NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

The Conversation

How the zebrafish got its stripes

  • Written by Alexandria Volkening, Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Mathematics, The Ohio State University
Zebrafish are known for their black and gold stripes.NICHD/flickr, CC BY

Stripes are common in our lives. It’s a pretty basic pattern, and easy to take for granted.

As an applied mathematician who studies how patterns form in nature, though, I am wowed by the striped patterns the zebrafish wears across its body and fins.

Take a closer look...

Read more: How the zebrafish got its stripes

Rivers flood regularly during hurricanes, but get less attention than coastlines

  • Written by Craig E. Colten, Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography, Louisiana State University
Flooding in Kinston, North Carolina during Tropical Storm Florence, September 14, 2018.NC National Guard, CC BY

Hurricane Florence, now a tropical depression, has dropped record-setting rainfall on parts of North Carolina. Many river gauges show waterways above flood stage. Flash and long-term flooding, as well as a risk of landslides, are expected...

Read more: Rivers flood regularly during hurricanes, but get less attention than coastlines

¿Por qué sentimos el olor de la lluvia?

  • Written by Tim Logan, Instructional Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University
Su olfato percibe lo que va a pasar.Lucy Chian/Unsplash, CC BY

Cuando caen las primeras gotas de lluvia del verano al suelo caliente y seco, ¿acaso notas el aroma?

Recuerdo muy bien mis primeros años de niñez. Entre mis familiares había unos campesinos que solían decir que anticipaban las tormentas, antes de que...

Read more: ¿Por qué sentimos el olor de la lluvia?

Barrier islands protect coasts from storms, but are vulnerable too

  • Written by Anna Linhoss, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University
Ship Island, one of the Mississippi Gulf islands, photographed in 2004.USGS

When hurricanes like Florence make landfall, the first things they hit often are barrier islands – thin ribbons of sand that line the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It’s hard to imagine how these narrow strips can withstand such forces, but in fact, many of...

Read more: Barrier islands protect coasts from storms, but are vulnerable too

Nuclear reactors in hurricanes: 5 questions answered

  • Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida
Florida's Turkey Point Nuclear Plant shut down 12 hours before Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992.AP Photo/Phil Sandlin

Hurricane Florence may affect the operations of several of the 16 nuclear reactors located in the Carolinas and Virginia, raising concerns about safety and power outages. Ted Kury, director of energy studies at the University...

Read more: Nuclear reactors in hurricanes: 5 questions answered

Immigrant detention in the US: 4 essential reads

  • Written by Danielle Douez, Associate Editor, Politics + Society

More children are being held in immigrant detention centers in the U.S. than ever previously recorded, according to The New York Times.

The number of immigrant children in detention has risen to about 12,800, the Times reports, a significant increase from 2,400 in 2017. Here are 4 stories from our archive that will help readers understand some...

Read more: Immigrant detention in the US: 4 essential reads

Can Jeff Bezos help the homeless? 4 essential reads

  • Written by Aviva Rutkin, Big Data + Applied Mathematics Editor
A homeless man in Times Square.AP Photo/Julie Jacobson

Tonight, some 554,000 people in the U.S. will be homeless.

Many of them live on the West Coast, where Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is launching a new fund that plans to fight the problem. Part of the US$2 billion donated by Bezos will be spent “to provide shelter and hunger support to address the...

Read more: Can Jeff Bezos help the homeless? 4 essential reads

Could coal ash be a viable source of rare-earth metals?

  • Written by Saptarshi Das, Graduate Research Assistant in Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology
Is more than waste stored in this pile of coal ash?AP Photo/Steve Helber

Rare-earth elements, including neodymium and yttrium, are not actually rare – more common, in fact, in the Earth’s crust than copper and tin. But, because they are scattered widely, and hard to separate from their surrounding ores, mining and refining them is...

Read more: Could coal ash be a viable source of rare-earth metals?

Delacroix at the Met: A retrospective that evokes today's turmoil

  • Written by Claire Black McCoy, Professor of Art History, Columbus State University
Eugène Delacroix's 'Self-Portrait in a Green Vest' (1837).Wikimedia Commons

I’m an art historian and professor who studies and teaches French Romantic art. So when I was in France this past summer, I made sure to see the Louvre’s retrospective exhibition of French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix.

