Posts

The operation known as hemispherectomy—where half the brain is removed—sounds too radical to ever consider, much less perform. In the last century, however, surgeons have performed it hundreds of times for disorders uncontrollable in any other way. Unbelievably, the surgery has no apparent effect on personality or memory. The first known hemispherectomy was performed on a dog in 1888 by German physiologist Friedrich Goltz. In humans, neurosurgeon Walter Dandy pioneered the operation at Johns Hopkins University in 1923 on a brain tumor patient....

In 2006 scientists were mapping the bottom of the York River, one of the Chesapeake Bay’s many tributaries, when they came across something odd. “We started to see these little squares all over the place,” says Donna Bilkovic, a biologist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. “They were clearly man-made.” The squares turned out to be hundreds of loose crab traps, escapees from the bay’s large blue crab fishery. Every year crabbers around the world set millions of these cagelike traps, known as pots, and sometimes a high percentage go missing....

Edward J. Rupke, senior engineer at Lightning Technologies, Inc., (LTI) in Pittsfield, Mass., provides the following explanation: It is estimated that on average, each airplane in the U.S. commercial fleet is struck lightly by lightning more than once each year. In fact, aircraft often trigger lightning when flying through a heavily charged region of a cloud. In these instances, the lightning flash originates at the airplane and extends away in opposite directions....

In 2012, both Kiplinger and Forbes ranked anthropology as the least valuable undergraduate major, unleashing a small wave of indignation as many outside the field rushed to defend the study of culture as ideal preparation for any life or career in an interconnected and globalized world. The response from professional anthropologists, confronted by both an existential challenge and public humiliation, was earnest but largely ineffective, for the voice of the discipline had been muted by a generation of self-absorption, tempered by a disregard for popular engagement that borders on contempt....

The lowly Bramble Cay melomys, a small Australian rodent, wasn’t the kind of animal that often made the news. But in 2019, it splashed across headlines. The reason? It was the first mammal to go extinct because of climate change. Named for the island where it used to live, the little rodent had been declining for decades. Scientists had warned for several years beforehand that it was either already extinct or nearly there, blaming its demise on a combination of sea-level rise and increasing tropical storms....

A newborn baby, well fed and sleepy, is swaddled in a blanket and lying on what looks like a tea tray with a helmet attached to one end. Once the infant falls asleep, researchers pull special tabs on the blanket to ease the baby into the helmet. It is a customized receiver coil used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a common method for visualizing brains in living people. The researchers slide the baby-holding contraption along a special trolley into the MRI tube and start collecting images....

SCIENCE IN ACTION “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” —Benjamin Franklin, 1706–1790 Kids are born scientists. They ask great questions, and as Franklin—one of the original “scientific Americans”—pointed out, we should foster their efforts to learn the answers firsthand. One such opportunity is the Google Science Fair. The online competition, launched in 2011, drew more than 7,000 entries from 91 countries; the fair has three age categories for 13- to 18-year-olds....

A Mars-size planet about 200 light-years from our solar system has turned out to be the lightest known alien world orbiting a normal star, researchers say. Astronomers made the discovery after measuring the size and mass of the baking-hot planet, named Kepler-138 b, which orbits a red dwarf star called Kepler-138. Since Mars is only 53 percent the size of the Earth (or just about half the size), so Kepler-138 b is smaller than the Earth....

A group of scientists recently flew up to the Arctic to test a new technology that they think might make measuring the ice pack — and tracking the polar bears that occupy it — easier and faster. The researchers were experimenting with a new kind of autonomous flight technology, which they hoped would give them more localized and immediate information about the region. The group, which included engineers from Northrop Grumman Corp....

According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 5 percent of American children suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), yet the diagnosis is given to some 15 percent of American children, many of whom are placed on powerful drugs with lifelong consequences. This is the central fact of the journalist Alan Schwarz’s new book, ADHD Nation. Explaining this fact—how it is that perhaps two thirds of the children diagnosed with ADHD do not actually suffer from the disorder—is the book’s central mystery....

