RACHEL BECKER
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Environment reporter, CalMatters
May 2019 – present

To see my complete portfolio for CalMatters, please click here.

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Highlights

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Coronavirus disrupts addiction treatment

JUNE 16, 2020
Breanna Dixon doesn’t remember struggling to breathe when she overdosed, but her younger brother Joshua hasn’t forgotten the sound. 
Photo by Adam Perez

Central Valley suffers searing heat, smoke and virus hot spots

AUGUST 21, 2020
​The dangerous trio has Californians unable to escape unhealthful air and reluctant to leave home.
Photo by Anne Wernikoff

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​Coronavirus detectives: Here’s how counties try to track everyone exposed

California needs thousands of contact tracers. But counties and cities are overwhelmed and understaffed. "Woefully inadequate,” said one public health director.  
April 23, 2020
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​Could a blood test for coronavirus antibodies get California back to normal?

​Figuring out who is immune is essential. "The whole country is waiting for a good antibody test. We're operating with blinders on now," said one researcher.
​April 7, 2020
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What happened to science when California’s researchers shelter in place

​California’s scientists are sheltering in place because of coronavirus restrictions, shutting down research, or switching to study the novel coronavirus.
​March 26, 2020

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Drought or dangerous flooding? Research to save California’s rain

​Store water for a drought, or prepare for floods? How atmospheric river research helps California decide.
 February 25, 2020
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California weighs controversial rule to tackle truck tailpipe pollution

California's clean air enforcers want major truck manufacturers to sell zero-emission vehicles in the state — but the agency's proposal faces criticism from environmentalists and truck makers alike.
December 11, 2019
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California says it won’t buy cars from GM, Toyota, others opposing tough tailpipe standards

California's decision to buy only from carmakers that have agreed to follow its clean car rules may well cost GM's Chevrolet tens of millions of dollars.
November 15, 2019

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California’s fight over tailpipe emissions, explained

As global temperatures climb, the federal government is threatening to blunt a major weapon in California’s fight against climate change: the power to police tailpipe emissions. 
August 31, 2019
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Tired of plastic junk? California's recycling bills propose dramatic new rules

With plastic packaging heading to landfills and recycling centers shutting down, California lawmakers use a trio of bills to take aim at the stuttering recycling economy.
​Aubust 8, 2019
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Seabirds eating plastic, recyclers struggling. This is what California's waste crisis looks like.

With China no longer a market for our disposables, the stuff we recycle increasingly winds up in landfills anyway. Localities across California are struggling to cope—and hoping not to undo the decades of work that made household recycling a habit.
​August 1, 2019

Science reporter, The Verge
(August 2016 – May 2019)

Highlights


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To see my complete portfolio for The Verge, please click here. 

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Why Big Tobacco and Big Vape love comparing caffeine to nicotine

Intuition isn’t the only thing at the root of the association: a concerted public relations effort by Big Tobacco has helped make it stick.
​April 26th 2019
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Scott Kelly's year in space highlights risks to DNA and brains

‘One of the best examples of human plasticity and adaptability that we’ve ever seen’
April 11th, 2019

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​Who’s to blame for the toxic algae that’s invading the Pacific?

Why a Pacific coast fishing organization is suing 30 fossil fuel companies
March 19th, 2019
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Students ‘strike for climate’ across the United States

Skipping school to save the future.
March 15th, 2019
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Today’s floods in California may be a preview of a more extreme future

Floodwaters have surrounded two California towns
​Feb 27, 2019

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How the government shutdown could harm the future of American science

The threat of weeks without pay could make federal jobs less appealing to a generation of young scientists. 
January 13th, 2019

Photo: Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Why so many of us wanted to believe in an ocean cleanup system that just broke

‘It moves the proposed solution to ‘out there,’ where the trash is, rather than into our own lives, where the trash is being generated.’
January 9th, 2019
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Photo: The Ocean Cleanup
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Juul's nicotine salts are dominating the market, and other companies want in

The crown Juuls
November 21st, 2018

Illustration: Alex Castro/The Verge

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How humans are transforming the hurricanes of the future

Global warming is already increasing hurricane rainfall, a new study says — and it could get worse
Nov 14, 2018
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Two people with paralysis walk again using an implanted device

‘It was like watching fireworks, but from the inside’
September 24th, 2018

​Photo: University of Louisville
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How a nuclear stalemate left radioactive waste stranded on a California beach

