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Articles by Aina Abell
How a Yurok family played a key role in the world’s largest dam removal project
The Water Remembers Amy Bowers Cordalis Little Brown & Co., $30 In September 2002, an estimated 34,000 to 78,000 adult Chinook salmon died in the Klamath River within the Yurok Reservation in Northern California. The U.S. government had diverted river water to farms during a drought.
50 years ago, chronic pain mystified scientists
Science and the sources of pain — Science News, October 26, 1974 Chronic pain is no small problem for thousands of Americans. They take analgesics, sedatives or tranquilizers. They seek out chiropractors, acupuncturists or even miracle workers. Often they are not helped, at least over the long run…. The reason that so many people aren’t getting relief from pain is that clinicians still aren’t sure what pain is and how to treat it.
Can solar farms and crop farms coexist? Original
Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet's changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can lead to extreme weather events? McCall: Argivoltaics is a term for the colocation of solar and agricultural activities, such as grazing, crop production and also ecological restoration. Sujith: Argivoltaics has multiple benefits, both for the farmers and for the solar developers.
50 years ago, scientists suspected that lost sense of smell could be restored
P.P.C. Graziadei and J.F. Metcalf of Florida State University have been producing … ever more detailed, evidence for olfactory nerve regeneration in mammals…. Might olfactory nerves be regenerated in people who have trouble smelling, thereby restoring or improving their sense of smell? “The phenomena of regeneration are applicable to all vertebrates and most likely to humans,” says Graziadei.
50 years ago, scientists suspected that lost sense of smell could be restored
P.P.C. Graziadei and J.F. Metcalf of Florida State University have been producing … ever more detailed, evidence for olfactory nerve regeneration in mammals…. Might olfactory nerves be regenerated in people who have trouble smelling, thereby restoring or improving their sense of smell? “The phenomena of regeneration are applicable to all vertebrates and most likely to humans,” says Graziadei.
Chemists turned plastic waste into tiny bars of soap
The time may be coming to wash our hands of plastic trash. Literally. About 60 percent of all plastic ever made ends up in landfills or littering the environment. Only about one-tenth of plastic waste is ever recycled, and much of that ends up being low-quality material reused in things like park benches (SN: 1/27/21). So chemists are searching for ways to “upcycle” plastic into more valuable raw materials. Now, there’s a way to turn old plastic into surfactants, researchers report in the Aug.
Many sports supplements have no trace of their key ingredients
Fat incinerator. Metabolism booster. Thermo activator. Some over-the-counter sports supplements advertise ingredients with purported performance-enhancing properties, but it’s anyone’s guess what’s really in that pill or powder. Just 11 percent of nearly 60 tested dietary supplements actually contain an accurate amount of key ingredients listed on the label, scientists report July 17 in JAMA Network Open. Forty percent did not contain a detectable amount of the ingredients at all.
Human embryo replicas have gotten more complex. Here’s what you need to know Original
Some newly reported clumps of cells growing in lab dishes have been hailed as the closest things to human embryos that scientists have ever made in the lab. These entities are human embryo models — masses of cells created from stem cells that mimic some properties of certain stages of embryo development. The achievement gives researchers a chance to look at human development beyond the first week or so, when an embryo must implant in the uterus to develop further.
With a new body mapping technique, mouse innards glow with exquisite detail
A mouse’s entire nervous system lights up in psychedelic hues. Clumps of immune cells attacking tumors give off a ghostly glow. The vessels that make up the body’s sewer system flare brightly. These and other images are shining a new light on the inner workings of mice, thanks to a new technique that makes whole body imaging cheaper and faster, researchers report July 10 in Nature Biotechnology. See-through mice are nothing new (SN: 8/14/14).
'Milking’ umbilical cords may help some sickly newborns Original
Giving birth to child who is unresponsive or struggling to breathe is a harrowing experience. The medical team must quickly cut the umbilical cord and then rush the baby to aid. But taking a few seconds to squeeze blood from the cord into an infant’s abdomen before cutting the cord could help with the infant’s recovery, two recent studies suggest. The practice, known as umbilical cord milking, is relatively unknown and not without some controversy.
