Tornadoes and climate change

12/16/2021

Photo of a massive swirling thunderstorm over a tiny barn — Tornadoes are hard to capture in climate models. Mike Coniglio/NOAA/NSSL

What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them

John Allen, Central Michigan University

The deadly tornado outbreak that tore through communities from Arkansas to Illinois on the night of Dec. 10-11, 2021, was so unusual in its duration and strength, particularly for December, that a lot of people including the U.S. president are asking what role climate change might have played – and whether tornadoes will become more common in a warming world.

Both questions are easier asked than answered, but research is offering new clues.

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California’s water supplies are in trouble

12/11/2021

Photo of a rapidly drying Lake in California — Several of California’s reservoirs were at less than one-third of their capacity in early December 2021. Martha Conklin, CC BY-ND

California’s water supplies are in trouble as climate change worsens natural dry spells, especially in the Sierra Nevada

Roger Bales, University of California, Merced

California is preparing for a third straight year of drought, and officials are tightening limits on water use to levels never seen so early in the water year. Most of the state’s water reservoirs are well below average, with several at less than a third of their capacity. The outlook for rain and snow this winter, when most of the state’s yearly precipitation arrives, isn’t promising.

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Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine effective in animal studies

12/08/2021

Photo of a — Image by Amol Sharma from Pixabay

US National Institutes of Health

At a Glance

A nasal spray of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine protected hamsters and monkeys against serious disease and reduced the amount of virus in the nose.
Less virus in the nasal passages could decrease the risk that vaccinated people spread the virus, even if they don’t feel sick.
A clinical trial is underway to test intranasal vaccination in people.

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Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder

12/03/2021

Photo of Teen showing stress — Image by María Prieto from Pixabay

US National Institutes of Health

Many people go through short periods of time where they feel sad or not like their usual selves. Sometimes, these mood changes begin and end when the seasons change. People may start to feel “down” when the days get shorter in the fall and winter (also called “winter blues”) and begin to feel better in the spring, with longer daylight hours.

In some cases, these mood changes are more serious and can affect how a person feels, thinks, and handles daily activities. If you have noticed significant changes in your mood and behavior whenever the seasons change, you may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression.

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Could oral antiviral pills be a game-changer for COVID-19?

12/02/2021

Photo of pills in single dose packaging — Image by Pexels from Pixabay

An infectious disease physician explains why these options are badly needed

Patrick Jackson, University of Virginia

Nearly two years into the pandemic, it has become starkly clear that we need better treatments for COVID-19 for people in the earlier stages of disease.

Two new antiviral drugs could soon be the first effective oral treatments for COVID-19 to help keep people out of the hospital. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration plans to review the data supporting molnupiravir – a pill made by Merck and partner Ridgeback Therapeutics – on Nov. 30, 2021.

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White-tailed deer found to be huge reservoir of coronavirus infection

11/22/2021

Photo of der walking near farm buildings — Image by 16081684 from Pixabay

Graeme Shannon, Bangor University; Amy Gresham, Bangor University, and Owain Barton, Bangor University

New research from the US has shown that white-tailed deer are being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Antibodies were found in 40% of deer that were tested from January to March 2021 across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York state. A second unpublished study has detected the virus in 80% of deer sampled in Iowa between November 2020 and January 2021.

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Antibiotic resistance is at a crisis point

11/05/2021

Photo of bacteria in petri dish. — Bacteria that are resistant to every available antibiotic in the U.S. already exist. Rodolfo Parulan Jr/Moment via Getty Images

– government support for academia and Big Pharma to find new drugs could help defeat superbugs

Andre Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology

Antibiotic resistance poses one of the most important health challenges of the 21st century. And time has already run out to stop its dire consequences.

The rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria has already led to a significant increase in human disease and death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 2.8 million people worldwide are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, accounting for 35,000 deaths each year in the U.S. and 700,000 deaths around the globe.

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US planning for wind energy expansion

10/24/2021

Photo of large ocean wind farm — Coming to U.S. waters? Here’s an aerial view of the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay, England. Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

Biden calls for a big expansion of offshore wind – here’s how officials decide where the turbines may go

David Cash, University of Massachusetts Boston

The Biden administration has announced ambitious plans to scale up leasing for offshore wind energy projects along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. In an announcement released on Oct. 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that it will “use the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders to minimize conflict with existing uses and marine life.” University of Massachusetts Boston public policy scholar David W. Cash, who worked at senior levels in state government for a decade, describes how this process works.

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Americans are binging on protein

10/24/2021

Photo of woman drinking a protein shake — A protein-rich shake is often the way many people try to get more of this nutrient into their diets. andresr E+ via Getty Images

Decades of hype turned protein into a superfood – and spawned a multibillion-dollar industry

Hannah Cutting-Jones, University of Oregon

Do you ever blend up a protein smoothie for breakfast, or grab a protein bar following an afternoon workout? If so, you are likely among the millions of people in search of more protein-rich diets.

Protein-enriched products are ubiquitous, and these days it seems protein can be infused into anything – even water. But the problem, as Kristi Wempen, a nutritionist at Mayo Clinic, points out, is that “contrary to all the hype that everyone needs more protein, most Americans get twice as much as they need.”

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Viruses are both the villains and heroes of life as we know it

10/19/2021

COmputer generated drawing of a virus — Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and play a potential role in the evolution of life. NANOCLUSTERING/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Ivan Erill, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Viruses have a bad reputation. They are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and a long list of maladies that have plagued humanity since time immemorial. Is there anything to celebrate about them?

Many biologists like me believe there is, at least for one specific type of virus – namely, bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria. When the DNA of these viruses is captured by a cell, it may contain instructions that enable that cell to perform new tricks.

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Nerds Unbound

Tornadoes and climate change

What a warming world means for deadly twisters and the type of storms that spawn them

California’s water supplies are in trouble

California’s water supplies are in trouble as climate change worsens natural dry spells, especially in the Sierra Nevada

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine effective in animal studies

US National Institutes of Health

At a Glance

Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder

Could oral antiviral pills be a game-changer for COVID-19?

An infectious disease physician explains why these options are badly needed

White-tailed deer found to be huge reservoir of coronavirus infection

Antibiotic resistance is at a crisis point

– government support for academia and Big Pharma to find new drugs could help defeat superbugs

US planning for wind energy expansion

Biden calls for a big expansion of offshore wind – here’s how officials decide where the turbines may go

Americans are binging on protein

Decades of hype turned protein into a superfood – and spawned a multibillion-dollar industry

Viruses are both the villains and heroes of life as we know it

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