Nuclear waste is all dressed up with nowhere to go
​ August 28, 2018,

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Hurricane Florence has scientists packing up their labs and hoping the power stays on

‘Science will go on if we lose everything in the freezer — we’ll make it’
Sept. 13th, 2018
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​Image credit: Photo by Alexander Gerst / ESA / NASA
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How a volcano scientist set out to change American politics

Inside a scientist's run for office.
June 7th, 2018
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​Image credit: Wes Reel/The Verge
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​Inside the climate change lawsuit pitting Big Oil against San Francisco and Oakland

Oil companies are trying to get the suit tossed out of court
May 25, 2018​
​Image credit: Alex Castro/The Verge

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Meet the scientists keeping a global watch for nuclear explosions

If anyone blows up a nuke, this is how we’ll know. 
​​May 9th, 2018
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Today wasn’t Day Zero in Cape Town, but the water crisis isn’t over

Day Zero has been postponed until 2019, but without enough rain, Cape Town’s water supply could still dry up
May 11th, 2018
Photo: John Snelling/Getty Images​
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Chevron's lawyer, speaking for major oil companies, says climate change is real and it's your fault

In a court hearing in San Francisco, oil companies publicly backed the science of climate change — but there's a catch
Mar 22, 2018

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Fire escape: How California's wildfires forced this baby condor to fly

“Our little phoenix”
February 3rd, 2018
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Grad students protest GOP's tax hike and prepare to fight about tuition

UC Berkeley graduate students want to know how the university will protect them if the GOP’s grad tax goes through. 
December 1st, 2017
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California burns until it rains — and climate change may keep future rains away

Dry weather looms ahead as fires rage across Southern California
Dec 6, 2017

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Trying to communicate after the hurricane: 'It's as if Puerto Rico doesn't exist'

With ham radios and spotty WiFi, Puerto Rico struggles to communicate after Hurricane Maria. 
​September 29th, 2017
​Photo by Hector Retamal / AFP / Getty Images
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​Weaponizing sound: could sonic devices have injured diplomats in Cuba?

Scientists still have a big mystery to solve. 
September 16th, 2017
Illustration by Alex Castro
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Science doesn't explain tech's diversity problem — history does

You can’t fix something by ignoring it.
August 16th, 2017
Illustrations by William Joel
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​Wonder Woman's chemical weapon makes no scientific sense, but it evokes real and horrifying history

June 6th, 2017
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Apple’s needleless blood sugar tracker has an uphill battle in front of it

May 25th, 2017
​Illustration by Rosy Warren
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The detonation detectives

Mar 24, 2017
Illustration by Will Joel

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​California's huge storms still haven't ended the drought’s impacts

Reservoirs are filling up, but a hidden drought continues deep underground. 
February 24th, 2017
Photo by NOAA
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Extreme droughts and floods will be California’s future — is the state ready?

California is in dam trouble
​ Feb 22nd, 2017
Photo by the California Department of Water Resources
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What 720,000 years of ice can tell us about climate change in the past — and the future

An Antarctic ice core details changes in the Earth’s temperature, rainfall, and wind over hundreds of thousands of years
Feb 10, 2017
Photo: National Institute of Polar Researc

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Trump’s immigration ban stranded a scientist with no job and no home

Is this the start of the scientific brain drain?
Jan 29, 2017
Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images
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​Police barricades still stand between DAPL protesters and emergency services

December 22nd, 2016
​Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
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​One man wants to turn every porn watcher in California into a condom vigilante

November 7th, 2016
Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

Freelancing

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The mystery of imperceptible slow earthquakes

Smithsonian
August 30, 2016
​Slow earthquakes regularly move more earth than deadly fast quakes, but no one feels a thing. Read more...

​Photo credit: Flickr/Andrew Larsen (CC-BY-ND)
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Seismic Slowdowns Could Warn of Impending Earthquakes ​

Smithsonian
​August 8, 2016
An "earthquake machine" in the lab is helping scientists understand what goes on just before a quake. Read more...

Photo credit: Flickr/Michael R. Perry (Creative Commons)

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Black Market Caviar Threatens California's Giant Fish

National Geographic
July 11, 2016
When wildlife officers with California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife raided two houses in the Sacramento area earlier this year, they found a live sturgeon gasping for breath, barely alive, on the floor in the garage. Read more...

