Wind energy is the largest source of renewable energy in the United States, and second largest in the world after hydropower.[1] A commonly reported critique of wind energy is that birds sometimes die from collision with its associated infrastructure, such as turbines and transmission lines.[2] This issue is givenContinue Reading
image credit The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Publich Health SUMMARY In August 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized bivalent COVID-19 vaccine formulations as single booster doses. These bivalent formulations contain messenger RNA (mRNA) from the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and mRNA present in the BA.4 and BA.5Continue Reading
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, long before vaccines became available, many countries acted to curb the spread of the virus by imposing restrictions on people’s movement called lockdowns. Lockdowns have saved lives by reducing the physical interactions between infected and uninfected people, which in turn reduces transmissionContinue Reading
1.5 is an important number in climate science. It is the recommended target, in degrees Celsius, to which global warming should be limited relative to preindustrial levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate science[1]. Further, the legally binding Paris Agreement tasksContinue Reading
Science has shown consistently that adding CO2 to the atmosphere is changing the climate in various ways, including raising the surface temperature of the oceans and atmosphere. One of the climate change mitigation technologies is carbon capture and storage (CCS), where CO2 is captured from power plants and other industrialContinue Reading
Key results 1. A study of 490 “misinformation superspreaders” (here defined as accounts that have repeatedly published popular tweets linking to known misinformation) shows that their collective popularity has significantly grown (on average, +42% interactions per tweet) since Elon Musk took effective control of the platform on 27 October 2022.Continue Reading
SUMMARY Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical that has been used for decades to make certain plastics and resins. These materials are used as a coating in food and drink cans and reusable water bottles, from which small amounts of BPA can leach into foods and drinks. The use ofContinue Reading
Anatomy of an anti-vax fact-check: Consider the Source, Check the Site, Confirm the Content. Who made the claim, who published it, where’s the evidence?Continue Reading
Mainstream media contributes significantly to the infectious spread of conspiracy fantasies. But it could hold the cure.Continue Reading
As sea levels rise, coastal regions will face a number of negative impacts, including flooding, submerged land, and loss or changes in marine ecosystems[1]. Roughly 900 million people – or 11% of the world’s population – lived in low-lying coastal cities and settlements in 2020[2]; a figure that is projectedContinue Reading
There is no doubt about it – climate science can be complex. But sometimes this complexity is mistaken for uncertainty. A recurring example is our scientific understanding of carbon dioxide’s (CO2) effects as a greenhouse gas[2]. However, the evidence for CO2 as a greenhouse gas is well-established and is builtContinue Reading
This past summer was the hottest ever recorded…again. As monthly heat records fell one by one worldwide, wildfires also became front-page news throughout 2023. From across North America, Greece, Chile, Algeria, and Kazakhstan among many others, wildfires burned uncontrollably. The striking orange New York City skyline was the result ofContinue Reading
Flora Teoh, PhD, Science Editor at Health Feedback, was invited to speak at the session on “Best practices in science journalism, experiences” on 8 June 2023 at the European Science-Media Hub (ESMH) Summer School “Storytelling in Science” , held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France from 6 to 10Continue Reading