October 2021

Copying Nature to Fight Climate Change

By Max G. Levy
Every living thing on Earth owes its life to a single process that arose billions of years ago: photosynthesis. Now, scientists are mimicking it to help reduce our fossil-fuel dependence that drives global warming.

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Artificial Leaf Puzzle (PDF)

What's the Deal With Climate Change?

By Jeffrey Deakin
You’ve heard that the world is warming, and that this trend is driven mainly by rising levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere. But do you know why CO₂ and climate change are so closely connected? 

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Why a Pennsylvania Town Has Been Burning For 60 Years

By Brian Rohrig
At its peak, the former coal town of Centralia, Pa.,  was home to about 2,000 residents. But a dangerous fire started in an old mine, putting lives at risk. Condemned in the ’90s, the ghost town is still on fire. 

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Science Solves the Mystery of an Ancient, Deadly Ritual

By Wynne Parry
In a once-thriving ancient city, Roman priests used to lead bulls to a “gate to the underworld,” where the animals would mysteriously collapse and die. After 2,000 years, we now know what really killed the bulls.

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Open for Discussion: How to Read Science News and Spot Misinformation

With science-related news—including un-founded rumors—being released at a blistering pace on social media, we are constantly weighing the credibility of information. But how do we reliably do that?   

Chemistry in Person: A Scientist’s Path to Policy

When Stephanie DeLuca started college, she had her heart set on becoming a geneticist. She wanted to learn how small differences in gene structure sometimes results in the development of disease. Now, DeLuca is a legislative assistant and focuses on health care and disability policy.