Nov 03 100 years later, the madness of daylight saving time endures By Michael Downing, The Conversation One hundred years after Congress passed the first daylight saving legislation, more and more people are doubting the wisdom of changing the clocks. Continue reading
Nov 01 How llamas could help us fight the flu By Vicky Stein Researchers now think they’re on the path to universal flu protection. The source of their new defense: llamas. Continue reading
Oct 31 Watch 7:53 Battle over phosphate mining roils small Florida town By Alan Toth, Laura Newberry Phosphate mining is a major industry in Florida, but it’s also a major source of pollution, responsible for red tide, toxic algal blooms and killing wildlife. In the northern part of the state, residents of a small town are resisting… Continue watching
Oct 27 How do bomb squads assess a suspicious package? By Prachi Patel , Scientific American Explosives experts use a combination of x-ray scans, chemical swabs and other tools to evaluate the parcel. Continue reading
Oct 25 Hazardous space junk is piling up. Can this satellite help? By Vicky Stein More than a half a million pieces of trash whiz at more than 17,000 miles per hour around the planet, threatening the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station and the functionality of satellites scattered across low Earth orbit. Continue reading
Oct 24 Watch 7:30 Does fear of reporting their own mental illness put doctors at risk of suicide? By Patrick Terpstra North Carolina physician Mitchell Hardison took his life and he isn’t alone. Studies show physicians have higher suicide rates than the general population. Hardison’s family says he felt discouraged by the medical community to seek mental health care. It’s raising… Continue watching
Oct 24 In a crash, should self-driving cars save passengers or pedestrians? 2 million people weigh in By Jamie Leventhal Researchers are using an online computer program to gauge how humans respond to tough ethical decisions involving AI technology for driverless vehicles. The results could inform car manufacturers and policy makers on how driverless vehicles should behave in life-or-death scenarios. Continue reading
Oct 22 The medical mystery that helped make Thomas Edison an inventor By Dr. Howard Markel Deafness allowed Edison to shut himself off from “all the meaningless sound that normal people hear.” But what caused his deafness is still debated by doctors and hearing experts to this day. Continue reading
Oct 21 America's archaeology data keeps disappearing – even though the law says the government is supposed to preserve it By Keith Kintigh, The Conversation About 30,000 legally mandated archaeological investigations are conducted each year in the U.S. These projects are usually documented only in so-called “gray literature” reports that, in most cases, are not readily accessible, even to professional archaeologists. Continue reading
Oct 21 With genome sequencing, some sick infants are getting a shot at healthy lives By Meghana Keshavan, STAT Scientists say the data show over and over that early diagnosis of genetic disorders not only saves lives, but can keep long-term health care costs down. Continue reading