North America Could Expect Over 1 Million More Opioid Deaths by 2029

A new analysis from researchers at Stanford University and the scientific journal, The Lancet, has revealed a large number of Americans and Canadians are still becoming addicted to prescription opioids each year.   Without “urgent interventions“, the members of the Stanford-Lancet Commission estimate this deepening disaster could claim the lives of up to 1.2 million people … Read more

The moon and Jupiter pair up in the night sky tonight! Here’s what to expect.

Skywatchers will be treated to a celestial duet tonight (Feb. 2) as the new moon passes near Jupiter.  Jupiter will appear very close to, or in conjunction with, the crescent moon, with the moon passing just over 4 degrees to the south of the bright gas giant at 4:10 p.m. EST (2110 GMT). (Your clenched … Read more

Why the Tonga Eruption Was So Violent, and What to Expect Next

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world. High-resolution Himawari satellite imagery of the #HungaTongaHungaHaapai volcanic eruption … Read more

Why Was The Volcano Explosion in Tonga So Violent, And What to Expect Now?

The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world.   The volcano is usually not much to look at. It consists of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga, poking about 100 meters (328 … Read more

Gorgeous HD Footage Shows Humanity’s Final View of The James Webb Space Telescope

We can all breathe a bit easier now. In spite of a launch bedeviled by problem after problem, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is finally in space, making its way to its new home.   And if you needed a little reassurance that this is the case (which is totally understandable), the European Space Agency … Read more

2022 news preview: Expect a row over controversial Alzheimer’s drug

By Clare Wilson A participant in a clinical trial for aducanumab Kayana Szymczak/New York Times/Redux/eyevine EXPECT to see debate over a new medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease, called aducanumab, continue into 2022. Approved in the US last June, it is the first drug designed to treat a possible cause of this form of dementia, rather than the symptoms. … Read more

‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ new teasers offer a tantalizing glimpse of what to expect

We’ve been offered new tantalizing glimpses of what to expect from the standalone spin-off series “The Book of Boba Fett” in a TV advertisement for the show. There are now a total of five teasers: 1. “Reign,” 2. “Message,” 3. “The Return,” 4. “Ready” and 5. “Authority” (in order of when they were released) all … Read more

The Ursid meteor shower peaks tonight. Don’t expect to see many ‘shooting stars.’

According to the Observer’s Handbook of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, there are 11 meteor showers that are considered to be the “principal” displays of the year. In order to make the list, a particular meteor shower must produce at least 10 meteors per hour at maximum.  As it turns out, within a span … Read more