Iron deficiency goes unnoticed in too many U.S. female adolescents
Many female adolescents in the United States may not have enough iron in their bodies. But most may never know, partly due to a lack of routine screenings as well as disagreement over what constitutes too little iron, pediatric hematologist Angela Weyand argues. Iron deficiencies are most commonly diagnosed in toddlers, people who menstruate and pregnant people.
New Alzheimer’s drugs are coming. Here's what you need to know
Yet another new drug can temporarily hold off the mental decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease, scientists say. The drug, called donanemab, slowed cognitive decline by about 35 percent over the course of a year and a half, according to data presented July 17 at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam and published the same day in JAMA.
A new device can detect the coronavirus in the air in minutes Original
If you’ve ever thought it would be great to walk into a room and know whether the virus that causes COVID-19 is hanging around, scientists have a device for you. Researchers have created a machine a little bigger than a toaster that can detect airborne SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in minutes. It takes only five minutes to detect as few as seven to 35 viral particles per liter of air, researchers report July 10 in Nature Communications.
50 years ago, scientists thought coffee might treat hyperactivity
Good (for hyperkinesis) to the last drop – Science News, July 14, 1973 [Hyperactive] children are sometimes given amphetamines to calm them down.… [A researcher] took 11 such children off medication and gave them one cup of coffee at breakfast and lunch…. Teachers and parents rated the children as less hyperactive during the three-week period they were getting coffee instead of amphetamines. Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder affects about 6 million U.S. children.
50 years ago, scientists thought coffee might treat hyperactivity
Good (for hyperkinesis) to the last drop – Science News, July 14, 1973 [Hyperactive] children are sometimes given amphetamines to calm them down.… [A researcher] took 11 such children off medication and gave them one cup of coffee at breakfast and lunch…. Teachers and parents rated the children as less hyperactive during the three-week period they were getting coffee instead of amphetamines. Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder affects about 6 million U.S. children.
Taurine slows aging in mice. Will it ever work for people? Original
An ingredient common in energy drinks and baby formula makes mice healthier and extends their life spans. It also appears to make worms live longer and improves the health of middle-aged monkeys, a large international group of scientists reports in the June 9 Science. The ingredient, an amino acid called taurine, is made by our bodies, and we eat it in meats (SN: 7/21/22).
Satellite data reveal nearly 20,000 previously unknown deep-sea mountains Original
The number of known mountains in Earth’s oceans has roughly doubled. Global satellite observations have revealed nearly 20,000 previously unknown seamounts, researchers report in the April Earth and Space Science. Just as mountains tower over Earth’s surface, seamounts also rise above the ocean floor. The tallest mountain on Earth, as measured from base to peak, is Mauna Kea, which is part of the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain.
‘Jet packs’ and ultrasounds could reveal secrets of pregnant whale sharks Original
How do you know if the world’s largest living fish is expecting babies? Not by her bulging belly, it turns out. Scientists thought that an enlarged area on the undersides of female whale sharks was a sign of pregnancy. But a technique used for the first time on free-swimming animals showed only skin and muscle. These humps might instead be a secondary sex characteristic on mature females, like breasts on humans, researchers report in the March 23 Endangered Species Research.
Where does plastic go when we’re done with it?
Human-made plastic materials have become so essential that it can be hard to grasp that they barely existed a century ago. At my desk, I’m typing on a plastic keyboard, scrolling a plastic mouse, picking up a plastic pen, tapping on a plastic calculator. Day after day, more plastic enters my life, whether it’s a shampoo bottle, a plastic clamshell of grapes or new running shoes.
50 years ago, researchers discovered a leak in Earth’s oceans Original
Oceans may be shrinking — Science News, March 10, 1973 The oceans of the world may be gradually shrinking, leaking slowly away into the Earth’s mantle…. Although the oceans are constantly being slowly augmented by water carried up from Earth’s interior by volcanic activity … some process such as sea-floor spreading seems to be letting the water seep away more rapidly than it is replaced.