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Cliff from Arlington, Virginia, USA (CC BY 2.0)
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​Publisher under fire for fake article webpages

 Nature
​June 29, 2016
​'Trap’ URLs can help publishers to catch automated downloading, but critics say that the approach is clumsy. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Selena N. B. H

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​Bird wings trapped in amber are a fossil first from the age of dinosaurs

Nature
June 28, 2016
​Preserved feathers and tissue provide a picture of hatchlings from the Cretaceous. Read more...
Photo Credit: Shenna Wang
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How Much Wine Is Really in Your Glass?

National Geographic
June 23, 2016
​People aren’t great at guessing how much they’re drinking, and that can be bad for health—but new devices may help. Read more...
Photo Credit: Dave Dugdale
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March of the Flamingos

bioGraphic
June 21, 2016
In the harsh, hot soda lakes of East Africa, flamingos thrive, and now scientists are beginning to understand how these birds live where other species die. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Steve Garvie (CC BY 2.0)

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Diamonds Illuminate the Origins of Earth's Deepest Oceans

Smithsonian
June 21, 2016
Crystals could be the key to where our water came from, and what that means for finding life on other planets. Read more...
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Photo credit: Graham Pearson
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Deer Prion in Moose

Nature
June 15, 2016
The discovery in Norway of two moose infected with chronic wasting disease suggests that the neurodegenerative disorder might be gaining traction in Europe. Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/​
Ryan Hagerty (public domain) 
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Edible Six-Pack Rings Replace Plastic for Florida Microbrewery

Slate
June 14, 2016
A Florida microbrewery, a New York–based advertising agency, and a Mexico-based biodegradables company have teamed up to make six-pack rings that don’t strangle and choke marine creatures. Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Staeker (public domain)

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A Shocking Electric Eel Myth, Confirmed

Slate
June 6, 2016
The way eels leap out of the water to defend themselves is completely crazy. Read more...
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Photo Credit: Ken Catania
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​Tiny Drone Learns to Fly—and Land

Slate
May 19, 2016
Scientists have developed a tiny, insect-sized drone that can stop, take a break, then take off again. Read more...
Photo credit: Credit: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
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​Watch Lions Go Bonkers Over Giant Paper Ropes

Slate
May 18, 2016
The zookeepers weren’t just toying with these creatures. Games like these are a key part of the zoo’s animal enrichment program, designed to keep their captive animals physically and mentally active. Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Tambako the Jaguar (CC BY 2.0)

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Beyond building proteins: tRNA synthetases outside of translation

Nature Medicine
May 5, 2016
In 1999, Paul Schimmel published the newly discovered functions of the tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase fragments. In so doing, he helped to launch a research field devoted to uncovering what these moonlighting tRNA synthetases do when they are not helping to synthesize proteins. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Frédéric Dardel (CC-BY SA 3.0)
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Cattle drug threatens thousands of vultures

Nature
​April 29, 2016
A veterinary drug blamed for driving vultures to the brink of extinction on the Indian subcontinent could cause thousands of bird deaths now that it is being used in Spain. Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Pierre Dalous (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
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Hell-bent on Survival

bioGraphic
April 26, 2016
Despite growing environmental threats, North America’s largest—and weirdest—salamander fights on. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Flickr/USDA (CC-BY-2.0)

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The Problem with Pythons

bioGraphic
April 26, 2016
Burmese pythons are slowly, inexorably eating their way through Florida’s small birds and mammals—is hunting them the answer? Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Bobosh_t (CC-BY-2.0)
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​Deadly animal prion disease appears in Europe

Nature
April 18, 2016
A highly contagious and deadly animal brain disorder has been detected in Europe for the first time. Scientists are now warning that the single case found in a wild reindeer might represent an unrecognized, widespread infection. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Brian Gatwicke (CC-BY-2.0)

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Why This April Fools’ Kiwi Hybrid Is Bananas

National Geographic
April 1, 2016
In a video that went viral last week, a bearded, plaid-wearing man named Robert Mahar earnestly describes how to make a banana-kiwi hybrid by squishing together chunks of the two fruits, burying them in soil, watering them, and waiting. But that's really not how hybridization works. Read more...
Photo Credit: Public Domain

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​Watch a Giant Submarine Break Through the Arctic Ice

Slate
March 30, 2016
Thought scraping ice off your windshield was bad? Try shoveling it off the top of your submarine. Read more...
Photo Credit: Screenshot, the U.S. Navy 
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​Washington D.C. Has a New Animal Obsession

 ​​Slate
​March 25, 2016
Mr. President and the First Lady—the bald eagle versions, that is—hatched two chicks recently in the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. Read more...
Photo Credit: Screenshot, the American Eagle Foundation
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How Did a Quail Chick Hatch From a Supermarket Egg?

