SCIENCE
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2024 Chemistry Nobel Awarded for Cracking the Secret Code of Proteins
October 9, 2024 2 min read 2024 Chemistry Nobel Awarded for Cracking the Secret Code of Proteins Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering how to predict the shape of proteins, crucial to understanding their function, and for creating entirely novel proteins that can clean the environment, block viruses, and more By Josh Fischman vanbeets/Getty Images (medal)…
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Challenging Big Oil’s Big Lie about Plastic Recycling
October 5, 2024 4 min read Challenging Big Oil’s Big Lie about Plastic Recycling California’s lawsuit against Exxon is about ending the lie that most plastic is recyclable By Judith Enck BrianAJackson/Getty Images Among the plastic in your house might be an orange-colored hard laundry detergent bottle and a squeezable clear ketchup bottle. Come recycling day, you might put them…
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Hard Nuclear Weapons Choices Await Harris or Trump as President
October 3, 2024 5 min read The Next President Faces Tough Nuclear Weapons Deadlines Whoever wins the 2024 presidential election will face heightened nuclear geopolitics, deadlines on nuclear deals with Russia and Iran and decisions on a $2-trillion weapons-modernization effort By Daniel Vergano Amid the many dangers facing the world, questions about the direction of U.S. nuclear policy—and control of…
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Combating Misinformation Runs Deeper Than Swatting Away ‘Fake News’
September 30, 2024 5 min read Combating Misinformation Runs Deeper Than Swatting Away ‘Fake News’ “Fake news”-style misinformation is only a fraction of what deceives voters. Fighting misinformation will require holding political elites and mainstream media accountable By Jennifer Allen & David Rand Americans are increasingly concerned about online misinformation, especially in light of recent news that the Justice Department…
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Rare Diagnoses Change People’s Perception of Medical Risk
As a graphics editor at Scientific American, I spend a lot of time thinking about and visualizing data—including data on medical risks. So when I got pregnant in 2018, I was prepared for things to be complicated. Some of the most common issues loomed in my mind: for example, as many as one in five known pregnancies ends in miscarriage,…
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Dark Matter Black Holes Could Fly through the Solar System Once a Decade
September 24, 2024 5 min read Dark Matter Could Be Hiding Out as Atom-Sized Black Holes The universe’s hidden mass may be made of black holes, which could wobble the planets of the solar system when they pass by By Clara Moskowitz This story sounds wild—even incredible. Black holes! Dark matter! Jostling planets! Yet the scenario is plausible—and testable soon.…
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Moral Judgments May Shift with the Seasons
September 20, 2024 2 min read Moral Judgments May Shift with the Seasons Certain values carry more weight in spring and autumn than in summer and winter By Anvita Patwardhan Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images As leaves fall, snow sweeps in or flowers blossom, humans change in measurable ways, too. Research suggests a range of psychological phenomena—such as our emotional state, diet…
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Why Are There Fewer Spotted Lanternflies in New York City?
September 18, 2024 4 min read Has Stomping on Spotted Lanternflies Slowed Their Invasion? Invasive spotted lanternflies are spreading across the metro areas of New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., despite professional and amateur attempts to reduce their numbers By Meghan Bartels A squashed spotted lanternfly in the Hudson Yards neighborhood in New York City. Richard Levine / Alamy…
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Summer 2024 Was the Hottest Ever Measured, Beating Last Year
September 13, 2024 4 min read Summer 2024 Was the Hottest Ever Measured, Beating Last Year The year 2024 could easily shape up to be the hottest ever measured, climate scientists say By Saima S. Iqbal A man walks near the Las Vegas Strip during a heatwave in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 7, 2024. The U.S. National Weather Service…
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Europa Clipper, NASA’s Mission to Jupiter’s Oceanic Moon, Is ‘Go’ for Launch
September 11, 2024 4 min read Europa Clipper, NASA’s Mission to Jupiter’s Oceanic Moon, Is ‘Go’ for Launch The Europa Clipper spacecraft is only weeks away from lifting off on an epic voyage to one of the solar system’s most enigmatic and enticing moons By Michael Greshko & Nature magazine Technicians prepare to install Europa Clipper’s 3-meter-wide antenna on the…
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