An incredible video captured from the International Space Station shows an aurora from above, rippling with unusual green light. @ScienceAlert has more, including what causes these amazing displays:
science
Long before Gates or Jobs, 6 women programmed the first digital computer.
The first computer had a strange, fascinating beginning.
By Brad Jones and Luke Larsen via @digitaltrends
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/remembering-eniac-and-the-women-who-programmed-it/
Poverty may kickstart the next pandemic
Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page
This Triple-Layer Sunlight Catalyst Supercharges Green Hydrogen by 800%
Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page
What human industry has done since 1990, pumping nearly a *trillion* tons of CO2 into the air, has no precedent. Never before in Earth’s history has so much carbon dioxide been added to the atmosphere over such a short period of time.
Now our planet is heating up fast, thanks to all these greenhouse gases in the air. That extra heat is not good for people, and it's ALSO not good for trees...
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Trees are struggling to sequester heat-trapping carbon dioxide in warmer, drier climates, meaning that they may no longer serve as a solution for offsetting humanity's carbon footprint as the planet continues to warm, according to a new study.
"We found that trees in warmer, drier climates are essentially coughing instead of breathing," said Max Lloyd, assistant research professor of geosciences at Penn State. "They are sending CO2 right back into the atmosphere far more than trees in cooler, wetter conditions."
Through the process of photosynthesis, trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere to produce new growth. Yet, under stressful conditions, trees release CO2 back to the atmosphere, a process called photorespiration. With an analysis of a global dataset of tree tissue, the research team demonstrated that the rate of photorespiration is up to two times higher in warmer climates, especially when water is limited.
They found the threshold for this response in subtropical climates begins to be crossed when average daytime temperatures exceed roughly 68 degrees Fahrenheit [20.3C] and worsens as temperatures rise further.
The results complicate a widespread belief about the role of plants in helping to draw down carbon from the atmosphere, providing new insight into how plants could adapt to climate change. Importantly, the researchers noted that as the climate warms, their findings demonstrate that plants could be less able to draw CO2 out of the atmosphere and assimilate the carbon necessary to help the planet cool down.
"We have knocked this essential cycle off balance," Lloyd said. "Plants and climate are inextricably linked. The biggest draw-down of CO2 from our atmosphere is photosynthesizing organisms. It's a big knob on the composition of the atmosphere, so that means small changes have a large impact."
Plants currently absorb an estimated 25% of the CO2 emitted by human activities each year, but this percentage is likely to decrease in the future as the climate warms, Lloyd explained, especially if water is scarcer.
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So, that's very bad. We used to think extra CO2 might make trees grow faster and absorb more CO2, but it turns that notion is wrong. It doesn't work that way.
And guess what — it also turns out that pumping a trillion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in only a few decades was a terrible idea.
FULL STORY -- https://phys.org/news/2024-01-trees-struggle-climate.html
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
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Today’s the International Day of Women & Girls in #Science!
So go celebrate & explore the growing list of inspiring pioneers & trailblazers of #HistoryRemix!
We are working on the best way of sharing the 1,000 Magazines we've federated, but in the meantime, here's a taste of what you can now follow, which includes Magazines about news, politics, technology, science food, culture, travel, sports, and much more.
@adventure-travel-outside by Outside
@apple-news-theverge by The Verge
@artificial-intelligence-and-misinformation-NewsLitProject by The News Literacy Project
@arts-culture-Smithsonianmag by Smithsonian
@axios-local-san-francisco-AxiosNews by Axios
@beauty-HelloBeautiful by Hello Beautiful
@business-Semafor by Semafor
@climate-tech-BloombergGreen by Bloomberg Green
@eater-dc-Eater by Eater
@ebikes-NewAtlas by New Atlas
@environment-energy-ConversationUS by The Conversation
@explore-nyc-thrillist by Thrillist
@family-travel-FrommersMag by Frommers
@fashion-forward-Refinery29 by Refinery 29
@fast-co-design-FastCompany by Fast Company
@film-IndieWire by IndieWire
@gardening-and-plants-TheSpruceMakes by The Spruce
@healthy-eating-RealSimple by Real Simple
@history-Worldatlascom by WorldAtlas
@humans-ScienceAlert by ScienceAlert
@immigration-AxiosNews by Axios
@los-angeles-lakers-fansided by Fansided
@national-security-TheIntercept by The Intercept
@news-straight-from-space-Mashable by Mashable
@philosophy-ancient-modern-thecollector by The Collector
@politics-society-ConversationUS by The Conversation
@russia-ukraine-crisis-euronews by EuroNews
@stories-of-black-america-theculturedesk by Flipboard’s The Culture Desk
@throwbacks-SPINMag by SPIN
@wellness-Allure by Allure
@zora-Medium by Medium
#Flipboard #Federation #Fediverse #OpenSocialWeb #News #Science #Technology #Lifestyle #Sports #Culture
Edited 1y ago
Bonus panel here: http://smbc-comics.com/comic/temp
#smbc #hiveworks #comics #webcomics #science
Just found a new (to me) psychology phrase: "pluralistic ignorance". It refers to people holding one view but mistakenly assuming that the majority of others hold a different view, so they keep quiet. Very relevant for climate change action, where lots want action but think they're in the minority.
Ed Dwight was denied the opportunity to be the first Black astronaut. Now 90, Dwight is getting his due in a new National Geographic documentary “The Space Race.” Read more from the Associated Press. https://flip.it/kjAxvr
#Space #Science #NASA #NationalGeographic #Astronaut
An article in the journal Hormones and Behavior has challenged researchers to move beyond thinking of "biological sex" as a simple binary.
