News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
For more than half a century, the kinds of antisocial personality traits we think of as psychopathic – such as a lack of remorse, aggression, and disregard for the wellbeing of others – have been associated with mental illness. The line between broken and useful traits can be hazy in biology, leaving open the … Read more
In the last decades of his life, Albert Einstein hoped to unite his description of gravity with existing models of electromagnetism under a single master theory. It’s a quest that continues to vex theoretical physicists to this day. Two of our best models of reality – Einstein’s general theory of relativity and the laws of … Read more
With so many interesting solar system facts, we’ve narrowed them down to 25 of our favorites. Our solar system consists of the sun and everything that orbits that sun, like the eight (once nine) planets we all know from elementary school. But the main planets, as diverse and fascinating as they are, are just the … Read more
An outbreak of African swine fever in 2015 reduced the wild boar population by 90 per cent in Białowieża primeval forest, so more acorns grew into trees Life 2 March 2022 By Jason Arunn Murugesu Oak trees in Białowieża forest, Poland Aleksander Bolbot / Alamy An outbreak of African swine fever led to the growth … Read more
NONFICTION Life, Linked A reverse journey through geologic time shows the interconnectedness of Earth’s species Otherlands: Journeys in Earth’s Extinct Ecosystems by Thomas Halliday Random House, 2022 ($28.99) As a teenager, I was obsessed with dinosaurs, but I had little aptitude for what came before them. I couldn’t make sense of what John McPhee, in … Read more
Comparing 6400 understudied wild plants with the better-known plants they are related to suggests that 1000 of them are rich in the B group of vitamins Health 24 February 2022 By Clare Wilson Durian fruit (Durio kutejensis) DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY/Getty Images Wild plants are an overlooked source of vitamins and minerals that could help … Read more
Hang onto your timepieces as ”Star Trek: Picard” season 2 lands on Paramount Plus at warp speed starting on March 3. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is destined for a rush of cosmic clock-altering action while accompanied by cameos from John de Lancie’s Q and Annie Wersching’s Borg Queen in sorting out the universe’s temporal anomalies … Read more
Wild animals sometimes found on the menu in Asian countries harbor a bewildering panoply of viruses, a new study has found—including many that can infect humans. Although none is closely related to the coronavirus that touched off the COVID-19 pandemic, the study sends a clear warning that other viral threats are lurking in the animal … Read more
By Penny Sarchet Bemisia tabaci (male and female) Alamy Stock Photo Hello, and welcome to February’s Wild Wild Life, the monthly newsletter that celebrates the biodiversity of our planet’s animals plants and other organisms. To receive this free, monthly newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. Spring in London is almost close enough to taste now, … Read more
Vaughn Cooper sees white-tailed deer every day in his neighborhood outside Pittsburgh. The species is common in most US states. Pennsylvania alone has around 1.5 million white-tailed deer – about 30 per square mile (2.6 square km) – while the US has around 30 million in total. “My dog goes ripping after the deer … Read more