious health risks from inhaling it, even many who are far from active fires. Wildfire smoke creates an orange glow over San Francisco,…
Fossil fuel lease sales in California amid historic wildfires
“More oil wells mean more greenhouse gases, more air pollution, and more destroyed habitat.” by Andrea Germanos, staff writer Friday, August 28 In the midst of wildfires ravaging the region, conservationists sounded alarm Thursday in response…
What’s in that wildfire smoke, and why is it so bad for your lungs?
The health impact of wildfire exposure depends in part on on the fire itself and how much smoke a person breathes in, how often and for how long. by Luke Montrose, Boise State University If I…
Wildfires can poison drinking water – here’s how communities can be better prepared
The Camp Fire inferno spread at a speed of one football field per second, chasing everyone – including water system operators – out of town. The 2018 Camp Fire north of Sacramento burned everything in its…
Test positivity rate: How this one figure explains that the US isn’t doing enough testing yet
by Ronald D. Fricker, Jr., Virginia Tech The U.S. has performed more coronavirus tests than any other country in the world. Yet, at the same time, the U.S. is notably underperforming in terms of suppressing COVID-19….
How — and when — can the coronavirus vaccine become a reality?
It is likely we’ll eventually have a coronavirus vaccine — but perhaps not as quickly as some expect. From development, to clinical trials and distribution, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen explains the tremendous challenges that lie ahead….
Coronavirus deaths and those of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have something in common: Racism
In Minneapolis, the memorial near the spot where George Floyd died while in police custody. Getty Images / Kerem Yucel by April Thames, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences The…
Decades-long campaign forces Nevada Board to kill huge Las Vegas groundwater pipeline
by Meteor staff The Center for Biological Diversity announced late last week that a 31-year struggle to stop a massive groundwater pipeline development came to a stunning conclusion when the Southern Nevada Water Authority board voted…
Scientist has ‘Invisible Enemy’ in sights with microscopic portraits of coronavirus
by Markian Hawryluk May 21, 2020 From her laboratory in the far western reaches of Montana, Elizabeth Fischer is trying to help people see what they’re up against in COVID-19. Over the past three decades, Fischer,…
COVID-19 is eroding scientific field work – and our knowledge of how the world is changing
Collecting data on invasive plants, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California. Connar L’Ecuyer/NPS by Richard B. Primack, Boston University and Casey Setash, Colorado State University Editor’s note: Summer is prime time across much of…
What is the ACE2 receptor, how is it connected to coronavirus and why might it be key to treating COVID-19? The experts explain
A molecular model of the spike proteins (red) of SARS-CoV-2 binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein, the receptor (blue) which is its the entry route to the target cell. Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library …
You’re not going far from home – and neither are the animals you spy out your window
Is it that same busy squirrel you’re watching every day? Julian Avery, CC BY-ND Julian Avery, Pennsylvania State University Watching the wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it’s something lots of people…
EPA decides to reject the latest science, endanger public health and ignore the law by keeping an outdated fine particle air pollution standard
Diesel emissions are a major source of fine particle pollution by H. Christopher Frey, North Carolina State University May 1, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown have temporarily produced clearer skies across the U.S. Meanwhile,…
Mysterious heart damage, not just lung troubles, befalling COVID-19 patients
In addition to lung damage, many COVID-19 patients are also developing heart problems — and dying of cardiac arrest. by Markian Hawryluk April 6, 2020 While the focus of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on respiratory…
The ‘first scientist’s’ 800-year-old tonic for what ails us: the truth
English scientist Roger Bacon believed everyone has a responsibility to think for themselves. Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé, CC BY by Richard Gunderman, Indiana University It seems that science has been taking a beating lately. From decades…
Romance is the New Realism: Eugene Debs and the Age of Corona
In this pandemic-era, it has become increasingly clear that we are only as healthy as the least insured—hence the poorest—in our society. by Danny Sjursen May 1, 2020 I was first exposed to Eugene Victor Debs…
Climate change threatens drinking water quality across the Great Lakes
Harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie, Sept. 4, 2009. NOAA/Flickr by Gabriel Filippelli, IUPUI and Joseph D. Ortiz, Kent State University This story is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more…
The solutions to the climate crisis no one is talking about
Make no mistake: the simultaneous crisis of inequality and climate is no fluke. Both are the result of decades of deliberate choices made, and policies enacted, by ultra-wealthy and powerful corporations. by Robert Reich Saturday,…
EPA science panel plows ahead with toxic chemical’s review, despite coronavirus crisis
TCE is used by dry cleaners, auto brake shops, parts manufacturing factories, paper mills, refineries and many other businesses large and small. On those job sites, tens of thousands of workers are exposed to amounts of…
On the front lines of developing a test for the coronavirus
By David Pride, University of California San Diego March 16, 2020 “That escalated quickly!” is a common trope used in popular culture to describe when a situation gets out of hand before you’ve even had a…
What really works to keep coronavirus away? 4 questions answered by a public health professional
Brian Labus, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Editor’s note: The World Health Organization has declared that COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has a higher fatality rate than the flu. As of March 4,…
Concerned about coronavirus? Here’s some simple advice. It’s easy. Why hand-washing really is as important as doctors say
Michelle Sconce Massaquoi, University of Oregon As the threat from the coronavirus grows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health officials are stressing the importance of hand-washing. Prevention becomes essential to stopping…
Why public health officials sound more worried about the coronavirus than the seasonal flu
Tom Duszynski, Indiana University The spread of the new coronavirus, which has infected over 80,000 people worldwide and resulted in the death of more than 3,000, has raised alarms around the world. At the same time,…
Key missteps at the CDC have set back its ability to detect the potential spread of Coronavirus
The CDC designed a flawed test for COVID-19, then took weeks to figure out a fix so state and local labs could use it. New York still doesn’t trust the test’s accuracy. by Caroline Chen, Marshall…