I found it fascinating- dense and practical and nothing like what the sterotype of liberal thinking infiltrating the sciences. #trans #lgbtq #science #news
https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/biological-sex-nonbinary-science
You wouldn't think feeding of newborn babies would be controversial, but the anti-trans movement is full of surprises. This week, they came out firmly in opposition to nourishing precious new life, while the trans community took the other side.
#trans #transgender #humor #science #news
https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/gender-crits-against-breastfeeding-why
Born in 1906, computer scientist Grace Hopper invented the first compiler for computer programming language & was among the first programmers of the Harvard Mk1 computer.
Hopper popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages & paved the way to develop COBOL (an early high-level programming language). She originated the term "bug" to describe computer glitches & became a celebrated Rear Admiral in the US Navy. https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service #science #history
The total solar eclipse on April 8 is part of a repeating pattern of eclipses that last visited North America in 1970. Live Science explains why the same eclipse repeats every 54 years. https://flip.it/DgRlwI
#Science #SolarEclipse #Sun #Moon
looking for something to watch this weekend? "Trans People & Biological Sex: What the Science Says" started as a talk I've given at colleges & conferences, now updated & free for YouTube! addresses virtually all trans-skeptical talking points, as well as intra-community debates about "born this way" & "true trans":
https://youtu.be/ZymYiwoRoC0
#trans #transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #science #biology #sex #feminism
In the frigid outer solar system, beyond Pluto, dwarf planets appear to be surprisingly dynamic worlds.
The JWST observatory sees chemical signs of geologic activity on distant dwarf planets Eris and Makemake.
https://www.swri.org/press-release/swri-scientists-find-evidence-of-geothermal-activity-within-icy-dwarf-planets #science #space #astronomy
[note: image is an illustration]
Using a 13-inch (33-cm) telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Clyde W. Tombaugh, a 24-year-old American with no formal training in astronomy, discovered the dwarf planet Pluto #OTD in 1930.
The music of the spheres : A nature lover's astronomy by Grondal discusses Pluto as well as many other planets:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70382
More about Pluto at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Pluto&submit_search=Go%21
Trans women breastfeeding is back in the news. I took a deep look at the science for Slate this past July, because trans women breastfeeding is just so cool, and understanding neat #science stuff is my passion.
https://slate.com/technology/2023/07/trans-women-breastfeeding-safe-mumsnet.html
In all of recorded human history — and probably for at least the last 100,000 years — our planet has never been as hot in the month of February as it is right now.
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February is on course to break a record number of heat records, meteorologists say. A little over halfway into the shortest month of the year, the heating spike has become so pronounced that climate charts are entering new territory, particularly for sea-surface temperatures that have persisted and accelerated to the point where expert observers are struggling to explain how the change is happening.
“The planet is warming at an accelerating rate. We are seeing rapid temperature increases in the ocean, the climate’s largest reservoir of heat,” said Dr Joel Hirschi, of the UK National Oceanography Centre. “The amplitude by which previous sea surface temperatures records were beaten in 2023 and now 2024 exceed expectations, though understanding why this is, is the subject of ongoing research.”
Humanity is on a trajectory to experience the hottest February in recorded history, after a record January, December, November, October, September, August, July, June, and May, according to Berkeley Earth scientist Zeke Hausfather.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/17/february-on-course-to-break-unprecedented-number-of-heat-records
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
Mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born #OTD in 1473.
The publication of Copernicus's model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, just before his death in 1543, was a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making a pioneering contribution to the Scientific Revolution. via @wikipedia
Books by Nicolaus Copernicus at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/6426
This *should* be front-page headline news every day, leading every TV newscast.
But it's not. Why? Because if it was, that might deter us from accepting the perpetuation of Business As Usual.
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If global temperatures increase by 1° Celsius or more above their current levels, billions of people will face wet-bulb temperatures every year so intense that their bodies will not be able to naturally cool themselves.
Indeed, if global temperatures exceed 2° above pre-industrial levels, four billion people will encounter intolerable heat and humidity on a yearly basis, often in regions where air conditioning and other forms of relief are not widely available. That could include more than two billion people in Pakistan and India, one billion in eastern China, and 800 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Once global temperatures rise 3° above pre-industrial levels, much of the U.S. Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest will also regularly experience unlivable wet-bulb temperatures.
There is no universe in which this development will not lead to millions of deaths. "It is important to understand that wet-bulb temperatures of 95°F (35°C) are not conditions we can just get used to," said Dr. Peter Reiners, a professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona. "Human bodies have fundamental physiological limits; our planet's perturbed, angry climate doesn't care about them."
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We're already at, or close to, 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures. And 2°C is not far away.
At the rate we're going, BILLIONS of people soon will be at grave risk of death from climate chaos.
FULL ARTICLE -- https://www.salon.com/2023/10/16/heat-is-making-our-planet-uninhabitable-why-isnt-this-the-top-news-story-around-the-world/
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateEmergency #Capitalism #BusinessAsUsual
Edited 1y ago
Your periodic reminder that Stellarium is an amazing planetarium tool. Free, #OpenSource and very easy to use. There are desktop apps, mobile apps and a web version.
Why are there so many snakes? 🐍
@popsci reports: "Thousands of species of snakes slither across the globe. Researchers think this is a product of a mysterious singularity event."
For similar stories, follow "Animals, Animals, Animals" by Mashable: @animals-animals-animals-Mashable