Methane Pollution Just Reached New Heights, And The Sources May Not Be What You Think

Methane recently reached 1,900 parts per billion (ppb) of Earth’s atmosphere according to measurements taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. This compares with about 700 ppb before the industrial revolution.   Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, but lasts around nine years in the air. Including the knock-on effects … Read more

Covid booster shots: Third vaccine doses are pushing protection to unexpected heights

Evidence suggests that vaccine booster programmes can take people’s covid-19 protection to unexpectedly high levels, but we don’t yet know how effective existing vaccines will be against the omicron variant Health 30 November 2021 By Clare Wilson A road sign in Buckinghamshire, UK, in mid-November Maureen McLean/Shutterstock While the emergence of the omicron variant has caused concern worldwide, … Read more

How human height has changed: Our ancestors were relatively short – and only started reaching modern heights 150 years ago

Until around 150 years ago, humans were relatively short – but our recent growth spurt may have more to do with social factors than dietary ones Humans 2 December 2021 By Michael Marshall A man measures a woman’s height Image Point Fr/Shutterstock For most of our history, humans have been short, a study has found. … Read more