New Execution Method Touted as More 'Humane,' But Evidence Is Lacking

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September 23, 2022

Pharmaceuticals New Execution Method Touted as More 'Humane,' But Evidence Is Lacking A legal battle over nitrogen hypoxia, a new potential method of execution, raises ethical questions By Dana G. Smith

Pollution The Race to Stop a Plastics Plant Scores a Crucial Win In Louisiana, home to miles of polluting industries, slowing the progress of Formosa Plastics is critical to social and environmental justice By Judith Enck,Rebekah Creshkoff

Climate Change How the Montreal Protocol Helped Save Earth from a Climate Time Bomb The landmark Montreal Protocol treaty, agreed to 35 years ago this month, has reduced the use of chemicals that not only thinned the ozone layer but also warmed the planet By Jean Chemnick,E&E News

Animals These Spiders Use Their Webs Like Huge Silky Ears A study of orb-weaving spiders shows that the arachnids' webs pick up a range of sounds--and they are always "listening" for vibrations coming in over them. By Karen Hopkin | 05:53

Genetics Strange Tree Fern Has a Surprisingly Enormous Genome A new study explores how the flying spider-monkey tree fern might hoard chromosomes By Fionna M. D. Samuels

Engineering The First Lady of Engineering: Lost Women of Science Podcast, Season 3, Episode 1 Yvonne Y. Clark, known as Y.Y. throughout her career, had a lifetime of groundbreaking achievements as a Black female mechanical engineer. The third season of the Lost Women of Science podcast begins at the start of her story, during her unconventional childhood in the segregated South By Katie Hafner,Carol Sutton Lewis,The Lost Women of Science Initiative

Astronomy Sparkly Image of Neptune's Rings Comes into View from JWST See a stunning new view of Neptune's rings and oddball moon Triton from the James Webb Space Telescope By Jeanna Bryner

Health Care People of Color with Long COVID Face Uphill Battle to Be Heard Medical discrimination and a lack of data make it difficult for people of color to get help for post-COVID problems By Troy Farah

Quantum Physics Quantum Physics Titans Win Breakthrough Prize This year's Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics honors some of the pioneers of quantum information science By Daniel Garisto

Psychology How Gaslighting Manipulates Reality Gaslighting isn't just between people in a relationship—it involves social power, too By Paige L. Sweet

Astronomy JWST's First Exoplanet Images Forecast a Bright Future The James Webb Space Telescope's snapshots of a giant world orbiting another star show that the observatory is performing even better than expected and that its best exoplanet images are yet to come By Daniel Leonard

Animals The Purpose of Dolphins' Mysterious Brain Net May Finally Be Understood Dolphins and whales experience a lot of pressure while swimming, and a "wonderful net" of blood vessels may protect their brain, new research shows By Daniel Leonard

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.

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