National Geographic
March 19, 2016
We all learn about the birds and the bees when we’re children—but it turns out the birds can be a little confusing. Especially when they unexpectedly hatch from breakfast foods. Read more...
Photo Credit: Public Domain

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​Toxins in the Food Chain

Hakai Magazine
MARCH 10, 2016
​What does the first-known detection of an algal toxin in Alaska’s marine mammals mean for food security in the North? Read more...
Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries/NWFSC
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​Wild Otter Pops Out Pup Outside of Monterey Bay Aquarium

Slate
MARCH 8, 2016
​A very pregnant wild sea otter swam into the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Great Tide Pool on Sunday morning, and popped out a little slime-covered pup. Read more...
Photo Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium
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Missing link: Animal models to study whether Zika causes birth defects

Nature Medicine
​March 3, 2016
 As public health officials scramble to decide what measures to implement to curb the spread of Zika, scientists have begun to accelerate their efforts to model the effects of the virus in cell lines and animals. Read more...
Photo credit: Pubic Domain

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​Watch Doctors Deliver a Baby Gorilla By Emergency C-Section

Slate
FEBRUARY 24, 2016
It’s not every day that a baby gorilla is born in captivity—and it’s even rarer for that baby gorilla to be born by cesarean section. Read more...
Photo Credit: Bristol Zoo Gardens
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​Fighting the menstruation taboo in the field

Nature
FEBRUARY 12, 2016
Something that many scientists experience, but few discuss, became a popular topic online this week: the challenges of menstruating while doing fieldwork. Many scientists were happy to see a sometimes-taboo topic covered so candidly.  Read more...

​Photo Credit: Public Domain
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Why Cockroaches Are So Difficult to Crush

Slate
FEBRUARY 9, 2016
The cockroach’s incredible resistance to flattening by shoes, books, bottoms of frying pans, and pressurized plungers (seriously, watch the video above!) may suck for those of us who want them gone from our kitchens, but it’s great news for the scientists who used these little bugs as models for new compressible rescue robots.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Tom Libby, Kaushik Jayaram and Pauline Jennings, courtesy of PolyPEDAL Lab, UC Berkeley.

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​A Rare Glimpse of America's Only Wild Jaguar

Slate
FEBRUARY 5, 2016
The only known wild jaguar in the United States made a rare, unwitting appearance in front of the cameras last fall, and he’s one good-looking cat. The Center for Biological Diversity released the video on Wednesday. Read more...
Photo Credit: Conservation CATalyst and Center for Biological Diversity
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Why Shark Ate Shark

Slate
FEBRUARY 4, 2016
The famous shark-on-shark feeding at a Seoul Aquarium wasn't exactly normal behavior. Read more...
Photo Credit: Screenshot, COEX aquarium 
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​Is Chipotle Getting More Scrutiny Than Other Restaurants for Food Safety Problems?

National Geographic
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
 In a country where foodborne illnesses sicken 48 million people, hospitalize 128,000, and kill 3,000 each year, does Chipotle deserve the scrutiny it’s been getting? Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Laine Trees (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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​Insider’s view of faculty search kicks off discussion online

Nature
JANUARY 13, 2016
A Harvard professor reveals how his hiring committee whittles down the pile of job applications. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Flazingo Photos (CC BY-SA 2.0)


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How to Track a Brutal Cereal Killer: Extreme Weather

National Geographic
JANUARY 12, 2016
With climate change messing with the frequency and intensity of at least some extreme weather events, we may be seeing more trouble for food security to come.  Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Justin Hobsn (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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How Food-Obsessed Millennials Shape the Future of Food

National Geographic
DECEMBER 29, 2015
Are millennials obsessed with food? Millennial author Eve Turow Paul certainly thinks so. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Pexels/CC0


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​Who Built Stonehenge? Big-Time Meat-Eaters

National Geographic
DECEMBER 9, 2015
Stonehenge’s construction crew came together from across Britain for some epic barbecues, a feat of social organization millennia before mobile phones made it easy for people to connect. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Johanna van de Woestijne

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​US government approves transgenic chicken

