Climate crisis likely creating extreme winter weather events, says report
theguardian.com – Arctic change increased chances of tightly spinning winds above North Pole, authors say, boosting chances of extreme weather
Source: Judah Cohen, Laurie Agel, Mathew Barlow, Chaim I. Garfinkel, Ian White. Linking Arctic variability and change with extreme winter weather in the United States. Science, 2021.
Study of Booster Shot Benefits Fans Debate Over Extra Doses
nytimes.com – Independent experts, including government scientists, were skeptical of the research from Israel, which included limited data over a short period.
Source: Jose Mateus, et al. Low-dose mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine generates durable memory enhanced by cross-reactive T cells. Science, 2021.
Dino-killing asteroid set the stage for evolution of modern snakes
upi.com – According to a new study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs triggered a period of accelerated diversification among snakes.
Jaws made us scared of sharks but is a lack of sharks scarier? – podcast
theguardian.com – Anand Jagatia speaks to Phoebe Weston about the recent update to the IUCN ‘red list’, which warns that over a third of all shark and ray species now face extinction
Source: Nicholas K. Dulvy, et al. Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology, 2021.
Vaping is linked to eating disorder risk among U.S. college students
sciencecodex.com – A new study published in the journal Eating Behaviors found that vaping or e-cigarette use is associated with a heighted risk of developing an eating disorder among US college students. This finding is particularly important given the common use of vape pens and e-cigarettes and an increase in the prevalence of eating disorders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic among young people. The study, which analyzed a sample of over 51,000 U.S.
Source: Kyle T. Ganson, Jason M. Nagata. Associations between vaping and eating disorder diagnosis and risk among college students. Eating Behaviors, 2021.
2021 Ig Nobel Prizes Honor Decongestant Orgasms, Rhino Transport
the-scientist.com – A full beard can absorb nearly 40 percent of the shock from a punch to the face, according to one winning study.
Source: Olcay Cem Bulut, Dare Oladokun, Burkard M. Lippert, Ralph Hohenberger. Can Sex Improve Nasal Function?—An Exploration of the Link Between Sex and Nasal Function. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal, 2021.
Is remote working good or bad? Big tech companies just can't seem to decide
zdnet.com – Mixed messaging around remote work has left me questioning whether tech companies are really invested in its future.
Source: Giuseppe Beppe Soda, Pier Vittorio Mannucci, Ronald Burt. Networks, Creativity, and Time: Staying Creative through Brokerage and Network Rejuvenation. Academy of Management Journal, 2021.
Extreme Pandemics Like COVID-19 Aren't Rare, We Roll The Dice Each Year
science20.com – COVID-19 is certainly worse than the SARS and MERS pandemics that occurred a few years prior, and the reasons why SARS-CoV-2 is worse than those others is open for debate, but one thing is not; pandemics, even extreme ones, are not as rare as many believe.The big difference between pandemics now and those of prior generations is the prevalence of r
Source: Marco Marani, Gabriel G. Katul, William K. Pan, Anthony J. Parolari. Intensity and frequency of extreme novel epidemics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021.
We Don't Need Facebook Authoritarianism: Casual People Spot Fake News As Well As Paid Fact Checkers
science20.com – It has become common for political activists to demand that social media engage in bans and content warnings, because the other side is too stupid to know false facts from the real kind.
Source: Jennifer Allen, Antonio A. Arechar, Gordon Pennycook, David G. Rand. Scaling up fact-checking using the wisdom of crowds. Science Advances, 2021.
Butterflies containing not one, but two parasitic wasps, surviving after release on Finnish island
cbc.ca – Evolutionary biologist Anne Duplouy is surprised to see butterflies, containing wasps, continue to survive after an experiment moved them to a tiny Baltic Sea island. She has been tracking the orange and brown Glanville fritillary and its two stowaways, parasitic wasps, that emerge from the butterfly like Russian dolls.
Source: Anne Duplouy, Abhilash Nair, Toshka Nyman, Saskya Nouhuys. Long‐term spatiotemporal genetic structure of an accidental parasitoid introduction, and local changes in prevalence of its associated Wolbachia symbiont. Molecular Ecology, 2021.
