Recent studies have shown that the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines is decreasing, though experts say the shots still work well. WSJ explains what the numbers mean and why they don’t tell the full story. [Wall Street Journal]
When life gives you lemons… build a 5 ton flask and blast them to space. [Mark Rober]
Hidden in the microverse all around you, there is a merciless war being fought by the true rulers of this planet, microorganisms. Amoebae, protists, bacteria, archaea and fungi compete for resources and space. And then there are the strange horrors that are viruses, hunting everyone else. Not even being alive, they are the tiniest, most […]
In grade school, you probably mixed vinegar and baking soda to make a papier-mâché volcano erupt. Cool when you’re six, but lame afterward. The guy from The Action Lab has an alternative that is more realistic. Using amonium dichromate produces heat and ash like a real volcano, and actually builds a volcanic cone and crater […]
Most people don’t know why, but smaller animals need to eat more (relative to their bodyweight) to survive. This phenomemon is called “Kleiber’s Law.” According to this law, an animal’s metabolic rate scales to the 3⁄4 power of the animal’s mass. With this in mind, a hobbit, which is about half the mass of a […]
The Artemis missions will build a community on the Moon, driving a new lunar economy and inspiring a new generation. Narrator Drew Barrymore and NASA team members explain why returning to the Moon is the natural next step in human exploration, and how the lessons learned from Artemis will pave the way to Mars and […]
Trauma surgeon Annie Onishi answers the internet’s burning questions about surgery. How come it doesn’t seem like people bleed that much during surgery? Why do they cut off your clothing in the ER? Can an electric eel act like a defibrillator? Annie answers all these questions and much more! [Wired]
Every year more than 1,000 tons of plastic rains down onto national parks and wilderness in the western U.S. Where does that plastic come from? And is it also in rain that falls on Washington, DC? [Reactions]
In the 20th century, most vaccines took over a decade to research, test, and produce. But the vaccines for COVID-19 were cleared for emergency use in less than 11 months. The secret behind this speed is a medical technology that’s been developing for decades: the mRNA vaccine. So how do these revolutionary vaccines work? Kaitlyn […]
Check out this compilation of amazing footage from the winners of the Nikon Small World In Motion 2021 competition! Nikon’s Small World in Motion encompasses any movie or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope. [Nikon Instruments Inc. | Via Neatorama]