Nature
​DECEMBER 12, 2015
The eggs of the genetically engineered animal contain an enzyme that can treat a rare disease. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Johanna van de Woestijne
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Climate, kissing and computer art: studies that set social media abuzz in 2015

Nature
DECEMBER 17, 2015
​The hottest papers of 2015 covered topics ranging from cancer risk and autism to mass extinctions and reproducibility in science, according to Altmetric. Nature rounds up a few of the papers on the list. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Petr Stefek

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Scientist disinvited from speaking at conference because of her pregnancy

Nature
DECEMBER 4, 2015 
​Researchers expressed outrage on social media, and conference organizer, the European Commission, apologized. Read more...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Tatiana Vdb (CC-BY-2.0)

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​Should DNA donors see their genomic data?

​Nature
DECEMBER 3, 2015 
Geneticists discuss on social media the pros and cons of giving genome results to study participants. Read more...
​Photo Credit: Flickr/University of Michigan SNRE (CC-BY-2.0)
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Software Creates New Flavors, Some Not for the Squeamish

​National Geographic
DECEMBER 1, 2015
Jonathan Brill, founder of Special Projects Agency, an innovation and design consulting firm based in Sausalito, California, is trying to shake up culinary traditions by creating a program that combines unexpected flavors based on their chemical makeups. Read more...
Photo Credit: Matthew Ryder and Jamie Simpson, with permission

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​What’s Killing Alaska’s Sea Otters?​

Hakai Magazine
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
​A mystery disease is stranding sea otters in Alaska’s Kachemak Bay region. 
Read more...
Photo credit: Flickr/Mike Baird (CC-BY-2.0)
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​U.S. Approval of GMO Salmon May Set Precedent

National Geographic
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
There’s a new fish in town—but not everybody’s ready to make room on their plates for it.
Read more...
​Photo credit: Public Domain
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7 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Spacewalks

National Geographic
​NOVEMBER 5, 2015
What’s it like to spend hours in Earth’s orbit, when your spacesuit is the only thing between you and a frigid vacuum? Astronaut Douglas Wheelock describes the experience.
Read More...
Photo Credit: NASA


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Scientists debate mega-microbiome initiatives

Nature
OCTOBER 30, 2015
Research standards will advance the field, proponents say, but critics counter that they will stifle creativity.
Read More...
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New Giant Tortoise Species Found on Galápagos Island

National Geographic
OCTOBER 21, 2015
The reptiles evaded detection as a distinct species for over a hundred years.
Read More...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Charlesjsharp (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
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Preprints called on to support controversial talks

Nature
OCTOBER 15, 2015
Scientists on social media grapple with the idea of posting preprints of provocative research presented at meetings.
​Read More...

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Meet the Giant Rats That Are Sniffing out Landmines

National Geographic
OCTOBER 7, 2015
A Belgian nonprofit has found African giant pouched rats are much better at detecting TNT than people or dogs.
Read more...
​Photo Credit: Gooutside (Public Domain)
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​How infection can cause leukaemia

Nature | Research Highlights
OCTOBER 7, 2015
Infection can trigger leukaemia in genetically susceptible mice, suggesting an environmental cause for the most common type of childhood cancer.
Read more...
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​Gene-Swapping Cheese Molds are Ripe for Investigation

National Geographic
OCTOBER 1, 2015
Cheese turns out to be a miniature barnyard, teeming with microorganisms. So cheese is ripe for investigations into how an environment created by humans can shape microbial genes.  Read more...
Photo Credit: Tatiana Giraud

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The Autumn Equinox is Here! Wait, What's the Autumn Equinox?

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 22, 2015
​It comes twice a year and is related to the change in seasons, but a lot of people don't understand this celestial alignment.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ATSZ56 (public domain)
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Extremely Rare Baby Rhino Captured in Camera Trap

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
New footage reveals three Javan rhino calves, increasing the population of the critically endangered subspecies to 60, worldwide.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Jo Oh (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
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Six Months in Space From an Astronaut’s Point of View

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
We’ve picked 10 of our favorite shots shared by astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station to celebrate the halfway point of his mission. Read more...

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Scott Kelly, NASA (Public Domain)

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Meet the Man Who Gives Ancient Human Ancestors Their Faces

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
​Paleo artist John Gurche created 
Homo naledi’s face by making hundreds of minute anatomical calculations.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Lee Berger (CC-BY-SA 4.0)
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How Did Rare Pink Dolphin Get Its Color?

