Science

WASHINGTON (AP) — Eager to the turn the page on the Trump years, the Biden White House is launching an effort to unearth past problems with the politicization of science within government and to tighten scientific integrity rules for the... Read More

Last week researchers at the University of California, Davis, published a study about a genetically encoded sensor called “PsychLight,” capable of detecting hallucinogenic compounds in the brains of mice and how those compounds bind to receptors.  “The most shocking thing... Read More

This article is by Emma Bryce and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. What would you be willing to pay, to ensure your food came from a farm that doubled up to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change? That’s the... Read More

This article is by Prachi Patel and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. Clean water is already a scant resource in many parts of the world, and this scarcity is slated to worsen with climate change. In a new study,... Read More

Johns Hopkins University and its Whiting School of Engineering announced Thursday that they are establishing the Ralph S. O'Connor Sustainable Energy Institute to support ongoing research and education in the fields of clean, renewable, and sustainable energy technologies. The wide-ranging effort is the... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan bill with support in both chambers of Congress aims to bolster the nation’s leadership in scientific and technological innovation through greater investment in research that will translate into new industries and create new high-tech jobs. The... Read More

WASHINGTON -- As COVID-19 puts pressure on industries to innovate for solutions, a Senate subcommittee is looking at why women and minorities are left behind in the search for new technologies. The ultimate goal of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Transportation Department is appointing a chief science officer for the first time in over four decades as part of a comprehensive effort to fulfill the White House's commitment to addressing climate change. In a related move,... Read More

Whether or not cannabis is harmful to human health is a continuing question for researchers, as some studies say smoking can have therapeutic effects, while others say long-term cannabis smokers experience anxiety at higher doses.  “There hasn’t been clear science... Read More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA's experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet. The triumph was hailed as a... Read More

This article is by Prachi Patel and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. The world drinks a whole lot of coffee. And in the process produces over six million tons of coffee grounds, according to the International Coffee Organization. And... Read More

This article is by Sarah DeWeerdt and was originally published by Anthropocene magazine. Carbon footprint labels cause people to choose meat products with 25% lower climate impact, according to a study of hypothetical purchasing decisions conducted in Sweden. The study... Read More

Populations of the American bald eagle — the bold national symbol of the United States — have quadrupled since 2009, according to a new report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners. Bald eagles once teetered on the brink of extinction, reaching... Read More

WASHINGTON - The National Weather Service has significantly upgraded its longstanding forecast model to better predict extreme weather events such as hurricanes, blizzards and downpours, as well as day-to-day weather across the U.S. While it is easy to get bogged... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Weeks after Congress approved legislation that dedicates $35 billion to promote energy efficiency, lawmakers forged ahead Friday to determine how they will spend it. They hope to push the U.S. economy toward more renewable energy while moving away... Read More

WASHINGTON – Reps. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., are reviving their quest to establish a National Center for Alternatives to Animals in Research and Testing and ultimately curtailing the use of animals in federally funded research.  Their bill, the Humane... Read More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA on Monday released the first high-quality video of a spacecraft landing on Mars, a three-minute trailer showing the enormous orange and white parachute hurtling open and the red dust kicking up as rocket engines... Read More

NASA will be making its most precise and technologically complex landing yet when its Perseverance rover lands on Mars later on this week. The landing will be the space agency’s fifth rover mission on Mars.  “Perseverance is NASA’s most ambitious... Read More

NASA has selected SpaceX of Hawthorne, Calif., to provide launch services for the agency’s Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost, the foundational elements of the "Gateway" -- the first long-term orbiting outpost around the Moon. The Gateway... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Not only are humans changing the surface and temperature of the planet, but also its sounds – and those shifts are detectable even in the open ocean, according to research published Thursday. Changes in the ocean soundscape... Read More

Two new studies paint a clear picture of the long-lasting, corrosive effects of poor sleep on the brain by linking neighborhood conditions to memory loss and cognitive performance in adolescents.  The first study found that persistent loud noises and other... Read More

WASHINGTON - It began as a story no new parent wants to tell. "I always say that the day my daughter was born was the happiest day of my life, because that was the only day I didn't worry about... Read More

The National Institutes of Health plans to begin a clinical trial that aims to help doctors “predict and manage” allergic reactions related to Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine. Moncef Slaoui, chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed, said during a Monday... Read More

BOULDER, Colo. - A giant sunspot is expected to traverse the Earth-facing side of the Sun by Thanksgiving, according to scientists at the National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory. They based their prediction, first made on Nov. 18, on a... Read More

The global COVID-19 pandemic, with all its devastating consequences, has reaffirmed why science must be at the center of policy considerations, political debate, and media attention. But, lamentably, it is often at the center for all the wrong reasons. Against... Read More

One year ago, a report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security assessed the readiness of 195 countries around the world to confront a deadly disease outbreak. Topping the list of most-prepared nations was the United States of America. But that forecast... Read More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. It was... Read More

WASHINGTON - For weeks it had been the stuff of living room banter and fodder for self-quarantining late night comedians. Suddenly, apparently on a whim, the president who once described himself as a "very stable genius," was talking about how... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration issued a draft guidance establishing rules for lawfully researching cannabis. The guidance is limited to the development of drugs and does not cover other FDA-regulated products. Nevertheless, the release of the document and... Read More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth — big time. Three countries — the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates — are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick... Read More