ScientistPankaj: Where all heavy metals come from, what your cat thinks when you talk to them, and one big perk of growing older

Saturday, January 7, 2023

Where all heavy metals come from, what your cat thinks when you talk to them, and one big perk of growing older

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January 06, 2023

Astrophysics

All the Gold in the Universe Was (Likely) Created This Way

For a long time, no one knew how "heavy metals" formed—or showed up on Earth. Now some new evidence finally points the way to an answer.

By Jason Drakeford,Clara Moskowitz,Jeffery DelViscio

Animals

Your Cats Can Tell When You're Speaking to Them

Felines recognize their owners' cat-directed baby talk

By Tanya Lewis

Pharmaceuticals

A Valuable COVID Drug Doesn't Work against New Variants

Current monoclonal antibodies fail against COVID virus variants, so drugmakers want to use a fast-track test for new ones

By Charles Schmidt

Sponsor Content Provided by Phenome Health

The New Science of Disease Prevention

Medicine today treats the sick, but the ultimate goal is to keep people well. The new field of phenomics aims to do that by crunching data on a person’s genetics, biomarkers, lifestyle and environment. Learn more

Psychology

Your Response to Stress Improves as You Grow Older

In good news, our reactions to stressful events improve as we age. But living in uncertain times will still take a toll

By Daisy Yuhas

Planetary Science

Volcanic Activity on Mars Upends Red Planet Assumptions

A mass of moving material on Mars called a mantle plume may be causing marsquakes and volcanism

By Phil Plait

Climate Change

Are Home Insurers Abandoning Communities Vulnerable to Climate Change?

The U.S. Department of the Treasury makes an unprecedented move to find out if home insurers are abandoning communities vulnerable to climate change

By Thomas Frank,E&E News

Astronomy

Audio Astronomy Unlocks a Universe of Sound

Turning astronomical data into sound rather than images can inspire blind and visually impaired people—and maybe lead to some discoveries, too

By Timmy Broderick

Public Health

What Rice-Farming Cultures Can Teach Us about Pandemic Preparedness

Societies that farm rice over wheat tend to be more tight-knit and interdependent, which could protect them from pandemic viruses like the one behind COVID

By Thomas Talhelm

Fossil Fuels

Record-High Temperatures across Europe Ease Energy Crisis Imposed by Russia's War

Extreme heat has provided some relief from Europe's punishing energy crunch. Trouble looms, though, as it continues to seek alternative energy sources

By Chelsea Harvey,Sara Schonhardt,E&E News

Physiology

New Human Metabolism Research Upends Conventional Wisdom about How We Burn Calories

Metabolism studies reveal surprising insights into how we burn calories—and how cooperative food production helped Homo sapiens flourish

By Herman Pontzer

FROM THE STORE

Special Editions Volume 26, Issue 4s

BRING SCIENCE HOME

Ring on the Resonance!

Make some real moves with resonance! Find out how physics explains why some ojects prefer to "move" at certain rates. Credit: George Retseck

Have you ever been on a swing set and suddenly noticed that the person on the swing next to you seems to be swinging almost exactly in time with you? You go up and down at either the same time or exactly opposite each other. This might seem random—but it's actually physics! Like many things in nature, swing sets have a resonant frequency, which means they have a "favorite" frequency (or speed) of movement. The swing set will naturally want to swing at its favorite speed. You might have experienced this if someone has ever tried to push you too fast on the swing; the preferred speed can actually make you go slower.

In this activity we'll use paper rings and (lots of shaking) to examine resonant frequencies for ourselves!