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
Pinky the bottlenose dolphin recently surfaced again in Louisiana, making a splash on social media.
Read more...

Photo Credit: Erik Rue
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4 Ways Polar Bears Are Dealing With Climate Change

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
A few of these opportunistic predators have found new sources of food as their regular sources diminish—but is it enough to save them?
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/US Fish and Wildlife

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When Single Male Rodents Settle Down, They're Changed Forever

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 03, 2015
Forget soulmates. Male prairie voles have no idea who they’re raising kids with—at least, not until they mate.
Read More...
Photo Credit: Flickr/theNerdParol CC BY 2.0
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9 Animals You Didn’t Know Were Cute Until #CuteOff Happened

National Geographic
SEPTEMBER 02, 2015 
We weigh in on the critical question of critter cuteness with in-house expert Jonathan Kolby.
Read More...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Grant Palmer (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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See Which Animals Have the Most Enormous—and Tiniest—Babies

National Geographic
AUGUST 28, 2015
A giant panda mom is 900 times more massive than her baby, while a giraffe baby is one-tenth the size of its mom.
Read More...
Photo Credit: (CCO)

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How Female Frogs Get Tricked Into Choosing An "Ugly" Mate

National Geographic
AUGUST 27, 2015
Picking the right wingman could make or break the chances for a less desirable male túngara frog to find a mate, a new study says.
Read More...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Santiago Ron (CC BY-ND 2.0)
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Why Dung Beetles Watch the Sky While Rolling Poop Balls

National Geographic
AUGUST 24, 2015
The poop-hoarding insects have an amazingly advanced internal GPS that allows them to navigate by day or night.
Read More...
Photo Credit: Flickr/Bernard Dupont (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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WATCH: Extreme Diver Discovers Ancient Whale Skull

National Geographic
AUGUST 21, 2015
How did a six foot whale skull get into a Virginia swamp?
Read More...
Photo Credit: NOAA

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Do Whales Get the Bends?

National Geographic
AUGUST 19, 2015
Scientists take a deeper look at decompression sickness in marine mammals.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Whit Welles Wwelles14 (CC BY-SA 3.0) 
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Plague Warning Closes Campground in Yosemite

National Geographic
AUGUST 18, 2015
Risk of deadly disease is low, but squirrel deaths in park raise alarm.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Smtunli, Svein-Magne Tunli (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Watch: Octopuses Filmed Mating Face-to-Face—A First

National Geographic
AUGUST 12, 2015
A new study of a bizarre octopus species reveals never-before-seen behaviors that have stunned scientists.
Read more...
Photo Credit: EurekAlert/Roy Caldwell

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Your Photos Say Where You’ve Been … And Where You’re Going

National Geographic 
AUGUST 12, 2015
Data in photos posted online can help scientists make a pretty good guess about where users are headed.
Read more...
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Drivers Worry the End of Utah Salt Flat Racing is Near

National Geographic 
 AUGUST 10, 2015
Cancellations of Speed Week two years in a row raise concerns about the health of the salt flats.
Read more...
Photo Credit: BLM Utah/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
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New GIF Shows Far Side of the Moon Passing by Earth

National Geographic 
AUGUST 06, 2015
The images come from the same spacecraft that recently captured new views of the entire Earth’s surface.
Read more...
Photo Credit: NASA/NOAA


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This Bonsai Survived Hiroshima But Its Story Was Nearly Lost

National Geographic 
AUGUST 05, 2015
The Japanese white pine weathered four centuries of history, including the atomic bomb.
Read more...

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Meet the Microbats: Winged Creatures' Secrets Revealed

National Geographic 
AUGUST 04, 2015
For starters, old females are tougher than young males, according to a new study on these little-known mammals.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Merlin Tuttle/http://www.merlintuttle.com/
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Ilana Brito, the Biologist Who Flew to Fiji for Feces

OZY
AUGUST 02, 2015
Microbes maladjusted to modern lifestyles have been implicated in everything from obesity and diabetes to neurological conditions. 
Read more...
Photo Credit: Merbabu/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Cecil the Lion’s Death Spurred Donations to Wildlife Groups … Now What?