50 years ago, scientists discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Original
Setting sail into a plastic sea —Science News, February 10, 1973 Scientists on an oceanographic voyage in the Central North Pacific last August became startled about the number of manmade objects littering the ocean surface. [Far from civilization and shipping lanes], they recorded 53 manmade objects in 8.2 hours of viewing. More than half were plastic. They go on to compute that there are between 5 million and 35 million plastic bottles adrift in the North Pacific.
These fish can recognize themselves in photos, hinting at self-awareness Original
Some fish can recognize their own faces in photos and mirrors, an ability usually attributed to humans and other animals considered particularly brainy, such as chimpanzees, scientists report. Finding the ability in fish suggests that self-awareness may be far more widespread among animals than scientists once thought.
We prioritize family over self, and that has real-world implications Original
A focus on family might be the key to personal well-being. Surveys in the social sciences, such as those measuring happiness or health, tend to focus on the smallest unit: the individual. But two new studies, each surveying over 10,000 people worldwide, show that primary unit of analysis may need scaling up. One study suggests that people adhere to public health guidelines less to protect themselves than their loved ones.
Are your cats having fun or fighting? Here are some ways to tell Original
Are your cats play fighting or fighting fur real? It turns out that certain behaviors in domestic cats could be telltale signs that an interaction is friendly, aggressive or something in between, researchers report January 26 in Scientific Reports. “It is a question we hear a lot from cat owners,” says cat behavior expert Mikel Delgado of Feline Minds, a cat behavior consulting company in Sacramento, Calif., who was not involved in the study.
Here are 7 new science museums and exhibitions to visit in 2023 Original
If you’re a museum aficionado itching for a new place to explore, 2023 has you covered. New science museums and exhibitions are opening, and some zoos are expanding. This sampling of destinations to check out in the new year or beyond has something for everyone, whether you’re a wildlife lover, space nerd or history buff. Grand Egyptian Museum Outside Cairo Opens: To be announced 2022 marked the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb (SN: 11/19/22, p. 14).
Birds that dive may be at greater risk of extinction Original
Birds that dive underwater — such as penguins, loons and grebes — may be more likely to go extinct than their nondiving kin, a new study finds. Many water birds have evolved highly specialized bodies and behaviors that facilitate diving. Now, an analysis of the evolutionary history of more than 700 water bird species shows that once a bird group gains the ability to dive, the change is irreversible.
Some young sea spiders can regrow their rear ends Original
No backside, no problem for some young sea spiders. The creatures can regenerate nearly complete parts of their bottom halves — including muscles, reproductive organs and the anus — or make do without them, researchers report January 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The ability to regrow body parts isn’t super common, but some species manage to pull it off. Some sea slug heads can craft an entirely new body (SN: 3/8/21).
Earth’s inner core may be reversing its rotation Original
Our planet may have had a recent change of heart. Earth’s inner core may have temporarily stopped rotating relative to the mantle and surface, researchers report in the January 23 Nature Geoscience. Now, the direction of the inner core’s rotation may be reversing — part of what could be a roughly 70-year-long cycle that may influence the length of Earth’s days and its magnetic field — though some researchers are skeptical.
A rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds Original
A crucial link in the life cycle of one parasitic plant may be found in a surprising place — the bellies of the descendants of an ancient line of rabbits. Given their propensity for nibbling on gardens and darting across suburban lawns, it can be easy to forget that rabbits are wild animals.
These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles Original
Animals cover themselves in all kinds of unsavory fluids to keep cool. Humans sweat, kangaroos spit and some birds will urinate on themselves to survive hot days. It turns out that echidnas do something much cuter — though perhaps just as sticky (and slightly icky) — to beat the heat. The spiny insectivores stay cool by blowing snot bubbles, researchers report January 18 in Biology Letters. The bubbles pop, keeping the critters’ noses moist.
Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’
Rare ‘dark lightning’ might briefly touch passengers when flying CHICAGO — More than electricity can illuminate a thundercloud. Brilliant bursts of gamma radiation, known as dark lightning or terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, also explode in lightning storms. And on rare occasions, those powerful blasts — the most energetic radiation to naturally arise on Earth — might even strike a passing airplane, researchers reported December 13 at the American Geophysical Union meeting.
Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’ Original
How Far the Light Reaches Sabrina Imbler Little, Brown & Co., $27 In How Far the Light Reaches, Sabrina Imbler shows us that the ocean, in all its mystery and dazzling glory, is queer — that is, the life that takes shape there challenges how we landlubbers perceive ways of being. This collection of essays tells the stories of 10 sea creatures, with Imbler, a queer and mixed-race writer, weaving in stories of their own family, self-discovery, sexuality and healing.
Extreme weather in 2022 showed the global impact of climate change Original
It was another shattering year. Climate change amped up weather extremes around the globe, smashing temperature records, sinking river levels to historic lows and raising rainfall to devastating highs. Droughts set the stage for wildfires and worsened food insecurity. Researchers found themselves pondering the limits of humans’ ability to tolerate extreme heat (SN: 7/27/22). The extreme events from 2022 pinpointed on the map below are just a sample of this year’s climate disasters.
2022's biggest climate change bill pushes clean energy Original
The world needed bold climate action this year, and we got it. California and other states announced plans to phase out gas-powered cars after 2035. The United States ratified an international treaty to slash production of the climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons used in cooling and refrigeration. The European Union is finalizing its plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent relative to 1990s levels by 2030. The list of legislative victories goes on.
Homo naledi may have lit fires in caves at least 236,000 years ago Original
An ancient hominid dubbed Homo naledi may have lit controlled fires in the pitch-dark chambers of an underground cave system, new discoveries hint.
Carvings on Australia's boab trees reveal a generation's lost history Original
Brenda Garstone is on the hunt for her heritage. Parts of her cultural inheritance are scattered across the Tanami desert in northwestern Australia, where dozens of ancient boab trees are engraved with Aboriginal designs. These tree carvings — called dendroglyphs — could be hundreds or even thousands of years old, yet have received almost no attention from western researchers. That is slowly starting to change.
Greenland’s frozen hinterlands are leaking ice faster than we thought Original
Sea level rise may proceed faster than expected in the coming decades, as a gargantuan flow of ice slithering out of Greenland’s remote interior both picks up speed and shrinks. By the end of the century, the ice stream’s deterioration could contribute to nearly 16 millimeters of global sea level rise — more than six times the amount scientists had previously estimated, researchers report November 9 in Nature.
Bizarre aye-aye primates take nose picking to the extreme Original
Aye-ayes are true champions of nose picking. A new video offers the first evidence that these nocturnal lemurs of Madagascar stick their fingers up their noses and lick off the mucus. They don’t use just any finger for the job, either. The primates go spelunking for snot with the ultralong, witchy middle finger they typically use to find and fish grubs out of tree bark.
Wind turbines could help capture carbon dioxide while providing power Original
Wind turbines could offer a double whammy in the fight against climate change. Besides harnessing wind to generate clean energy, turbines may help to funnel carbon dioxide to systems that pull the greenhouse gas out of the air (SN: 8/10/21). Researchers say their simulations show that wind turbines can drag dirty air from above a city or a smokestack into the turbines’ wakes. That boosts the amount of CO2 that makes it to machines that can remove it from the atmosphere.
Mountain lions pushed out by wildfires take more risks Original
Mountain lions have no interest in people, or the built-up areas we enjoy. But after a 2018 wildfire in California, local lions took more risks, crossing roads more often and moving around more in the daytime, scientists report October 20 in Current Biology. It’s another way the effects of human development could be putting pressure on vulnerable wildlife — in this case, potentially pushing them toward our bumpers.
