JWST is about to supercharge the hunt for exoplanets, the problems with antiabortion heartbeat bills, and more!

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January 23, 2023

Astronomy JWST Heralds a New Dawn for Exoplanet Science The James Webb Space Telescope is opening an exciting new chapter in the study of exoplanets and the search for life beyond Earth By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Reproduction Antiabortion Heartbeat Bills Are not Morally, Scientifically or Legally Sound A beating heart is neither a necessary nor sufficient standard to determine the start of life, making antiabortion heartbeat bills morally and legally wrong By Christina Han,Cara C. Heuser

Climate Change Temperatures in One of Earth's Coldest Corners Are the Highest in 1,000 Years Temperatures in north-central Greenland are the highest in at least a millennium, contributing to ice melt that is raising global sea levels By Chelsea Harvey,E&E News

Planetary Science Cataclysmic Collisions May Explain 'Forbidden' Exoplanets A new model could explain the scarcity of certain planet sizes By Daniel Leonard

Vaccines An Old TB Vaccine Might Help Stave Off Diabetes, Cancer Alzheimer's, and More  The BCG vaccine might assist in preventing a range of major diseases By Viviane Callier

Public Health The Health Risks of Gas Stoves Explained Gas stoves produce emissions that can harm human health and the environment. Experts answer questions about the dangers and how to limit them By Tanya Lewis

Genetics Dads Have Been Older than Moms since the Dawn of Humanity, Study Suggests Using modern human DNA to estimate when new generations were born over 250,000 years, scientists suggest that fathers have been having children later in life than mothers throughout human history By Freda Kreier,Nature magazine

Materials Science Ancient Roman Concrete Has 'Self-Healing' Capabilities Mineral deposits called “lime clasts” found in ancient Roman concrete give the material self-healing capabilities that could help engineers develop more resilient modern concrete and reduce its associated emissions By Daniel Cusick,E&E News

FROM THE STORE Scientific American Volume 327, Issue 6

FROM THE ARCHIVE JWST's First Glimpses of Early Galaxies Could Break Cosmology The James Webb Space Telescope’s first images of the distant universe shocked astronomers. Is the discovery of unimaginably distant galaxies a mirage or a revolution? By Jonathan O'Callaghan | September 2022

QUOTE OF THE DAY "The exoplanet community is just giddy at the moment." Mark Clampin, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

WHAT WE'RE READING Most Abortion Bans Include Exceptions. In Practice, Few Are Granted. Patients in jeopardy and victims of rape often denied procedure.  By Amy Schoenfeld Walker | The New York Times | Jan. 22, 2023

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