Posts

But even with our gains, air pollution still contributes to one in every 25 early deaths. And our progress seems to be leveling off. Last week, a new report by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center found that in 2018, one-third of Americans lived in places with more than 100 days of degraded air quality. That’s 108 million people breathing polluted air for over three months—and 35 million more than than a similar report for 2016....

A study published July 22 in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases shows that mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus were more sensitive to extreme heat than their uninfected peers. “It might mean that any mosquito carrying dengue in an extra-hot area, or an area experiencing these sorts of heat spikes, might die,” says Elizabeth McGraw, head of the biology department at Penn State and a coauthor of the findings. “And that’s actually a good thing, because it might reduce the amount of dengue in mosquito populations at the extreme edges of the mosquito’s distribution....

The committee turned to Chicago microscopist Skip Palenik, whose impressive career has also included work on the cases of the Oklahoma City bombing, JonBenet Ramsey, the Unabomber, and the Atlanta child murders. Palenik examined a microscope slide of the metal specks and noticed they had been scratched by the slicing instrument used to mount them. The marks suggested the metal was soft, and therefore more likely to be lead than brass....

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday and first announced in The New Yorker last week, a group of scientists analyze a huge cache of exquisitely preserved animal and fish fossils that lived and died in the moments surrounding the Chicxulub meteor impact. Scientists have long theorized that the rock that slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and created a 93-mile-long, 12-mile deep crater near the town of Chicxulub, led to the eradication of 75 percent of all plant and animal life on Earth....

The worst flood risk is clustered around the Central and Southern U.S., along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Some of the hardest-hit states include the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. Here’s what to expect this spring and in years to come. Snow, rain and cold Wet and snowy conditions are boosting flood risks across the states. This winter was the wettest on record in the contiguous United States, according to NOAA data, which dates back to 1895....

Yesterday, Disney Research Studios revealed the Face Re-Aging Network (or FRAN), its latest advancement in VFX work which utilizes neural networking to create “the first practical, fully automatic, and production-ready method for re-aging faces in video images.” According to Disney’s own count, at least 12 films and television series utilized re-aging tech during 2022, a number that’s steadily grown since its first introduction only a few years ago. “Photorealistic digital re-aging of faces in video is becoming increasingly common in entertainment and advertising....

Standard newborn screenings include checks for a small number of diseases, “and the criteria for including diseases is very strict,” says Alan Beggs, the study’s principal coauthor and a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. The reasoning is that telling a family too much could potentially cause massive harm, either by unnecessarily distressing them over risks that may never turn into actual illness or by influencing medical decisions made in their child’s first days of life....

“We know that if your heart stops from trauma that the chances of survival are slim,” says Samuel Tisherman at the University of Maryland, “as in less than one in twenty. We hope that by cooling the patient very, very rapidly to very cold temperatures, that’s going to buy us time to stop the bleeding and then restore blood flow slowly as we warm [the person back up.]” This is the first trial of the technique they’ve developed, known as emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR)....

In light of all these brands pulling their advertising cash—or what’s left of it—rumors have once again started circulating about Facebook charging users to access its platforms, including its messaging service WhatsApp and Instagram. In reality, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll have to pay for those services any time in the near future. Rumors about Facebook charging membership fees go back more than a decade. Here’s an example of a current version going around via email and social posts....

When we buy something, especially something expensive, we all want to confirm our order or leave the store knowing we made the best decision for ourselves. If, for you, that entails buying the best things, you have to act like a maximizer. But don’t worry—this doesn’t mean it’ll be stressful or you’ll end up second guessing everything. Here’s how to overthink—in the best of ways. Know when to use comparison websites Comparison and meta-review websites like The Wirecutter are fantastic resources when maximizers don’t have much of an opinion about what they’re buying and just want something that gets the job done....

But sadly, not all things come at so low a price. There’s a lot of great free software out there, but some of the best tools cost money—whether it’s a $4 app like Dark Sky or a $120-per-year subscription like Photoshop. If you’re strapped for cash, there might be a way to lower the cost of that program you’ve been eyeing. Track giveaways, sales, and bundles on deal sites A lot of companies give away their products—or put them on sale—from time to time to stoke interest....

Mineral Canadian clay exhibits antibacterial activity against a group of pathogens that are highly resistant to antibiotics, according to new research from the University of British Columbia. The researchers tested the clay’s reaction to a group of bacteria collectively known as ESKAPE pathogens – Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species – named for their ability to resist the effects of antibiotics. As of 2008, they were responsible for the majority of hospital infections in the US....

A lot of things will lie to you in your life, but not poop. Close examination of animal scat will help you identify not only the species but how recently the animal was there, its sex, what it ate, and even where it might be going. Below is everything you should know (and possibly more than you want to know) about 11 common critters in the US. So grab a stick, and let’s poke some poop....

And although VR and gaming sometimes overlap, you should know that the former has plenty more to it. Almost every real-world experience now has a virtual equivalent, and we’re at the stage where you can go almost anywhere, and do almost anything with a VR visor. If you’re feeling like the walls are closing in and you need a break from the same old scenery, gear up and let VR transport you somewhere completely new in a matter of seconds....

But before you muscle that bulky old thing into position, take a few minutes to read this guide. We think you’ll come away with a bunch of good tips that will make living with this seasonal technology a breeze. First, think about size. If your unit is too small, you’re less likely to maintain a sweat-free space. On the other hand, if it’s too big, you’re forcing the machine to operate inefficiently, says Joanna Mauer, senior research manager of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy....

Consider your goals and living situation If your goal is general health and well-being, it’s hard to beat a nice stroll. Many writers and scientists have made the case that a regular brisk walk is sufficient for the vast majority of people (even if you don’t reach 10,000 steps per day). On the other hand, if you want to lift heavy weights, there really isn’t a minimalist setup that can replicate a barbell—it already is the minimalist setup....

In one scenario produced by the United States Geological Survey, researchers found that a big quake along the San Andreas could kill 1,800 people, injure 55,000 and wreak $200 million in damage. It could take years, nearly a decade, for California to recover. On the bright side, during the process of building and maintaining all that infrastructure that crosses the fault, geologists have gotten an up-close and personal look at it over the past several decades, contributing to a growing and extensive body of work....

“In recent weeks the monkeypox virus has continued to spread at a rate that has made it clear our current vaccine supply will not meet the current demand,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf in a press release. “The FDA quickly explored other scientifically appropriate options to facilitate access to the vaccine for all impacted individuals. By increasing the number of available doses, more individuals who want to be vaccinated against monkeypox will now have the opportunity to do so....

Fitbit’s new $130 Alta device will offer similar tracking to what we’ve seen in older products from the company like the Flex and Charge. Step-counting and sleep-tracking will join reminders to move and SmartTrack, a feature the company claims will automagically detect how you’re working out, and measure it accordingly. And like the Charge and Blaze, Fitbit’s Alta will display notifications for phone calls, text messages and calendar alerts on the device’s OLED screen....

In the midst of the rampant, countrywide shuttering of bars and restaurants due to COVID-19, there are few ties left to the proverbial night out. Some places are permitting the sale of to-go cocktails, but most of us are stuck playing bartender at home. Herein lies the inception of the “quarantini”: an inevitable portmanteau celebrating the timeless and elegant classic in an era of the unknown. New York City bartender and beverage consultant Pamela Wiznitzer (formerly of The Dead Rabbit, the Seamstress, and Henry at the Life Hotel), believes martini enthusiasts shouldn’t feel limited by the limitations of social distancing....