Forensic science is getting a boost from new sequencing technology. This tech lets scientists get genetic info from tough samples. One new tool, IBDGem, looks at sequencing data, even from low-quality samples, to figure out if a DNA match is likely. But here is where things get tricky. IBDGem checks if the sample comes from someone in a reference database. This is no...
The International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development Conference has been scrapped. This news came from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). The decision was made due to current regulatory and budgetary constraints. NASA's reduced support was the main reason behind this cancellation. This event had been running for over a decade. It wa...
Zinc oxide is a material that can be tweaked by adding tiny amounts of other elements. This process is called doping. When samarium and silver are added to zinc oxide, interesting things happen. This is not just about mixing stuff together. It is about changing how the material behaves at a tiny level. The goal is to make zinc oxide useful for new kinds of gadgets...
The spotlight was on how Brazilian presidents talked about health promotion from 2006 to 2023. This investigation looked at speeches and documents to understand what leaders focused on and why. The study used ideas from political science to figure out how health topics made it onto the presidential agenda. The findings showed that leaders wanted to be seen as promot...
A well-deserved honor has been bestowed upon a dedicated educator. Sarah Pasela, a science teacher at St. John's Prep, has been chosen as the 2025 recipient of the Twomey Family Teaching Excellence Award. This award is not just a pat on the back, but also comes with a $5, 000 prize. The award is a big deal because it highlights the hard work and dedication of the sch...
The White House is making big changes to how science is handled in the US. They are pushing for what they call "gold standard science. " This sounds good, right? Not everyone thinks so. Many scientists are worried. Why? Because the plan puts political leaders in charge of checking scientific work. This is a big deal. These leaders can even change scientific i...
John Brenkus was a man who knew how to make science fun. He was the creator and host of a show called "Sport Science. " This show was all about explaining the science behind sports. It was on TV from 2007 until the 2010s. It ran on Fox Sports Network and then moved to ESPN. The show won six Emmy Awards. This was a big deal. It showed that people liked learning about ...
Plastic is everywhere. It is in the oceans, in the food we eat, and even in the air we breathe. But what many people do not know is that plastic comes with a hidden cost. It is the chemicals that tag along with plastic that pose a real threat. These chemicals can mess with our health in ways we are only just beginning to understand. One key way to understand this is...
Radiocesium, a radioactive isotope, behaves differently in various soils. This was shown in a study that looked at 57 soil samples from Taiwan. These samples came from different climates, land uses, and altitudes. The study found that radiocesium sticks to soil in varying amounts. The amount of sticking, or adsorption, was measured using a value called the distri...
AI is often portrayed as a threat, but it's already making a real difference in several fields. It's easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom surrounding artificial intelligence. The media often focuses on the scary stuff, like robots taking over jobs or AI being used for harm. But let's not forget that AI is also doing some amazing things right now. It's help...