‘False’ tree rings could provide a new record of long-ago hurricanes | Science

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A tree’s annual growth rings reveal how it has flourished—or floundered—over time, with the size of the rings indicating years of health or hardship. But sometimes nature throws a wrench into the works, and a tree will form more than one growth ring in a year. Now, such “false rings,” found in trees along the … Read more

Lateral flow tests: Do LFTs detect the omicron coronavirus variant?

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By Clare Wilson Positive and negative rapid lateral flow tests Anna Mente/Shutterstock With the omicron variant of the coronavirus on the rise, regular testing has become even more important, particularly as people decide whether to socialise during the Christmas period. Here’s everything you need to know about testing. What is the difference between a lateral … Read more

In Lagos, Vulnerable Communities Are Buried by Urbanization

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Welcome to The Undark Podcast. In this episode, join freelance journalist Maggie Andresen and podcast host Lydia Chain as they navigate the profound social, economic, and environmental consequences of dredging for sand in Lagos, Nigeria. Below is the full transcript of the podcast, lightly edited for clarity. You can also subscribe to The Undark Podcast … Read more

Quantum entanglement: A tardigrade has survived being placed in a strange quantum state

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By Alex Wilkins An illustration of a tardigrade 3Dstock/Shutterstock A tardigrade has been quantum entangled with a superconducting qubit – and lived to tell the tale. It is the first time a multicellular organism has been placed in this strange quantum state and raises questions about what it means for living things to be entangled. … Read more

In Lagos, Vulnerable Communities Buried by Urbanization

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Welcome to The Undark Podcast. In this episode, join freelance journalist Maggie Andresen and podcast host Lydia Chain as they navigate the profound social, economic, and environmental consequences of dredging for sand in Lagos, Nigeria. Below is the full transcript of the podcast, lightly edited for clarity. You can also subscribe to The Undark Podcast … Read more

Omicron: How did the coronavirus variant evolve to be so dangerous?

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Omicron has become a global threat to public health thanks to a particularly dangerous set of mutations, but where did it come from? Health 17 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A technician at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban, South Africa New York Times / Redux / eyevine We do not know … Read more

Black Children, as Well as Other Minority Kids, Fare Worse Than White Children in Common Surgeries

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A pandemic is a stress test for society, revealing not only hidden cracks in health systems but also broader social failings. A deep fissure further exposed by COVID is the long-standing inequity in the health and medical care of racial and ethnic minorities. The outbreak has shown that Black, brown and Indigenous adults in the … Read more

Tweaks to U.S. Christmas Trees Could Help Them Survive Climate Change

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Mounting pressure from extreme weather events and lethal diseases—both exacerbated by climate change—threatens to assail U.S. Christmas tree–growing regions and slash production. To help defend these cherished trees and the farms that raise them, researchers are mapping conifer genomes and exploiting the natural characteristics of species that grow outside the U.S. to identify and breed … Read more