Sunspots 960

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Environment: NPR discusses the decline in the axolotl population.

Health: (or something:) A Conversation writer discusses bullying.

NPR reports that there are no effective remedies for the common cold.

Politics: NPR reports that reporting on climate change can lead to harassment, even death threats, to government scientists and TV weather personnel.

A Conversation writer tells us about the different ethnic groups among Jews in Israel.

Science: ScienceAlert reports that we have not understood how bees keep warm enough in winter.

Gizmodo reports on research indicating that chinstrap penguins take thousands of very short naps every day, apparently a behavior that helps keep them safer.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 934

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Computing and Politics: Gizmodo talks to a member of Congress who wants to require acknowledgment of such when deepfake (computer-generated material masquerading as the real thing) technology is used.

Environment:  (and Politics) The Guardian reports on a detailed plan, for an incoming Republican President,  to eliminate the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection Agency, and other such governmental entities.

The heat is so high, in Arizona, that even saguaro cactus plants are dying.

Food: Does Subway's tuna really contain tuna?

Health  (and Politics): Gizmodo reports that Republican people have been more likely to get COVID than Democrats, at least partly because of misinformation about the vaccines by prominent Republicans.

Science: The Associated Press and other outlets report that the  family of Henrietta Lacks has been compensated for the use of her cells, which were taken without her knowledge or permission. They have been used widely in science.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 919

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Environment: NPR reports that highway traffic was significantly less during the first part of the pandemic, but is increasing now.

NPR also reports that Exxon researchers knew, decades ago, that climate change was going to occur, but the company claimed that this was not so.

NPR reports on using a 3-D printer to make a 2-story house.

Gizmodo reports that the natural gas industry is paying TV hosts to influence people to use propane, and that some of that money comes from government funds for education.

Health: The Conversation on the health benefits of marriage.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 798

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to someone else: 

Christianity: Relevant has an article on the idolatry of patriotism.

Environment: Gizmodo says that animal extinction is increasing, but that it doesn't have to be that way.

Gizmodo also reports that the city of Charleston, South Carolina, is one of several that are suing oil companies because of increased flooding.

NPR reports on how oil companies knew plastic recycling wouldn't work, but promoted it heavily. It still doesn't work for plastics, and it's still being promoted.

Gizmodo reports that climate change denial is alive and well in Australia, as well as in the US.

Gizmodo also reports that international biodiversity goals have not been met, although there has been some progress. We are "rapidly losing the rainforests that play an important role in protecting us from our own carbon pollution, the bees we depend on to pollinate our food, and the coral reefs that shield millions of people from flooding ..." 

Politics:  FiveThirtyEight on Republican efforts to make it harder to vote (the report says that some Republicans are making it easier to vote).

Relevant reports that there was no child trafficking ring taken down in a raid in Georgia.

FiveThirtyEight on how, and why, white seniors in Florida are less likely to support Trump than in 2016.

Gizmodo reports that conservative media are influencing people to not evacuate when there's a hurricane warning.

It also reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is attempting to alter CDC reports.

Science: Gizmodo reports that new studies indicate that several species of fish can walk on land.

Gizmodo also reports that a molecule produced by living things, and perhaps in no other way, has been discovered in the atmosphere of Venus.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

Thanks for looking!