Jan 13 Here’s another reason to worry about your baby’s nap schedule By Anna Sillers A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that babies who took an extended nap after learning new behaviors are able to retain new skills better than babies who did not sleep. Continue reading
Jan 12 Re-examined fossils reveal motorboat-sized marine reptile once swam in Scotland’s seas By Lorna Baldwin No, it's not the mythical Loch Ness monster, but 170 million years ago Dearcmhara shawcrossi prowled the warm coastal waters of Scotland in pursuit of fish and other reptiles. Scientists announced the discovery of the previously unknown prehistoric marine reptile in… Continue reading
Jan 11 Watch 1:49 Monarch butterflies could get endangered species status By PBS News Hour Every year, millions of North American monarch butterflies head south for the winter -- but recently their numbers have plummeted by up to 90 percent. In Washington, responding to a petition submitted by conservation organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife… Continue watching
Jan 07 Watch 2:08 NewsHour Shares: Bill Gates drinks water purified from waste By PBS News Hour Human waste is being turned into drinkable water at a treatment plant in Washington state, with funding by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In our NewsHour Shares video of the day, we see how the pioneering idea could be… Continue watching
Jan 07 Watch 9:30 While the drone industry grows faster than the flick of a joystick, regulation lags By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Jan 07 Climate change and fertilizer runoff spell bad news for Lake Erie By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy Record algae blooms in Lake Erie were a result of weather patterns altered by climate change. Continue reading
Jan 07 How communism turned Cuba into an island of hackers and DIY engineers By Jenny Marder Just outside Havana, in the childhood bedroom of illustrator Edel Rodriguez, a washing machine engine welded to a boat propeller has become a makeshift fan. This kind of cobbled-together contraption is common in Cuba. So are stoves that run on… Continue reading
Jan 07 Photo essay: The bizarre, brilliant and useful inventions of Cuban DIY engineers By Travis Daub, Jenny Marder Long walled off from world trade and modern technology, Cuba has developed a robust culture of DIY engineers who turn household items into useful inventions. Water pump motors propel bicycles, clothes dryers are repurposed into coconut shredders. Cuban artist Ernesto… Continue reading
Jan 07 You can read a star’s age by its spin By Justin Scuiletti It turns out, like us, stars slow down in their old age. That observation is the key to a new method astronomers are using to accurately tell the age of cool stars — stars that match the size of, or… Continue reading
Jan 06 Hubble’s new high-definition pic shows Pillars of Creation fading away and stars being born By Rebecca Jacobson, Inside Energy In 1995, the Hubble Telescope snapped a stunning photo in the Eagle Nebula, 6,500 light years from Earth. The photo revealed three gigantic columns of cold gas, illuminated by the ultraviolet light from nearby young stars. The Pillars of Creation… Continue reading