Science

Western states face a bleak future amid the worst drought in more than 1,000 years

The so-called megadrought that is afflicting the American West is the worst in 1,200 years, according to a study published this week. It has dried up water supplies, threatened ranchers and fueled wildfires. Park Williams, the lead author of the…

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How Galileo’s groundbreaking works got banned

By Dr. Howard Markel

Born on this day 458 years ago, Galileo refused to be silent about how the solar system worked.

West’s megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years

By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

Monday's study says the megadrought is now the worst-case scenario officials and scientists worried about in the 1900s. The drought deepened so much in 2021 that it is 5 percent worse than the old record in the late 1500s.

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By Mojtaba Sadegh, John Abatzoglou, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, The Conversation

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NASA’s new space telescope sees 1st starlight, takes selfie

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

Officials for the James Webb Space Telescope said Friday that all 18 segments of the primary mirror seem to be working properly 1 1/2 months into the mission.

Egg producers shift as public demand for cage-free hens grows

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The nation's egg producers are in the midst of a multibillion-dollar shift to cage-free eggs that is dramatically changing the lives of millions of hens in response to new laws and demands from restaurant chains.

How Olympic ski jumpers toe the line between falling and flying

By Amy Pope, The Conversation

Ski jumpers do everything they can to counteract the effects of gravity and fly as far as they can down hills.

Why Lyme and other tick-borne diseases are on the rise

By Ula Chrobak, Knowable Magazine

The complex interplay of ticks, their habitats and hosts — along with changes in land use and climate — may be enabling the spread of the pathogens they carry.