Category Archives: Science

Science: How Advanced Computer Models Project Future Climate Scenarios

Princeton University (December 13, 2022) – Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces interact and combine in powerful, yet often unseen, ways as part of a complex planetary system that determines the climate.

Over many decades, researchers at Princeton University have played a leading role in the development of advanced computational models that simulate interactions among these elements to inform an understanding of future climate scenarios under varying conditions.

In this video, climate scientists Gabe Vecchi and Laure Resplandy discuss how computational models are used to project future climate scenarios and inform mitigation strategies.

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Cover Preview: Scientific American – January 2023

Scientific American – January 2023 issue:

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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

How Star Collisions Forge the Universe’s Heaviest Elements

Scientists have new evidence about how cosmic cataclysms forge gold, platinum and other heavy members of the periodic table

This Spiritual Tradition Could Be the Most Poetic Bereavement Therapy Ever Documented

A mourning ritual of dialogues with the dead speaks to the fragility of theological diversity

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Reviews: TheScientist Magazine – December 2022

TS Digest December 2022, Issue 2 Cover

TheScientist Magazine (December 2022):

2022 Top 10 Innovations

This year’s crop of winning products features many with a clinical focus and others that represent significant advances in sequencing, single-cell analysis, and more.

Implantable Device Zaps Cancer Cells Using Electric Fields

A wireless brain implant inhibits tumor growth in rats, overcoming many design flaws of current devices used to treat glioblastoma.

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Review: Scripps California Institute For Biomedical Research (CALIBR) At 10 YRS

Calibr at Scripps Research is celebrating a major milestone, a decade of discovery. Take a look at the past 10 years of scientific innovation, and see what the next 10 years have in store.

The California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr) is a first-of-its-kind, nonprofit translational research institute dedicated to accelerating the next generation of medicines, celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2022. Affiliated with Scripps Research—among the most innovative institutes worldwide—we spearhead drug discovery from a steady flow of pioneering science.

Our self-sustaining model encourages broad and bold exploration with far-reaching goals, yet rapid transition of our most successful, high-impact programs into the clinic. We pursue audacious and imaginative ideas—bridging scientific and technological advances to develop new medicines for unmet medical needs.

Learn more: https://www.scripps.edu/science-and-m…

Beverage Science: Inside The Chemistry Of Coffee

National Science Foundation – The chemistry of the universe is, in a way, in your morning cup of coffee. Coffee contains a tremendous number of chemicals, with over 1000 aroma compounds. If you are looking for antioxidants, the most abundant phenolic compounds in coffee are chlorogenic acids (CGAs), which account for up to 12 per cent of the dry weight of green unroasted coffee beans. Much of coffee’s bitter taste comes from CGAs, which also cause the acid reflux that is sometimes experienced by coffee drinkers.  

Produced by the PBS Digital Studio / American Chemical Society

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Culture: The American Scholar – Winter 2023

Winter 2023

@TheAmScho Winter 2023 issue:

The Road to Paradise and Back

Fires in the West, hurricanes in the East—what it’s like on the ground as we confront our rapidly changing world

The Corals and the Capitalist

The key to avoiding an ecological catastrophe might be found in the wealth of nations and the spirit of innovation

Our Founding Contradiction

The entrenched dichotomy at the center of the national story

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Dec 9, 2022

World Economic Forum (December 9, 2022) – This week’s top stories of the week include:

  • 0:15 The world’s most expensive cities – This list of the most expensive cities is based Worldwide Cost of Living 2022 report that compares 200 products and services in more than 170 cities. Prices in big cities have risen by an average of 8.1% in the past year. Their fastest rise for 20 years. Driven by the knock-on effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some of these most expensive cities have high wages and taxes, while another has an average rent of about 92% of the median worker’s pre-tax salary. Watch to know which cities are the most expensive to live in.
  • 1:36 The era of the megalopolis has begun – Today 60% of people live in urban areas, and by 2100 it’s forecast to be 85%. We are entering the era of the megalopolis. Cities around the world are merging as they grow and spread, forming supercities connected by urban sprawl. The largest megalopolis is in China – it’s known as the Greater Bay Area. But what are megapolis?
  • 2:53 Scientists develop a universal flu vaccine – Scientists have developed a universal flu vaccine. It’s effective against all 20 known strains of flu and could help us fight off dangerous new strains before they develop into a pandemic. The new vaccine could be in use within 2 years.
  • 3:53 This device will heat our homes sustainably – Heat pumps run on electricity rather than fossil fuels and are 3 times more efficient than gas boilers. They capture thermal energy from the air outside and use that energy to warm your home.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Dec 8, 2022

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nature – December 8, 2022 issue:

Oil-palm farms that spare rainforests menace grasslands instead

Programmes to avoid deforestation could have unintentional impacts on a variety of ecosystems.

Fruit-fly inspired robots hold steady in a gust of wind

Flying devices weighing only 10 milligrams could be controlled by an unconventional set of instruments.

‘Prisoner’s dilemma’ pinpoints plants that cooperate

Game theory helps to identify genetic variants that give plants the ability to thrive in crowded conditions.

The search for new physics gets a new partner: the Sun

A fifth fundamental force predicted by some alternative theories of gravity has not been seen in the solar interior

Molten rock lurks not far below Yellowstone tourists’ feet

The magma chamber of an enormous volcano lies closer to Earth’s surface than previously estimated.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – Dec 9, 2022

Science Magazine – December 9, 2022 issue:

Alzheimer’s drug stirs excitement—and concerns

Antibody slows cognitive decline, but deaths, brain bleeds, and swelling mar results

NASA radar altimetry mission to study hidden ocean swirls

Enhanced resolution of SWOT satellite will highlight how small eddies soak up heat and carbon

Image problems besiege Stanford president

Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s early papers are subject of school and journal investigations

In China, ‘zero COVID’ has become a Catch-2

Population chafes at control measures, but lifting them now would carry huge risks

New U.S. law aims to light up medical research on cannabis

Biden signs bill streamlining pot studies and production

Preview: New Scientist Magazine – Dec 10, 2022

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New Scientist – December 10, 2022 issue:

Self-knowledge: How to know your true personality and why it matters

When it comes to knowing yourself, your own perception of your personality doesn’t necessarily align with that of people around you. But which is more accurate? And can discovering your true nature lead to a better life?

What the world’s largest liquid mirror telescope means for astronomy

The International Liquid Mirror Telescope, perched high in the Himalayas, has finally started making observations. If it succeeds, we could one day put a much larger liquid telescope on the moon

Flying squirrels carve nuts to store them securely in tree branches

Buried nuts would quickly rot in the tropical rainforests of Hainan Island, so flying squirrels have taught themselves carpentry instead