National Geographic 
PUBLISHED AUGUST 01, 2015
After a trophy hunter killed one of Africa’s most famous lions, interest in conservation soared.
Read more...
Photo Credit: HamishPaget-Brown/Wikimedia Commons 
(CC BY-SA 3.0)
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World Population Expected to Reach 9.7 Billion by 2050

National Geographic 
PUBLISHED JULY 31, 2015
The United Nations released projections of global population growth over the coming century. In the year 2100, the world’s demographics will look very different from today’s.
Read More...
Photo Credit: NASA
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We May Have Been Wrong About How African Pygmies Grow

National Geographic 
PUBLISHED JULY 28, 2015
New research suggests that there may have been not one but two separate evolutions of African Pygmies.
Read more...
Photo Credit: Kwamikagami/ Wikimedia Commons 
(CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Tiny Owl Getting Talking-To From Sheriff Has Huge Appetite

National Geographic 
JULY 27, 2015
This young creature is a northern saw-whet owl, and is one of nature’s more adorable rat-catchers.
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Pages of Ancient Koran Among Oldest Yet Discovered

National Geographic 
JULY 22, 2015
Manuscript found by student may date to Islam’s earliest era.
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Dealing with the Health Data Deluge

NOVA Next
MAY 20, 2015
There’s a revolution afoot in medicine. It has been simmering below the surface for the last decade or so, but like many revolutions, you won’t really take notice until it’s all but over.
Read more...
Photo credit: Tom Page/Flickr (CC BY-SA)

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Scientists Created a Dino-Skulled Chicken to Explore Evolution

NOVA Next
MAY 14, 2015
It’s not quite a dinosaur, but maybe it could play one on T.V.
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Photo credit: Bhart-Anjan Bhullar
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Cuba’s Inventive Vaccine Could Treat More Than Just Lung Cancer

NOVA Next
MAY 12, 2015
A cancer vaccine first tested in Cuba nearly 20 years ago may finally be making its way into the American health system. Read more...
Photo Credit: National Cancer Institute
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Origins of Complex Life Uncovered in the Ocean Deep

NOVA Next
MAY 7, 2015
Scientists have just discovered a missing link between two branches on the evolutionary tree of life hiding deep under the sea, one that we’ve been looking for since 1977. Read more...
Photo credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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For a Healthy Heart, You May Have to Eat More Cheese

NOVA Next
APRIL 28, 2015
Go ahead, finish off that wheel of Brie, that brick of cheddar, or that blob of mozzarella. Your heart may thank you. 
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Photo credit: Gunnar Magnusson (CC BY-ND 2.0)
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Brontosaurus Is Back From the Dead

NOVA Next
APRIL 7, 2015
We missed you, big guy.
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Photo credit: Liam d'Noit / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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Quick Test That Measures a Patient’s Own Proteins Could Slash Antibiotic Overuse

NOVA Next
MARCH 19, 2015
If you’ve ever been prescribed antibiotics to fight the flu, you’ve experienced first-hand how difficult it is for doctors to distinguish between bacterial infections and viral infections. Read more...
Photo credit: lamentables/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA)

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In Once-Mysterious Epigenome, Scientists Find What Turns Genes On

NOVA Next
FEBRUARY 19, 2015
How cells develop vastly different functions using the same genetic instructional text has remained largely a mystery. As of yesterday, it became a bit less mysterious. 
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Photo Credit: ynse / Wikimedia Commons
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You May Be Born to Feel Carsick

NOVA Next
FEBRUARY 3, 2015
If you spent your last road trip staring queasily at the horizon, chances are you might be one of around 33% of people who suffer from motion sickness.
Read more...
Photo credit: are you my rik? / Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0) 
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Mosquito-Borne Diseases to Be Fought by Modified Mosquitoes in Florida

NOVA Next
JANUARY 29, 2015
The fight against mosquito-borne diseases and growing insecticide resistance may have gained a new weapon—the mosquitoes themselves.
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Photo credit: James Gathany / cdc.gov (public domain)

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Patent Suits that Held Up Personalized Medicine Are Being Settled

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 29, 2015
Myriad might finally be loosening its chokehold on the market for BRCA diagnostics. 
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Photo credit: Joe Gratz / Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
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Ancient Mesopotamian Texts Show PTSD May Be as Old as Combat Itself​

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 26, 2015
Mesopotamian texts more than 3,000 years old reveal that post-traumatic stress disorder may be as ancient as combat itself. 
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Photo credit: ChrisO / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
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Massive Oil Spill in Yellowstone River Contaminates Drinking Water

