laurahelmuth

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

I regret to inform you that the privately launched, NFT-funded art installation on the moon, called Jeff Koons: Moon Phases, will likely survive longer than every single work of art in the Louvre and possibly humanity itself. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-jeff-koonss-lunar-artwork-could-outlast-all-of-humanity

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

There has never been a better time to be (or become) a birder https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-are-in-the-golden-age-of-bird-watching/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

Bioluminescence evolved independently about 100 times in different lineages starting 540 million years ago. What a wonderful world https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/glow-in-the-dark-animals-may-have-been-around-for-540-million-years/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

During the Cold War, the USSR fed the US a bunch of bogus claims about psychic and paranormal weapons, which the US immediately laughed off. Just kidding the US spent millions of dollars and decades of effort on psychic spy work that culminated in Havana Syndrome panic https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soviet-era-pseudoscience-lurks-behind-havana-syndrome-worries/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

"Fauxtomation" is when an AI or robot is assisted by a human behind the curtain -- falsely inflating the value of the supposed automation https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-a-human-hiding-behind-that-robot-or-ai/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

The fist cloned black-footed ferret, named Elizabeth Ann, was born in 2020 (you may have missed it at the time) and she just became a triplet. All three are clones of Willa, who lived in Wyoming in the 1980s. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-a-cloned-ferret-inspired-a-dna-bank-for-endangered-species/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers, and you almost certainly know someone who has it. Here's the latest research on diagnosis and treatment, a must-read for anyone trying to figure out how to treat it (or not) at any stage https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/treating-prostate-cancer-at-any-stage/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

We are hiring a podcast editor for Scientific American's multimedia team. (Sharing again because weekends are a good time to think about a new job). Thanks for considering or sharing with anyone looking to join a creative, welcoming, humane & fun team https://careers.springernature.com/job/New-York-Multimedia-Editor%2C-Audio%2C-Scientific-American/1058691801/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

Human brains have gotten bigger since the 1930s, possibly due to better nutrition, fewer childhood diseases, and education, at least for the multiple generations in the Framingham study in Massachusetts https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-brains-may-be-getting-bigger/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

"Even ultrasensitive microphones, if properly calibrated, aimed exactly right and set to maximum sensitivity in a silent space, can just barely pick up sounds from a flying owl ... sometimes. For all practical purposes, owls are silent." 🧪 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-feathers-are-one-of-evolutions-cleverest-inventions/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

FYI for all the other criers out there: "Humans are the only species that weeps. Babies of many species have distress cries. But only humans pair those cries with tears and keep the skill as adults. We are the only species that has a big, open, gushing, response to emotion." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-evolution-of-a-big-ugly-cry/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

The story of Jeff Koons's artwork on the moon — yes, his artwork is on the moon — is WILD, and absurd, and a reflection of modern art and capitalism and scams and private space travel and I think you'll really enjoy this story https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-jeff-koonss-lunar-artwork-could-outlast-all-of-humanity/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

"Earth is a fire planet, the only one we know of. Earth has fire because it has life. Life created the oxygen fire needs; life created and arranges the fuel it requires. Even the chemistry of fire is a biochemistry: fire takes apart what photosynthesis puts together." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-are-living-in-the-pyrocene-at-our-peril/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

This one goes out to anybody who has ever picked up a feather and wondered how they work (short answer: they're amazing) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-feathers-are-one-of-evolutions-cleverest-inventions/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

A subtype of bacteria normally found in the mouth has been linked to colon cancer and its progression https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/colon-cancer-linked-to-mouth-bacteria/

laurahelmuth, 1 month ago to random

"Without community, scientists suffer, and so does their work. ... dedicated, inclusive spaces such as Black in Marine Science can help scientists persevere in a field that they might otherwise abandon." Lots of great ideas here for scientists of color https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/black-scientists-are-building-their-own-vital-communities/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Physicists are finally figuring out how the strong force works https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/physicists-finally-know-how-the-strong-force-gets-its-strength/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

"Exposomics" is the study of how exposure to pollution harms health, and it's even worse than expected: air pollution is linked to smaller brain size and increased risk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, bipolar and other brain disorders https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pollution-doing-to-our-brains-exposomics-reveals-links-to-many/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Three years ago, astronauts aboard the International Space Station jettisoned an SUV-sized collection of trash that was supposed to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere. Now it looks like a piece of it just crashed through a house in Florida. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-junk-from-the-international-space-station-may-have-struck-a-home-in/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Scientific American is hiring a multimedia editor to work on our "Science, Quickly" podcast. Thanks for sharing with anyone who might be interested in the job! https://careers.springernature.com/job/New-York-Multimedia-Editor%2C-Audio%2C-Scientific-American/1058691801/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Millions of pregnant people have received COVID vaccines, and the data are solid: the vaccines are safe and effective for the pregnant person, and a growing consensus is emerging that vaccination during pregnancy also protects newborns. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-vaccination-during-pregnancy-protects-newborn-babies/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Just FYI while we're still talking about the sun: a solar geomagnetic storm like the 1959 Carrington Event superflare would devastate satellites and power grids and cause an internet apocalypse https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/solar-superflares-rocked-earth-less-than-10-000-years-ago-and-could-strike-again/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

Oof, yeah, allergy season is getting longer & worse due to climate change https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-climate-change-may-be-worsening-your-seasonal-allergies/

laurahelmuth, 2 months ago to random

A meta-analysis of anger research shows that cooling off is more effective than venting, jogging, screaming, or other get-it-off-your-chest activities, which can increase anger and aggression https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/feeling-angry-chilling-out-helps-more-than-blowing-off-steam/