Here’s what happened to the Delaware-sized iceberg that broke off Antarctica Original
It was the rift watched ‘round the world. In July 2017, after weeks of anticipation, a massive iceberg about the size of Delaware split from the Antarctic Peninsula (SN: 7/12/17). Satellite images show that the orphaned iceberg, known as A68, ultimately disintegrated in the Southern Ocean. Now, researchers say they have pieced together the powerful forces that led to that final breakup.
Heat waves in U.S. rivers are on the rise. Here's why that's a problem Original
U.S. rivers are getting into hot water. The frequency of river and stream heat waves is on the rise, a new analysis shows. Like marine heat waves, riverine heat waves occur when water temperatures creep above their typical range for five or more days (SN: 2/1/22). Using 26 years of United States Geological Survey data, researchers compiled daily temperatures for 70 sites in rivers and streams across the United States, and then calculated how many days each site experienced a heat wave per year.
Honeybees order numbers from left to right, a study claims Original
Like many humans, honeybees seem to prefer their numbers ordered from left to right. Honeybees trained to recognize a specific number tend to fly left when given two side-by-side options of a smaller number and right when the options represent a larger number, a new study claims. The finding suggests that honeybees have a “mental number line” and that this association has biological roots, researchers report October 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some seabirds survive typhoons by flying into them Original
Some seabirds don’t just survive storms. They ride them. Streaked shearwaters nesting on islands off Japan sometimes head straight toward passing typhoons, where they fly near the eye of the storm for hours at a time, researchers report in the Oct. 11 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This strange behavior — not reported in any other bird species — might help streaked shearwaters (Calonectris leucomelas) survive strong storms.
50 years ago, scientists found a new way to clean up oil spills Original
Oil on the waters — Science News, October 14, 1972 [In the late 1960s], about the best means of cleaning up oil was to put straw on it, then scoop up the oily straw by hand or with pitchforks. Now industry … has devised an arsenal of oil cleanup chemicals. Thin-layer chemicals can be used to herd oil together and to thicken it…. Chemicals are available as absorbents too. Still other chemicals … disperse oil throughout the water. Other chemicals show promise as oil-burning agents.
Tree-climbing carnivores called fishers are back in Washington’s forests Original
Holding an antenna above his head, Jeff Lewis crept through an evergreen forest in the Cascade mountains, southeast of Seattle. As he navigated fallen fir logs and dripping ferns, he heard it: a faint “beep” from a radio transmitter implanted in an animal code-named F023.
A metal ion bath may make fibers stronger than spider silk Original
Super strong artificial silk? That’s so metal. Giving revamped silkworm silk a metallic bath may make the strands both strong and stiff, scientists report October 6 in Matter. Some strands were up to 70 percent stronger than silk spun by spiders, the team found. The work is the latest in a decades-long quest to create fibers as strong, lightweight and biodegradable as spider silk. If scientists could mass-produce such material, the potential uses range from the biomedical to the athletic.
Here’s where jazz gets its swing Original
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing — all you’ve got to do is stagger your timing. For decades, fans of jazz music have debated why some songs have swing — the characteristic swaying feeling that compels feet to tap and heads to bop. Now, scientists may finally have an answer to Louis Armstrong’s classic song “What Is This Thing Called Swing?” and the secret lies in the timing of jazz soloists.
Marcos Simões-Costa asks how cells in the embryo get their identities Original
Growing up in Brazil, Marcos Simões-Costa often visited his grandparents’ farm in the Amazon. That immersion in nature — squawking toucans and all — sparked his fascination with science and evolution. But a video of a developing embryo, shown in his middle school science class, cemented his desire to become a developmental biologist. “It’s such a beautiful process,” he says.
How one scientist seeks to untangle the evolution of human hair Original
Though humans’ nearly hairless bodies stick out like a cowlick among other primates, our nakedness isn’t unique in the world of mammals. Dolphins and whales are naked, says biological anthropologist Tina Lasisi of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. There are naked mole-rats. “Elephants, depending on how you look at them, are kind of naked,” she says.
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