Tag Archives: science

This Is Your Kid’s Brain on Extreme Heat

The heat takes a slow and brutal toll on the teens in Sarah Mueller’s high school chemistry class in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 7:30 in the morning, the classroom can hit 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Mueller tries to keep students’ spirits up by joking with them. (“People pay a lot of money …

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Electrifying Your Home Is About to Get a Lot Cheaper

THIS STORY FIRST appeared on Grist, a nonprofit media organization covering climate justice and solutions. Making homes more efficient and more electric is critical to combating climate change. But the undertaking can be expensive and beyond the financial reach of many families.  Help, however, is on the way. Residential energy use accounts …

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No, This Is Not an Alien. Here’s Why

It was like an alien unboxing—but they were just Nazca mummies from Peru. Toward the end of a public hearing in the Green Room of the Chamber of Deputies Congress of Mexico, Jaime Maussan, ufologist, journalist and host of the Mexican television program Tercer Milenio, announced a surprise. The well-known …

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Libya’s Deadly Floods Show the Growing Threat of Medicanes

Storm Daniel, which has killed at least 5,000 people in Libya, with 10,000 more missing, was no normal weather. This rare, destructive, subtropical monster was supersized by unusually warm Mediterranean waters. When it slammed into the Libyan coast, it did so with such force that it caused two dams inland …

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NASA Didn’t Find Aliens—but if You See Any UFOs, Holler

Seventy-six years after the infamous Roswell incident, when a high-altitude balloon—or something—crashed in southeastern New Mexico, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has now officially weighed in on UFO sightings. Don’t get too excited: They haven’t proven, or disproven, the existence of aliens. Instead, the report released today …

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Why Some Animals Thrive in Cities

Eat almost anything. Sleep almost anywhere. These, it seems, are the secrets to surviving in the city as a wild animal. Among the species that dominate urban spaces—pigeons, cockroaches, rats, foxes—these are the most obvious characteristics successful city dwellers have. But they aren’t the only tactics for urban survival. A …

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Serious Brain Trauma Starts Well Before Young Athletes Go Pro

Content warning: This story includes references to death by suicide. Evan Hansen was born to play football. A strong, rambunctious kid, he started playing sports year-round as early as he could. “He was very selfless, always willing to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the team,” says his father, Chuck …

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