NASA's Newest Planet Hunter Will Do What Kepler Couldn't
On April 16, NASA is planning to launch its Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. TESS is an Earth-orbiting instrument meant to spot faraway planets circling some 200,000 stars within 300 light-years of Earth. Astronomers hopes that TESS will help them learn whether or not there…
Senator Dianne Feinstein Proposes Bill to Get Hormone-Disrupting Phthalates Out of Food Packaging
Noted GMG fave Senator Feinstein (D-CA) is set to wage a new crusade in a wake of a sobering study published this week: She wants to get hormone-disrupting chemicals known as phthalates out of our food packaging.
The USDA Just Gave the Green Light to CRISPR'd Food
For nearly two years now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been quietly giving the go-ahead to a handful of crops that have been genetically engineered using CRISPR. Editing the DNA of people and animals may be controversial, but when it comes to plants, the agency has taken the stance that as long as the…
Science Journal Retracts Paper That Sparked CRISPR Panic
Last May, a journal published results suggesting that the revolutionary gene-editing technique CRISPR might actually be quite dangerous. The paper caused a bit of turmoil in the biotech world, which is looking to CRISPR as a major disease-fighting tool of the future. But it didn’t take long for the study to attract…
Watch Sea Turtles Awkwardly Try to Use Their Flippers as Arms
Sea turtle flippers might appear to be useful for swimming and... not much else. But it turns out at least some turtles them have figured out a way to use these appendages like an awkward pair of arms.
The Scientists Who Sparked CRISPR Panic Couldn't Reproduce Their Study Results
Last summer, a study claiming that the gene-editing technique CRISPR might actually be dangerous whipped labs around the biotech world into a frenzy. Researchers found that when they used CRISPR to cure blindness by changing DNA in mice, it resulted in not just a few but more than a thousand unintended effects on…
Deaths From Synthetic Opioids Doubled from 2015 to 2016
In 2016, 63,632 people in the US died from a drug overdose, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded. And many more of those deaths were caused by potent opioids obtained on the streets than in years past.
Thousands of UK Teens Will Help Settle a Vaccine Debate Over Meningitis
Scientists in the UK are looking to recruit thousands of teens (presumably with attitude) to help them settle a debate over whether vaccines for a certain type of meningitis should be in wider use.
There’s Now a National Campaign to Oust EPA Head Scott Pruitt
To say Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt doesn’t have many fans in the environmental justice, conservation, or climate communities is an understatement. On Wednesday, ten major environmental groups announced they’re totally done with Pruitt by launching a coordinated campaign to oust him under…
So, About the Satellite That's About to Crash Into Earth...
I love clicks as much as the next online journalist. I love that there is an uncertain thing happening, with infinite angles to write about and to scare people with. But as the Chinese Tiangong-1 satellite nears its final descent to Earth this weekend, I need to remind you: It’s not a big deal.
The Complex Legacy of World War I's Women Scientists
During World War I, far away from the lines of battle, the UK was faced with a different crisis. As thousands of khaki-clad “Tommies” shipped off to the front, the British economy teetered on the cusp of grinding to a halt. With the men gone, the task of keeping the country’s lights on fell to women. British women…
Many Restaurant Meals Come With a Side of Hormone-Disrupting Phthalates
The more you dine out, the more you’re getting exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals known as phthalates, suggests a new study published Wednesday in the journal Environment International.