Severe weather experts at AccuWeather.com are forecasting the intense weather outbreaks in the U.S. to continue beyond April into much of May. According to Severe Weather Expert Meteorologist Henry Margusity, "We see no let-up in the weather pattern that has led to the outbreaks this month." [More]
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Feed SubscriptionNo Let-Up in Severe Weather, Two Outbreaks This Week
As a relentless severe weather pattern continues, part of the Heartland will be the target for two severe weather events this week.
Read More »Beware the military-psychological complex: A $125-million program to boost soldiers’ "fitness" raises ethical questions
Fifty years ago, in the same farewell speech in which he warned about the "unwarranted influence" of the "military-industrial complex" on American politics, President Dwight Eisenhower also deplored the growing dependence of scientists on federal funding. "The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by federal employment, project allocations and the power of money is ever present--and is gravely to be regarded." Eisenhower's speech comes to mind as I gravely regard the latest example of the militarization of science, a $125 million collaboration between psychologists and the U.S. Army called "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness," or CSF
Read More »Early human fossils from South Africa could upend longheld view of human evolution
MINNEAPOLIS--It’s a great irony of paleoanthropology that for all the insights scientists have been able to glean from the fossil record about our early ancestors, the australopithecines (Lucy and her kin), they have precious little to document the origin of our own genus, Homo. They know that Homo descended from one of those australopithecine species, and that over the course of that transition our ancestors evolved from chimp-size creatures with short legs and small brains into tall humans with long legs and large brains, among other hallmark traits
Read More »Constricted Living Space Associated With Dementia Risk
Keeping the brain active and engaged appears to combat the cognitive decline associated with getting older. Now a study has found a new, but related, factor in maintaining a sharp mind--the space in which we live.
Read More »Vanishing Ice Allows Storms to Erode Alaska’s Coast
Portions of the Arctic coast are eroding by more than 26 feet per year, a problem that is likely to worsen as climate change intensifies, according to a new study. [More]
Read More »Can nuclear power plants float?
By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - A tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant might give some countries pause over the risks of exposing reactors to the power of the oceans.
Read More »The Business Of Facebook
Oh, we just knew Facebook didn't care about privacy! After all its maneuverings to get us to open up, the social-networking behemoth is expected to go public itself sometime this year.
Read More »Iran Cracking Down Online With "Halal Internet"
Introducing a nationwide intranet that one high-ranking official calls a "Halal Internet." In: censorship and e-banking. Out: sex and profanity. The Iranian government, wary from the internet-driven 2009 demonstrations and the recent Arab revolutions, is planning to wall-off much of the country's online access.
Read More »The Catlin Arctic Survey: Thermohaline circulation
If you look at a map of the world and draw a line through London, a latitude of about 50 degrees North and follow this line across the world, you'll see that it passes through southern Siberia and skims the southern shores of Hudson Bay in Canada. The week before I came out to the Catlin Arctic Survey Ice Base, the temperature in Hudson Bay was lurking between -20
Read More »To Share and Share Alike
Bacteria and archaea--collectively known as prokaryotes--live pretty much everywhere, dividing happily in places from stomach acid to deep-sea vents. They can thrive in so many different places because their genomes are incredibly flexible: they can alter, lose and duplicate genes almost at will
Read More »Too Hard for Science? Creating naked singularities
Neutrino beams might create such enigmas, but dare we risk making anything so unpredictable? In "Too Hard for Science?" I interview scientists about ideas they would love to explore that they don't think could be investigated
Read More »Costa Rica Rock Hunt Goes Far Below Pacific Ocean
By Alex Leff PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Scientists set off from Costa Rica on Sunday to drill a hole deep under the sea and directly extract rocks from record depths that could add to the understanding of climate change. [More]
Read More »Costa Rica Rock Hunt Goes Far Below Pacific Ocean
By Alex Leff PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Scientists set off from Costa Rica on Sunday to drill a hole deep under the sea and directly extract rocks from record depths that could add to the understanding of climate change. [More]
Read More »Is a geothermal heat pump right for you?
I've tried it all: caulking cracks, blowing in insulation, replacing drafty windows and--I'm especially proud of this one--installing a mail-slot cover so airtight it could be used in a space shuttle docking module . Yet my home heating bill remains an object of fear and loathing
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