In the galleries, I...

Read more: Delacroix at the Met: A retrospective that evokes today's turmoil

Battles over patriotism, Pledge of Allegiance in schools span a century

  • Written by Randall Curren, Professor of Philosophy, University of Rochester
Americans have long differed over whether patriotism should be pushed in their nation's schools.vepar5/www.shutterstock.com

When a California school principal called controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick an “anti-American thug” for his protests during the national anthem at NFL football games, passions were inflamed anew over...

Read more: Battles over patriotism, Pledge of Allegiance in schools span a century

More Articles ...

  1. Ground-level ozone continues to damage health, even at low levels
  2. Death count debates overshadow the real story: Hurricane Maria was partly a human-made disaster
  3. Study shows BPA substitutes may cause same health issues as the original
  4. Why hurricane forecasters can’t ‘politicize’ storm warnings even if they wanted to
  5. Miles de expertos en salud mental coinciden en el diagnóstico: Donald Trump es un peligro
  6. After a century, insulin is still expensive – could DIYers change that?
  7. For centuries, anonymous insider accounts have chipped away at ruling regimes – and sometimes toppled them
  8. Magnetic bacteria and their unique superpower attract researchers
  9. Lessons from White House disinformation a century ago: 'It's dangerous to believe your own propaganda'
  10. Want to help after hurricanes? Give cash, not diapers
  11. Why we love robotic dogs, puppets and dolls
  12. Hurricanes can cause enormous damage inland, but emergency plans focus on coasts
  13. How social networks can save lives when disasters strike
  14. Why the Russians might hack the Boy Scouts next
  15. India's sodomy ban, now ruled illegal, was a British colonial legacy
  16. How Les Moonves got to leave CBS on his own terms while others in #MeToo miscreant club got canned
  17. What is flood insurance and why the system is broken: 6 questions answered
  18. New data paint an unpleasant picture of poverty in the US
  19. Gene-editing technique CRISPR identifies dangerous breast cancer mutations
  20. Savvy social media strategies boost anti-establishment political wins
  21. What college rankings really measure – hint: It's not quality or value
  22. 6 questions you can ask a loved one to help screen for suicide risk
  23. The national prison strike is over. Now is the time prisoners are most in danger
  24. Our shared reality is fraying
  25. Images of suffering can bring about change – but are they ethical?
  26. Anniversary of Lehman's collapse reminds us – booms are often followed by busts
  27. What the world needs now to fight climate change: More swamps
  28. California aims to become carbon-free by 2045. Is that feasible?
  29. How meteorologists predict the next big hurricane
  30. 'Treason' is now a popular word – here's what it really means
  31. Los activistas que luchan por abolir el ICE plantean una visión más amplia
  32. Can the census ask if you're a citizen? Here's what's at stake in court battles over the 2020 census
  33. Why al-Qaida is still strong 17 years after 9/11
  34. Minority job applicants with 'strong racial identities' may encounter less pay and lower odds of getting hired
  35. Welcome to the new Meghalayan age – here's how it fits with the rest of Earth's geologic history
  36. The friendship of Michelle Obama and George W. Bush strikes a hopeful, important chord
  37. When MSNBC or Fox News airs in public places, how do people react?
  38. Women's colleges play unique role in quest for equality
  39. Detroit is Burning
  40. Police killings of 3 black men left a mark on Detroit's history more than 50 years ago
  41. Simple blood test could read people's internal clock
  42. The 19th-century tumult over climate change – and why it matters today
  43. Nonprofit newsrooms are reaching bigger audiences by teaming up with other outlets
  44. If Trump were a CEO, his board would have fired him by now
  45. Why the anonymous op-ed sets a dangerous precedent
  46. Insects were not what my girlfriends wanted to study, until we 'met' Dana Scully
  47. 25 Years after The X-Files premiered, Dana Scully is still inspiring women to pursue STEM careers
  48. Violence against the media isn't new – history shows why it largely disappeared and has now returned
  49. Green Bay Packers fans love that their team doesn't have an owner – just don't call it 'communism'
  50. Kavanaugh's 'judge as umpire' metaphor sounds neutral but it's deeply conservative