February 12, 2025: We're covering private weather forecasting, penguins helping to map mercury and the most energetic neutrino. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | The highest-energy cosmic neutrino detected to date was observed by KM3NeT, which sits at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily, Italy and Provence, France. DKosig/Getty Images (Elements of this illustration furnished by NASA) | | | Private Forecasters Rely on NOAA | | | Amid calls to cut federal weather services, some private companies are investing in their own weather satellites. However, these firms likely could not come close to replacing the massive network of satellites, radar, airplanes, buoys, balloons and other instruments operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Many private companies issue forecasts and create "fancy maps and other weather products," write Christine Wiedinmyer, associate science director at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and atmospheric scientist Kari Bowen. But these products all derive from NOAA's taxpayer-funded data and analyses, which are free to anyone.
What the experts say: NOAA "can be held accountable in a way private businesses are not because it answers to Congress. So, the data is trustworthy, accessible and developed with the goal to protect public safety and property for everyone. Could the same be said if only for-profit companies were producing that data?" write Wiedinmyer and Bowen.
Why this matters: NOAA also partners with academic, nonprofit and private research efforts to help serve the public and yield the most reliable forecasts possible. Beyond those realms, aviation, agricultural, energy and insurance companies are among the business sectors that rely on NOAA weather data, forecasts and long-range predictions. | | | Gentoo penguins have a wide geographic range, making them good targets for follow-up research. David Merron Photography/Getty Images | | | Penguins as Mercury Bioindicators | | | Feathers molted by Antarctica's penguins could help scientists map sources of mercury contamination, reports Gayoung Lee, Scientific American's news intern. A byproduct of gold mining, the toxic metal gets consumed by predators and other animals, potentially inhibiting the growth of brain cells. In penguins, their feathers take up the mercury, helping them rid it from their bodies. Scientists sampled molted feathers and tested the mercury levels. Levels of carbon-13 isotope in the same feathers revealed where the penguins came into contact with mercury.
Why this matters: In this way, penguins could play a role as living bioindicators, aiding in efforts to track environmental pollution, the researchers conclude. A feather-derived mercury map and database could help guide conservation and other research efforts.
What the experts say: "We don't believe penguins have been exposed to toxic levels [of mercury] yet. Yes, the penguins will be okay," says study's senior author John Reinfelder, a marine biologist at Rutgers University. | | | • Mandates for employees to return to daily work at the office, like one President Trump recently issued for federal employees, have not increased the value of these companies and organizations, writes Scientific American senior opinion editor Dan Vergano. Instead such demands tend to reduce job satisfaction and have spurred many talented employees to flee for more flexible jobs, sometimes with competitive firms, research reveals. | 5 min read | | | • U.S. immigration is gaming Google to create a mirage of mass deportations. | The Guardian | • Microsoft study finds AI makes human cognition 'atrophied and unprepared.' | 404 Media | | | A relatively new technology, OneCourt's haptic display, is designed to help people who have blind or low vision have a richer experience at live sports events, I recently learned from a Scientific American editor. Fans can hold in their laps a book-sized screen that provides an audio feed as well as real-time data with haptic feedback when, say, a basketball player shoots and then either makes or misses the basket. In this social-media post, a fan says the Portland Trailblazers have adopted the technology. Might be extra exciting to use if available for games during March Madness, which officially starts in 34 days, but who's counting. | —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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