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3 years after the Marshall Fire: Wildfire smoke’s health risks can linger long-term in homes that escape burning

  • Written by Colleen E. Reid, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder
imageThe Marshall Fire spared some homes, shown here a day later, but smoke had blanketed the area.Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Three years ago, on Dec. 30, 2021, a wind-driven wildfire raced through two communities just outside Boulder, Colorado. In the span of about eight hours, more than 1,000 homes and businesses...

Read more: 3 years after the Marshall Fire: Wildfire smoke’s health risks can linger long-term in homes that...

Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimates

  • Written by Greg Breed, Associate Professor of Quantitative Ecology, University of Alaska Fairbanks
imageAnimals with long lifespans tend to reproduce extremely slowly.Els Vermeulen

Southern right whales have lifespans that reach well past 100 years, and 10% may live past 130 years, according to our new research published in the journal Science Advances. Some of these whales may live to 150. This lifespan is almost double the 70-80 years they are...

Read more: Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double...

Octopuses and their relatives are a new animal welfare frontier − here’s what scientists know about consciousness in these unique creatures

  • Written by Rachel Blaser, Professor of Neuroscience, Cognition and Behavior, University of San Diego
imageA common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) off Croatia in the Mediterranean Sea.Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images

We named him Squirt – not because he was the smallest of the 16 cuttlefish in the pool, but because anyone with the audacity to scoop him into a separate tank to study him was likely to get soaked. Squirt had notoriously...

Read more: Octopuses and their relatives are a new animal welfare frontier − here’s what scientists know...

Bob Dylan and the creative leap that transformed modern music

  • Written by Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University
imageDylan and singer-songwriter Mimi Farina relax at the Viking Hotel in Newport, R.I., in July 1964.John Byrne Cooke Estate/Getty Images

The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet, focuses on Dylan’s early 1960s transition from idiosyncratic singer of folk songs to internationally renowned...

Read more: Bob Dylan and the creative leap that transformed modern music

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

  • Written by Nick Lehr, Arts + Culture Editor
imageDamage and residual flooding from Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29, 2024, in Old Fort, N.C.Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina – be it physical, psychological or economic – is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and...

Read more: After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms,...

In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers − an astronomer explains how these methods work

  • Written by Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State
imageWayfarers around the world have used the stars to navigate the sea. Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you have visited an island like one of the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, you may have noticed how small these land masses appear against the vast Pacific Ocean. If you’re on Hawaii, the nearest...

Read more: In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers...

Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are grazers

  • Written by Ellen Welti, Research Ecologist, Great Plains Science Program, Smithsonian Institution
imageThe giant panda's diet is almost 100% bamboo.Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the...

Read more: Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are...

The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

  • Written by Steven Wolterning, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University
imageVideo clips of teens playing dangerous games are easily accessible on many social media sites.Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The “choking game” has potentially deadly consequences, as players are challenged to temporarily strangle themselves by restricting oxygen to the brain. It sounds terrifying, but rough estimates...

Read more: The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

Language AIs in 2024: Size, guardrails and steps toward AI agents

  • Written by John Licato, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Director of AMHR Lab, University of South Florida
image2024 saw smaller models and new guardrails for language AIs.pagadesign/E+ via Getty Images

I research the intersection of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and human reasoning as the director of the Advancing Human and Machine Reasoning lab at the University of South Florida. I am also commercializing this research in an AI...

Read more: Language AIs in 2024: Size, guardrails and steps toward AI agents

2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its oceans

  • Written by Darryl Z. Seligman, Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University
imageDark comets accelerate through space but don't have a dusty tail like most comets. Adina Feinstein and NASA’s Earth Observatory

The water that makes up the oceans acted as a key ingredient for the development of life on Earth. However, scientists still do not know where the water here on Earth came from in the first place.

One leading idea is...

Read more: 2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its...

More Articles ...