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 23, 2015
A ruptured oil pipeline leaked up to 40,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River in Montana, contaminating the drinking water for the nearby town of Glendive.
 Read more...
Photo credit: Environmental Protection Agency/epa.gov

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Our Solar System May Have Two Undiscovered Planets

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 21, 2015
On the outer reaches of our solar system, well past Neptune and Pluto, lurk dozens of asteroids and possible minor planets, dimly lit by the faint glow of our sun. Last week, that strange place got even stranger. 
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Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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X-ray Vision Unveils Hidden Text in Vesuvius-Blasted Papyrus

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 21, 2015
After two millennia, scientists wielding X-rays have finally revealed the text of an ancient library long thought to be unreadable.
Read more...
Photo credit: D. Delattre © Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France
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Why Use a Better Microscope When You Can Just Make Cells Bigger?

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 20, 2015
Diapers are revolutionizing how scientists examine brains under the microscope by expanding the brain cells themselves, making them easier to see.
Read more...
Boyden Lab @ MIT, Nick Moore and Julie Pryor

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Scientists Finally Prove Why Cold Weather Makes You Sick

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 12, 2015
Scientists may finally be able to confirm the widely-held suspicion that bad weather can make you sick.
Read more...
Photo credit: William Brawley/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
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Powerful, Promising New Molecule May Snuff Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 9, 2015
A potent new weapon hiding in the ground beneath our feet kills drug resistant bacteria, and might itself be resistant to resistance. 
Read more...
Photo credit: NIAID
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Cyber Attack on German Steel Mill Leads to ‘Massive’ Real World Damage

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 8, 2015
Sometime in the last several months, a steel mill in an undisclosed location in Germany lost control of its blast furnace.
Read more...
Photo credit: Třinecké železárny/Wikimedia Commons

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Your Last Moments May Be Imprinted on Your Brain After Death

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED January 6, 2015
Ever close your eyes and have an image burned into your retina? Our brains may do the same thing after we die.
Read more...
Photo credit: Frances S. Chance/Janelia Farm Research Campus/HHMI/Sandia National Laboratory
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Why We’re Good at Identifying Smells, But Horrible at Describing Them

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED December 18, 2014
The simple smell of a childhood staple, peanut butter, is surprisingly complex. 
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Photo credit: Anna/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND)
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Water-Repellent Coating Could Make Power Plants Greener

MIT Technology Review
PUBLISHED November 24, 2014
A startup has created a water-repellent coating that could significantly increase power plants’ efficiency. 
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Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Davide Restivo CC-BY-SA 2.0

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Transparent Bandage Allows Scientists to Detect Suffocating Wounds​

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED November 24, 2014
A new paint-on bandage that can map the oxygen levels in injuries could help doctors make important clinical decisions from when to amputate limbs, to how much charred flesh to remove from a burn. Read more...
Photo Credit: Egelberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Weekend Adventures

MIT News
PUBLISHED November 7, 2014
Members of a longstanding student group, the Assassins’ Guild, roam an MIT building each Saturday night. 
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Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Fcb981 CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Bioengineers Hack PCs and Phones to be Cheap Disease Detectors

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED October 6, 2014
Scientists have reinvented the technology that makes analyzing crime scene DNA and diagnosing infectious diseases possible—for 1/500th the cost. Read more...
Photo credits: J.S. Townsley/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND), Kareem Ahmad

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Pharmaceuticals Found in Low Levels in Wastewater-Irrigated Produce

NOVA Next
PUBLISHED October 3, 2014
With 99% of California’s agricultural lands ravaged by drought, some farmers in the state are considering an alternative to freshwater: treated sewage.
Read more...
Photo credit: swong95765/Flickr (CC BY)
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You can find more of my articles on MIT's Scope Blog. 

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ARTICLES UPDATED OR REPORTED BY RACHEL A. BECKER

Why Insects Are Drawn to Corpse Flower's Stench
National Geographic 
PUBLISHED July 28, 2015
(updated)

We Just Learned How 'Crazy Ants' Ever Get Anything Done
National Geographic
PUBLISHED July 28, 2015

(contributed reporting)

'Mutated' Daisies Really Caused by Fukushima Radiation?
National Geographic
PUBLISHED July 23, 2015

(contributed reporting)

Scientists Genetically Modify Human Embryos
NOVA Next
PUBLISHED  April 23, 2015
(contributed reporting)
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