Friday, August 12, 2022

Senate Passes Historic Climate Bill—Here's What Comes Next

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Climate Change

Senate Passes Historic Climate Bill--Here's What Comes Next

The Senate's passage of a monumental climate bill comes after decades of legislative defeats, but it is still an early step in drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions

By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Animals

Spiders Seem to Have REM-like Sleep and May Even Dream

Jumping spiders have REM-like twitches when they sleep, suggesting dreams may be much more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously realized

By Betsy Mason

Epidemiology

What Is the New Langya Virus, and Should We Be Worried?

The Langya virus, which is related to the Nipah and Hendra viruses, has infected at least 35 people in China in the two years before 2021

By Allen Cheng,The Conversation US

Dinosaurs

If T. Rex's Beady-Eyed Glare Terrifies You, It Should

Top-predator dinosaurs of the Cretaceous may have traded big eyes for a bigger bite

By Fionna M. D. Samuels

Pharmaceuticals

What Is Paxlovid Rebound, and How Common Is It?

President Biden is part of a minority of people who have experienced Paxlovid rebound, but experts say the drug should still be prescribed for those who need it

By Fionna M. D. Samuels

Privacy

The Robocalls Problem Is So Bad That the FCC Actually Did Something

A cybersecurity expert explains how we might learn to trust our phones again

By Sasha Warren

Extraterrestrial Life

Cultural Bias Distorts the Search for Alien Life

"Decolonizing" the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) could boost its chances of success, says science historian Rebecca Charbonneau

By Camilo Garzón

Climate Change

In Memoriam: James Lovelock (1919-2022)

The inventor who introduced the Gaia hypothesis to environmental science leaves behind a rich legacy

By John Gribbin,Nature magazine

Politics

Nearly $53 Billion in Federal Funding Could Revive the U.S. Computer Chip Industry

The CHIPS and Science Act aims to support domestic semiconductor production, new high-tech jobs and scientific research—even NASA

By Sophie Bushwick

Psychology

Why Thinking Hard Wears You Out

Concentrating for long periods builds up chemicals that disrupt brain functioning.

By Diana Kwon

Public Health

The Monkeypox Outbreak

What the virus is, how it spreads, and how it is being handled: here's what you need to know about monkeypox

Climate Change

Last Month Was among the Hottest Julys Ever Recorded

July 2022 became one of the planet's top three hottest Julys amid a summer of record-shattering heat for the Northern Hemisphere

By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News
FROM THE STORE

The Age of Humans

Humans have accomplished a great deal in our relatively short history - and have left our mark on Earth in the process. In this eBook, we examine the story of us: how we got here, the world we've built and how we'll need to continue to adapt if we are to manage our impact on the planet and build a better future.

*Editor's Note: This Collector's Edition was published as The Age of Humans. The eBook adaptation contains all of the articles, but some of the artwork has been removed to optimize viewing on tablet devices. 
 

Buy Now
BRING SCIENCE HOME
How Dirt Cleans Water

Why is fresh spring water so clean? Because it has spent some time in the dirt! Try filtering your own "dirty" water with different materials--and see how the right "soil" can clean it up!  Credit: George Retseck

Have you ever noticed the claim on a bottle of water that it contains "spring water"? More than half of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is labeled this way, but only a fraction of this water actually flowed naturally from a spring. Most is from groundwater that is sucked up by pumps (which are installed near a spring). In 2014 this was about 22.7 billion liters of water. That is a lot of water! You might wonder how water is stored underground—and what replenishes these reservoirs. In this activity you will create a model, fill up three reservoirs and evaluate how clean the water in these reservoirs becomes. Will your "groundwater" be as tasty as spring water? Try this activity to find out!

Try This Experiment
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Scientist Pankaj

Today in Science: Hidden patterns in songs reveal how music evolved

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