  1. Detroit’s reparations task force now has until 2025 to make its report, but going slow with this challenging work may not be a bad thing
  2. Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit – new study from California finds threats, abuse rampant
  3. What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains
  4. 3D-printed guns, like the one allegedly used to kill a health care CEO, are a growing threat in the US and around the world
  5. Colorado now has one of the nation’s most liberal abortion access laws, but ballot measures to restrict abortion have a long history in the state
  6. A nation exhausted: The neuroscience of why Americans are tuning out politics
  7. How should we look to history to make sense of Luigi Mangione’s alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
  8. The Wanamaker organ has been part of a treasured holiday tradition in Philly for over 100 years − a historian explains its illustrious past and uncertain future
  9. What are pharmacy benefit managers? A health economist explains how lack of competition drives up drug prices for everyone
  10. How a small Brazilian town became an unlikely battleground over Confederate memory
  11. The moral dimension to America’s flawed health care system
  12. How to avoid the latest generation of scams this holiday season
  13. Federal protection for monarch butterflies could help or harm this iconic species, depending on how it’s carried out
  14. Parents and caregivers: How to stop feeling like a Grinch and be more present with your kids this holiday season
  15. For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back
  16. The Moon might be older than scientists previously thought − a new study shines light on its history
  17. Yes, Philadelphia is a sanctuary city − but that offers undocumented immigrants little protection from mass deportations
  18. Rules against insider trading also boost innovation, research finds
  19. Why Syria’s reconstruction may depend on the fate of its minorities
  20. What is an AI agent? A computer scientist explains the next wave of artificial intelligence tools
  21. Trust in U.S. media hit an all-time low in 2024 − a new survey shows Black midwesterners have found other trusted messengers of news
  22. Luigi Mangione isn’t the first alleged criminal to capture many people’s imaginations – and hearts
  23. Assault on DEI: Critics use simplistic terms to attack the programs, but they are key to uprooting workplace bias
  24. Nixon’s official acts against his enemies list led to a bipartisan impeachment effort
  25. ‘Love Is Blind’ contestants count as employees − new US government agency finding could shake up reality TV production
  26. Why natural disasters hit harder in rural school districts
  27. Listening for the right radio signals could be an effective way to track small drones
  28. At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars
  29. More than 60 years later, Langston Hughes’ ‘Black Nativity’ is still a pillar of African American theater
  30. Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health
  31. No flood gauges, no warning: 99% of US streams are off the radar amid rising flash flood risks – we saw the harm in 2024
  32. I’m a former assistant DA who works with survivors of sex trafficking − here’s why a recent Philly sting marks a shift in how Pennsylvania confronts the commercial sex industry
  33. At Hanukkah, a celebration of eternal light − from the desert tabernacle to synagogues today
  34. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts expire soon − study shows they made income inequality worse and especially hurt Black Americans
  35. How liberals lost comedy − and helped Trump win
  36. Is news bias fueled by journalists supplying slanted views or readers’ demanding them? An economist weighs in
  37. Colleges’ career success stats don’t tell the whole story about how their graduates are doing after they get their degree
  38. 5 of the most frustrating health insurer tactics and why they exist
  39. Cómo la canela, la nuez moscada y el jengibre se convirtieron en los aromas de las vacaciones de invierno, lejos de sus orígenes tropicales
  40. Cómo la Navidad se convirtió en una tradición navideña estadounidense, con un Papá Noel, regalos y un árbol
  41. How nostalgia led to the invention of the first Christmas card
  42. Retailers that make it harder to return stuff face backlash from their customers
  43. Why does red wine cause headaches? Our research points to a compound found in the grapes’ skin
  44. Supporting a grieving loved one on holidays and special occasions: Practical tips from a clinical psychologist
  45. After wildfires, ranchers face 2-year delay to graze cattle on federal land – is it doing more harm than good?
  46. How does the International Space Station orbit Earth without burning up?
  47. Twins were the norm for our ancient primate ancestors − one baby at a time had evolutionary advantages
  48. How cities are reinventing the public-private partnership − 4 lessons from around the globe
  49. Black adults with long COVID report higher levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts − new research
  50. Only 0.16% of all US charitable giving supports LGBTQ+ groups despite recent increases