Scientists Are Developing a Unique Identifier for Your Brain
Michaela Cordova, a research associate and lab manager at Oregon Health and Science University, begins by “de-metaling”: removing rings, watches, gadgets and other sources of metal, double-checking her pockets for overlooked objects that could, in her words, “fly in.” Then she enters the scanning room, raises and lowers the bed, and waves a head coil…
The Sea May Be Absorbing Way More Heat Than We Thought
Editor’s note, 11/14/18: The journal Nature is reviewing corrections to the study outlined in this story. They are related to the uncertainty in the authors’ measurements. We will update this story with new figures when they become available. The story appears below in its original form. If you ever meet a climate scientist, give them…
Meet the Woman Who Rocked Particle Physics—Three Times
In 1963, Maria Goeppert Mayer won the Nobel Prize in physics for describing the layered, shell-like structures of atomic nuclei. No woman has won since. Quanta Magazine About Original story reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent publication of the Simons Foundation whose mission is to enhance public understanding of science by covering…
An Ebola Outbreak in a War Zone Is About as Bad as It Gets
In July, a 65-year-old woman running a high fever checked into a hospital in the province of North Kivu, along the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border with Uganda. She was later discharged and returned home to her remote town, only to die a few days later. By the time health officials checked in on the…
Your Weather Tweets Are Showing Your Climate Amnesia
Every time someone in a position of power (for example) says that a cold snap in winter proves that climate change is not a thing, a dutiful chorus responds with a familiar refrain: Weather is not climate. Weather happens on the scale of days or weeks, over a distance relevant to cities or states. Climate…
The President Wants a Space Force. He Might Get One.
If policymaking is never easy, and military policymaking is very difficult, it stands to reason that space military policymaking is basically impossible. Yet today, in a speech at the Pentagon, Vice President Mike Pence announced the formation of a sixth branch of the US armed services: a SPACE FORCE! But can that really happen? Well,…
The New ECG Apple Watch Could Do More Harm Than Good
One of the most surprising announcements at Apple's annual hardware event on Wednesday wasn't a new iPhone, or even the new, thinner, next-generation Apple Watch. It was a feature on the Apple Watch. "We've added electrodes into the back sapphire crystal and the digital crown, allowing you to take an electrocardiogram," said COO Jeff Williams,…
The Insane Numbers Behind Cycling's Most Masochistic Race
I straddle my bike, clip into my pedals, and take a slow, deep breath. What I'm about to do won't take long, but it's going to hurt and I know it. Really, it's all I can think about. My bike is attached to a stationary trainer that controls how hard I must pedal to turn…
California Fire Survivors Brace for Debris-Filled Mudslides
California continues to take stock of its unprecedented conflagrations—between the Camp Fire in the north, which on its own is the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history, and the Woolsey Fire in the south, 91 lives have been lost so far, with hundreds more still missing. As firefighters keep battling the blazes, a…
A SpaceX Delivery Capsule May Be Contaminating the ISS
In February 2017, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted through low clouds, pushing a Dragon capsule toward orbit. Among the spare parts and food, an important piece of scientific cargo, called SAGE III, rumbled upward. Once installed on the International Space Station, SAGE would peer back and measure ozone molecules and aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere.…