Science 2.0
How Do You Estimate The Economic Value Of A Clean Beach?
Millions of Americans head outdoors in the summer, whether for a day at a nearby lake or a monthlong road trip. For environmental economists like me, decisions by vacationers and outdoor recreators offer clues to a challenging puzzle: estimating what environmental resources are worth.
In 1981 President Ronald Reagan issued an executive order that required federal agencies to weigh the costs and benefits of proposed major new regulations, and in most cases to adopt them only if the benefits to society outweighed the costs. Reagan’s order was intended to promote environmental improvements without overburdening economic growth.
3.5 Billion Years Ago, Life Could Have Developed On The Moon Instead
In a new paper, astrobiologists say conditions on the lunar surface were sufficient to support simple lifeforms shortly after the moon formed from a debris disk 4 billion years ago and again during a peak in lunar volcanic activity around 3.5 billion years ago. During both periods, planetary scientists think the moon was spewing out large quantities of superheated volatile gases, including water vapor, from its interior.
How To Gamify Getting A Tenure Track Job
Poker players know to bet low when the odds are only modestly better and to bet high when the statistics show the cards in hand are strong. Timing matters, in jobs, in games, in lots of things.
Age-Related Wrinkles And Hair Loss Reversed In Mice
One aspect of aging is a decline in mitochondrial function.
A Hoax Academic Paper About How Politicians Wipe Their Butts Was Published - And I Did It
I had what seemed like rather a good idea a few weeks back. Building on some prominent findings in social psychology, I hypothesized that politicians on the right would wipe their bum with their left hand; and that politicians on the left would wipe with their right hand.
Ludicrous? Yes – absolutely. But for once my goal wasn’t to run a bona fide scientific study. Instead, I wanted to see if any “journal” would publish my ass-wiping “findings”.
Science 2.0 Explains: How Water Exists In Two Different Forms At The Molecular Level
But the story of water gets a lot more scientifically interesting the deeper you go. Water actually exists in two different forms, called isomers, at the molecular level.
They have almost identical physical properties, you can't tell the difference, but chemists can tell them apart by the relative orientation of the nuclear spins of the two hydrogen atoms. They are called ortho- or para-water depending on whether the spins are aligned in the same or opposite direction.
Marine Litter: The Public Mistakenly Trusts Environmental Groups, And That Impedes Progress
Marine litter is a big deal thanks to environmental publicity but it is highly exaggerated - think mercury in salmon, alar on apples, floating barges of garbage, estrogen in drinking water and more to get an idea of how these issues get magnified.
Hepatitis B In Africa Might Be Solved With A $20 Test
Sub-Saharan Africa has around 80 million people infected with hepatitis B, a liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus, but it infects around 250 million people worldwide. It can be a mild illness lasting a few weeks or a serious, lifelong condition. It is transmitted through blood and bodily fluids.
An accurate diagnostic score that consists of inexpensive blood tests costing around $20 could help diagnose thousands of patients with hepatitis B in need of treatment in some of Africa's poorest regions, far more affordable than the $100-500 for current tests.
Diabetes Raises Risk Of Cancer In Women, And Men, Sometimes
For women the risk is even higher, not just of cancer but also leukemia and cancers of the stomach, mouth and kidney. Men, however, had less risk for liver cancer. If none of that makes sense, you see the flaws in replacing science with epidemiological statistics.
Medicaid Expansion Boosts Employment Among Disabled People
Medicaid is a taxpayer-funded program that provides free or low-cost health coverage to low-income people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. As many states are considering work requirements for Medicaid eligibility, the authors of a new paper believe Medicaid expansion is acting as an employment incentive for people with disabilities.
Why The Young Get More Infections Than Adults - Evolution
Evolution has an explanation for that. But like a lot of things in evolution, it may seem puzzling.
It shouldn't make sense, since dying young or becoming infertile due to infection means organisms will be unable to reproduce, but many species may have evolved to prioritize growth over immunity while maturing. And that complexity may be why immunity varies with age in different species.
Vaping Helps Smokers Quit - Even If They Don't Want To
And that even people who didn't want to stop smoking have eventually quit because they found vaping more enjoyable. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is the addictive component of cigarettes also, but it's toxic chemicals in smoke that cause the harms of smoking. That is why e-cigarettes have caught on as an aid to help people quit smoking for good, whereas patches and gums are only effective for about 10 percent.
Prescription Opioid Use By Congressional District
The authors believe this could help policy makers at the federal and state level better target intervention and prevention strategies, though statistics have shown prescription use is not the problem, illegal recreational use is.
Your First Memory May Not Be Real
Neuroscientists believe that people's earliest memories date from around three to three-and-a-half years of age but many people report memories much earlier than that. It's likely just as fake as claims of repressed memories from the 1980s.
At least according to surveys, which are just as unreliable as science claims about memory.
Survey results of people's first memories found that 38.6 percent of 6,641 people claimed to have memories from two or younger, with 893 people claiming memories from one or younger. This was particularly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults.
More Government Grammar Schools Don't Lead To Better Outcomes For Poor Kids
Are young people all making more money? No, they are buried in debt, but schools that were once foundering are now doing quite well. An entirely industry built up around universities for under-achieving students with money. And on the other end, credentialism came into play. A bachelor's degree became what a high school diploma was.
It's A Social Media World, But The Real World Is Still Local
Social media is king. It can run pizza chain founders out of their companies, it can be used by anti-science activists to mobilize well-meaning science advocates against other science advocates, but what it can't do is change human nature. And human nature says people will visit those nearby.
Even when people have well-connected social networks state lines, they are still most frequently interacting with people who are geographically close. Except in Los Angeles. Apparently everyone is looking for a reason to leave Los Angeles.
Obese People Show DNA Methylation Related To Liver Disease
DNA methylation is a molecular process that helps enable our bodies to repair themselves, fight infection, and get rid of environmental toxins, but new research has shown one way it can go awry: Obesity.
Scholars identified how DNA methylation is associated with a condition known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can lead to liver cirrhosis and death.
Their evidence is that DNA methylation has a role in the initiation of NAFLD-related fibrosis,
Cirrhosis Deaths Due To Alcohol Jump Among Young Adults
Between 1999-2016, young adults had substantially higher deaths from cirrhosis in 49 of 50 U.S. states. The deaths linked to the end stages of liver damage jumped by 65 percent with alcohol a major cause in adults age 25-34.
The data published in BMJ shows young adults experienced the highest average annual increase in cirrhosis deaths -- about 10.5 percent each year and driven entirely by alcohol-related liver disease, the authors say. Researchers studied the trends in liver deaths due to cirrhosis by examining death certificates compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research project.