In 2020, 30% of the Pantanal was burned to cinders by wildfires
In 2020, the Pantanal, the largest tropical freshwater wetland in the world and a biodiversity hotspot, was swept by high-intensity fires that destroyed native vegetation in an area totaling 44,998 square kilometers, or about 30% of the Brazilian por.....»»
WHO says flu vaccines should ditch strain that vanished during COVID
Influenza viruses in the B/Yamagata lineage have not been seen since March 2020. Enlarge / Influenza virus. Image produced from an image taken with transmission electron microscopy. Viral diameter ranges from around 80 to 120 nm......»»
In Shawnee National Forest, a debate swirls around how to best protect trees amid climate change and wildfires
The Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois is a mosaic of towering trees, lush wetlands and commanding rock formations that are the native habitat for a wealth of plants and animals, including 19 species of oaks......»»
Bloomberg: Apple held talks with Microsoft about acquiring Bing in 2020
As the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google presses on, we continue to learn more about Apple’s search agreement with the company and its talks with other companies. Now, Bloomberg reports today, citing “people with knowledg.....»»
Microsoft entered negotiations to sell Bing to Apple in 2020
After losing default search status to Google in 2017, Microsoft discussed selling Bing to Apple in 2020, but talks fizzled out.Bing could have been sold to AppleThe Google antitrust bench trial continues to reveal details about its relationship with.....»»
State politics, industry drive planetary health education for K-12 students in US, finds study
As much of the U.S. broils under record-setting temperatures, battles wildfires and is rocked by fierce storms, a new study suggests that the science learning standards for many public schools are not preparing young people to understand and respond.....»»
How did the Maui fire spread so quickly? Overgrown gully, stubborn embers may be key to probe
Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole......»»
Scientists reveal what fuels wildfires in Sierra Nevada Mountains
Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there's a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. In a study published in Environmental Research Letter.....»»
iOS 17 makes it easier to play Spotify music on HomePod
For the first few years, the HomePod exclusively supported Apple Music and AirPlay. It was not possible for third-party music apps to integrate with the device. In 2020, Apple did a HomePod Siri music API, and some services, such as Pandora, have ad.....»»
The threat of wildfires is rising. So is new artificial intelligence solutions to fight them
Wildfires fueled by climate change have ravaged communities from Maui to the Mediterranean this summer, killing many people, exhausting firefighters and fueling demand for new solutions. Enter artificial intelligence......»»
Negative "retweets" appear to add to voter fraud conspiracy theories
A team of behavioral scientists using big data and a simulation-based model to analyze social media "tweets" around the 2020 presidential election found that the spread of voter fraud conspiracy theories on Twitter (now called X) was boosted by a neg.....»»
Understanding compound events in a changing climate
Climate change has made extreme weather events more frequent and intense worldwide. Some examples of climate-related disasters in recent years include the serious flooding in Venice, Italy in 2019, the terrible heat waves and wildfires in Australia i.....»»
Socially vulnerable populations are disproportionately exposed to wildfires in the West, study finds
People experiencing a high degree of social vulnerability are also more exposed to wildfires in Oregon and Washington as wildfire risk increases, a new study shows......»»
Ensuring effective visual communication of climate change
The consequences of a warming climate frequently dominated the news this summer, from devastating wildfires and floods to deadly heat waves across the globe. Reducing harm from climate change is a challenging endeavor, and it requires comprehensive p.....»»
New model to help valorize lignin for bio-based applications
Woody biomass and wheat straw are all sources of the natural polymer lignin with more than 50 megatons of lignin produced annually at commercial scale. However, most is burned to produce energy, which alternatively could be used to make useful chemic.....»»
How to tackle the global deforestation crisis
Imagine if France, Germany and Spain were completely blanketed in forests—and then all those trees were quickly chopped down. That's nearly the amount of deforestation that occurred globally between 2001 and 2020, with profound consequences......»»
How to watch final moments of NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission
NASA will live stream the final moments of its groundbreaking OSIRIS-REx mission that will see it bring home samples collected from the Bennu asteroid in 2020......»»
How Widgetsmith for iOS 17 takes your iPhone’s Home Screen to the next level
When iOS 14 added widgets back in 2020 (yes, it was that long ago), Widgetsmith from developer David Smith went ultra-viral as the best way to customize your iPhone’s Home Screen. With today’s iOS 17 update, widgets get a whole lot more powerful.....»»
Here’s what the latest Mars rover has learned so far
Catch up on the Mars 2020 mission in 2023. Enlarge / Planetary vampire Perseverance takes a selfie with two sample drill holes. (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) It’s easy to take it for granted, but we’re driving arou.....»»
Flowering plants survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid—and may outlive us
If you looked up 66 million years ago you might have seen, for a split second, a bright light as a mountain-sized asteroid burned through the atmosphere and smashed into Earth. It was springtime and the literal end of an era, the Mesozoic......»»
iPhone 15 Pro comes with major boost in 5G speeds
The iPhone has supported 5G connectivity since the iPhone 12 in 2020, and Apple continues to make improvements to the experience. New data now reveals that the iPhone 15 Pro, arriving to customers next week, will offer major improvements to 5G perfor.....»»