This story originally appeared on Mother Jones and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. As President Donald Trump sees it, environmental regulations that attempt to improve efficiency and address climate change only
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In 1876, Peter Guthrie Tait set out to measure what he called the “beknottedness” of knots. The Scottish mathematician, whose research laid the
From growing smaller leaves to shape-shifting its insides, a desert flowering plant goes all in to flourish in the harshest of conditions. Summer temperatures in Death Valley National Park frequently exceed 50° Celsius
The jewels nabbed in the Louvre heist may still be at large, but scientists have just closed the case on another gemstone mystery: what gives rare ammolite gems their rainbow shimmer. Ammolite comes
the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas recently reached its perihelion, the point at which it is closest to the sun. It will now move away from the star at about 210,000 kilometers per hour until
Hidden beneath all their rum-pum-pumming, woodpeckers are quietly grunt-grunt-grunting. The birds exhale with each strike, much like a tennis pro groaning through a stroke. Elaborate coordination between those breaths and muscles across the
Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the
McKenzie Prillaman is a science and health journalist based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in science communication from the
Last month, The US Food and Drug Administration approved a new blood test for assisting the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Produced by Roche, Elecsys pTau181 measures the concentration of a specific molecule—a phosphorylated
Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the