A pandemic is a stress test for society, revealing not only hidden cracks in health systems but also broader social failings. A deep fissure further exposed by COVID is the long-standing inequity in the health and medical care of racial and ethnic minorities. The outbreak has shown that Black, brown and Indigenous adults in the U.S. are more medically vulnerable than other people because of factors such as a heavier burden of chronic diseases, limited access to care and the cumulative effects of racism....

AUSTIN, Texas — Retired state employees Vickey Benford, 63, and Joan Caldwell, 61, are Golden Rollers, a group of the over-50 set that gets out on assorted bikes — including trikes for adults they call “three wheels of awesome” — for an hour of trail riding and camaraderie. “I love to exercise, and I like to stay fit,” said Caldwell, who tried out a recumbent bike, a low-impact option that can be easier on the back....

Key concepts Chemistry Electricity Battery Chemical reaction Introduction Have you ever wondered exactly how your phone, laptop or a flashlight manages to work without being plugged into a power outlet? Where does the electrical energy come from that makes all these portable devices function? You probably know the answer: They use batteries! But do you know how these batteries work? Batteries store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, which means that electrochemical reactions inside the batteries create electricity....

Editing cells’ genomes with CRISPR-Cas9 might increase the risk that the altered cells, intended to treat disease, will trigger cancer, two studies published on Monday warn—a potential game-changer for the companies developing CRISPR-based therapies. In the studies, published in Nature Medicine, scientists found that cells whose genomes are successfully edited by CRISPR-Cas9 have the potential to seed tumors inside a patient. That could make some CRISPR’d cells ticking time bombs, according to researchers from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and, separately, Novartis....

Dear EarthTalk: With all the talk of the need for safe, renewable energy sources, isn’t the elephant in the room really that we should use far less energy than we do? Wouldn’t more rules about conservation (like not leaving commercial building lights on all night) make the challenges easier?—Jennifer B., New York City In short, yes: Scaling back our energy consumption significantly, whether voluntarily or as a result of laws and regulations, would go a long way toward achieving our pollution reduction and air and water quality goals....

By Richard LovettPharmaceuticals and household chemicals in rivers and streams may be affecting how fish mate and spawn, scientists warn, even when the substances are not present at levels high enough to cause visible damage.The laboratory studies, reported at the 7-11 November meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Portland, Oregon, are part of a growing effort to determine how pollution affects fish behaviour, rather than just their anatomy or physiology....

A team of engineers assembled here to conduct a series of tests to simulate the interaction between a data center and a grid operator. Their question: Can extensive battery systems installed at data centers like this one be used to help grid operators smooth out the small spikes and drops in electric demand that occur throughout the day? It’s technical, tedious work, but the implications for the electric system are sweeping....

Of our solar system’s wonders, one reigns as the emblem of all that is alien and otherworldly: the majestic rings of Saturn, rising resplendent and shimmering above the giant planet’s buttery, cloud-crossed face. Stretching nearly 300,000 kilometers from tip to tip and containing countless icy particles ranging in size from “microscopic” to “mobile home,” the rings make Saturn undeniably eye-catching. But more than mere decoration, they are one of the most enduring enigmas in planetary science....

The Trump administration is altering its rollback of Obama-era clean car rules in response to concerns from the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry, E&E News has learned. In its proposal for the rollback, the Trump administration suggested eliminating compliance credits for automakers that install less-polluting air conditioners in their vehicles. But in its final rule expected this spring or summer, the administration plans to restore the credits after hearing from concerned air-conditioning and refrigerant companies, according to a source with knowledge of the matter....

The first controlled, but controversial and small, clinical trial of giving young blood to people with dementia has reported that the procedure appears safe. It has also hinted that it may even produce modest improvements in the daily lives of people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers who conducted the trial and others caution that the results are based on just 18 people and therefore are only a first step in exploring this type of treatment....