WEIRD SCIENCE
Increasing temperatures and populations threaten a precious element and pose a serious problem. What can we do about protecting our most vital resource? By Tim Smedley – The next time you open a can of soft drink, consider where the water inside it …
Some puzzling studies appear to show that tiny airborne particles may contribute to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Should we be concerned? By David Robson – Take a deep breath, and exhale. Depending on where you live, that life-giving lungful of air might …
The air we breathe could be changing our behavior in ways we are only just beginning to understand. By Melissa Hogenboom / Images by Emmanuel Lafont – * This story is featured in BBC Future’s “Best of 2019” collection. Discover more of our picks. …
By Michael Irving – A composite image comprised of optical data from the Isaac Newton Telescope and X-ray data from Chandra showing the stellar association Cygnus OB2. X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Drake et al; H-alpha: Univ. of Hertfordshire/INT/IPHAS; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Spitzer. – The cosmic beauty of space …
By Nick Lavars – Using a novel manufacturing method, scientists have discovered a way to turn plastic bottles into a useful new aerogel. National University of Singapore. – Recycling plastics is far from a simple undertaking, with only a small portion of what …
By Ben Coxworth – Treatment-resistant warts, along with other skin lesions, may be no match for nano-pulse stimulation. Tiler84/Depositphotos. – Although it’s possible to remove warts by freezing them with liquid nitrogen, they often grow back, requiring multiple treatments. New research, however, suggests …
By Ben Coxworth – The lingonberry is native to the boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Eurasia to North America. Evgeniy_Bobkov/Depositphotos. – If you suffer from high blood pressure, you might want to try making lingonberry juice part of …
The idea of ‘absolute time’ is an illusion. Physics and subjective experience reveal why. By Stephen Johnson – ESA. Since Einstein posited his theory of general relativity, we’ve understood that gravity has the power to warp space and time. This “time dilation” effect …
By Scottie Andrew, CNN – The Wedderburn meteorite contains edscottite, which occurs in iron smelting. But it has never occurred in nature until now, when researchers sliced the meteorite open and found it hidden there. Between 2015 and 2019, researchers discovered 31 …
… A notorious class of chemicals could have invisible effects that take a toll over time. By Emma Betuel – You may not remember the last time you sprayed a carpet to make it waterproof, but those chemicals are likely still floating around …
