William Vickrey, an undergraduate studying mathematics and electrical engineering at Yale in the 1930s, was on a train from New Haven to visit his parents in Westchester County when he had an observation that seemed to clarify his life’s purpose. There were empty seats all around him. Instead of simply enjoying the quiet, he perceived … Read more
Some 4.5 billion years ago, the dwarf planet Pluto was suddenly joined by a companion. For a very brief period — perhaps only hours — they danced as if arm in arm before gently separating, a grand do-si-do that resulted in Pluto and its quintet of moons orbiting the sun together today. Astronomers have long … Read more
It’s too soon to know the financial cost of the wildfires burning around Los Angeles. But the toll on California’s troubled insurance market could be enormous. The fires struck just as California officials have been working to stop insurance companies from fleeing their state. That exodus, driven by rising losses from wildfires that have grown … Read more
Water fluoridation is widely seen as one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century, credited with widely reducing tooth decay. But there has been growing controversy among scientists about whether fluoride may be linked to lower I.Q. scores in children. A comprehensive federal analysis of scores of previous studies, published this week … Read more
One of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s biggest “drill, baby, drill” initiatives suffered a significant setback on Wednesday as the Interior Department announced that a lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended without a single bidder. The sale, which was required by Congress, marks the second time in four years that an effort to … Read more
Mark Sutton, an Imperial College London paleontologist, is not a punk. “I’m more of a folk and country person,” he said. But when Dr. Sutton pieced together 3-D renderings of a tiny fossil mollusk, he was struck by the spikes that covered its wormlike body. “This is like a classic punk hairstyle, the way it’s … Read more
A Louisiana patient who had been hospitalized with severe bird flu has died, the first such fatality in the United States, state health officials reported on Monday. The patient was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, the officials said. The individual became infected with the bird flu virus, H5N1, after exposure to a … Read more
Hundreds of brush fires and wildfires have sparked all over the New York City region. Hilary Howard, who covers climate change and the environment in the region, explains what’s happening. Source link
Much of the food we eat is grown with synthetic fertilizer, which is a huge source of climate change. But now, a seed with DNA-modified bacteria is reducing the amount of synthetic fertilizer that farmers have to apply to their fields. Eric Lipton, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains. Source link
How did Hurricane Milton, and Hurricane Helene before it, get so strong, so fast? Raymond Zhong, a reporter focusing on climate and environmental issues for The New York Times, explains. Source link