Anthropocene vs Meghalayan: Why geologists are fighting over whether humans are a force of nature

Anthropocene vs Meghalayan: Why geologists are fighting over whether humans are a force of nature

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Many scientists believe it is impossible to ignore the human impact on the planet when defining the geological age we live in today. Shutterstock By Mark Maslin, UCL and Simon Lewis, UCL The Earth discovered it was living in a new slice of time called the Meghalayan Age in July 2018. But the announcement by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) confused and angered scientists all around the world. In the 21st century, it claimed, we are still officially…

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Brains keep temporary molecular records before making a lasting memory

Brains keep temporary molecular records before making a lasting memory

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Like the day’s newspaper, the brain has a temporary way to keep track of events. TonTonic/Shutterstock.com By Kelsey Tyssowski, Harvard University The first dance at my wedding lasted exactly four minutes and 52 seconds, but I’ll probably remember it for decades. Neuroscientists still don’t entirely understand this: How was my brain able to translate this less-than-five-minute experience into a lifelong memory? Part of the puzzle is that there’s a gap between experience and memory: our experiences are fleeting, but it…

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Terrified by ‘hothouse Earth’? Don’t despair, do something

Terrified by ‘hothouse Earth’? Don’t despair, do something

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Eric Holthaus writes: A team of international researchers released what looks like a blueprint for catastrophe this week. On our current path, they warned, humanity might push the planet into an entirely new, hellish equilibrium, unseen since before the emergence of our species millions of years ago. This doomsday scenario, which they dubbed “hothouse Earth,” could render large swaths of our planet uninhabitable. Their conclusion: “Humanity is now facing the need for critical decisions and actions that could influence our…

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Carmakers speed toward electric future despite Trump rollback

Carmakers speed toward electric future despite Trump rollback

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Bloomberg reports: The Trump administration wants to try to limit California’s special ability to require increasing purchase of electric vehicles in the state—but major automakers say they have no intention of reversing course on their electric vehicle plans. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department are targeting California’s authority under the Clean Air Act to set stricter tailpipe emissions limits and zero emission vehicle requirements than the federal government. The agencies, as part of a larger Aug. 2 proposal…

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The world abetted Assad’s victory in Syria

The world abetted Assad’s victory in Syria

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Christopher Phillips writes: After more than seven years of a civil war that has left half of Syria’s population displaced, cities reduced to rubble, and over 500,000 killed, President Bashar al-Assad appears to be on the brink of victory. In July, units loyal to Assad recaptured Deraa, where the peaceful protests that turned into a violent rebellion against him first began in 2011. The recapture came as Assad conquered the south, one of the last rebel holdouts. The war is…

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New details about Wilbur Ross’ business point to pattern of grifting

New details about Wilbur Ross’ business point to pattern of grifting

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Forbes reports: A multimillion-dollar lawsuit has been quietly making its way through the New York State court system over the last three years, pitting a private equity manager named David Storper against his former boss: Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The pair worked side by side for more than a decade, eventually at the firm, WL Ross & Co.—where, Storper later alleged, Ross stole his interests in a private equity fund, transferred them to himself, then tried to cover it…

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Community

Community

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When I was a Buddhist monk and the Dalai Lama visited us in France, there was a meeting of most of the Western monks and nuns in our community. At that time, the majority were living in a monastery and neighboring nunnery near Toulouse, but others were visiting from elsewhere in Europe, America, India and Australia. We were about 100 people. We had the grandiose mission of preserving Tibetan Buddhism so that it could survive in exile and spread across…

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Scorching summer in Europe signals long-term climate changes

Scorching summer in Europe signals long-term climate changes

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The New York Times reports: In Northern Europe, this summer feels like a modern-day version of the biblical plagues. Cows are dying of thirst in Switzerland, fires are gobbling up timber in Sweden, the majestic Dachstein glacier is melting in Austria. In London, stores are running out of fans and air-conditioners. In Greenland, an iceberg may break off a piece so large that it could trigger a tsunami that destroys settlements on shore. Last week, Sweden’s highest peak, Kebnekaise mountain,…

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The U.S. education system has produced a society of ‘smart fools’

The U.S. education system has produced a society of ‘smart fools’

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Cornell University psychologist Robert Sternberg: IQ rose 30 points in the 20th century around the world, and in the U.S., that increase is continuing. That’s huge; that’s two standard deviations, which is like the difference between an average IQ of 100 and a gifted IQ of 130. We should be happy about this, but the question I ask is, If you look at the problems we have in the world today—climate change, income disparities in this country that probably rival…

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Kim Jong-un nukes the U.S. in a terrifyingly plausible near-future novel by Jeffrey Lewis

Kim Jong-un nukes the U.S. in a terrifyingly plausible near-future novel by Jeffrey Lewis

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Juian Borger writes: Reflecting on US nostalgia for music from past wars, the musician and satirist Tom Lehrer once joked: “I feel that if any songs are going to come out of World War III, we’d better start writing them now.” Those whose job it is to contemplate the likelihood and impact of nuclear war feel the same way about postmortems. Trying to explain what went wrong after a thermo-nuclear conflict kills millions is the ultimate in futility – a…

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U.S. to restore sanctions on Iran after withdrawal from nuclear deal

U.S. to restore sanctions on Iran after withdrawal from nuclear deal

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The New York Times reports: The United States will reimpose sanctions against Iran at midnight on Monday, restoring economic penalties that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord and ratcheting up pressure on Tehran while worsening divides with European allies and other world powers. The sanctions are a consequence of President Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from an international deal that sought to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing pressure on the country’s shaky economy. Mr. Trump…

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UK would run out of food a year from now with no-deal Brexit, farmers’ union warns

UK would run out of food a year from now with no-deal Brexit, farmers’ union warns

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The Guardian reports: Britain would run out of food on this date next year if it cannot continue to easily import from the EU and elsewhere after Brexit, the National Farmers’ Union has warned. Minette Batters, the NFU president, urged the government to put food security at the top of the political agenda after the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was talked up this week. “The UK farming sector has the potential to be one of the most impacted sectors…

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Facebook to banks: Give us your data, we’ll give you our users

Facebook to banks: Give us your data, we’ll give you our users

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Facebook wants your financial data. The social-media giant has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, including card transactions and checking-account balances, as part of an effort to offer new services to users. Facebook increasingly wants to be a platform where people buy and sell goods and services, besides connecting with friends. The company over the past year asked JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and U.S. Bancorp to discuss potential…

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China stands up to threat posed by Winnie the Pooh

China stands up to threat posed by Winnie the Pooh

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BBC News reports: China’s film authorities have denied a release to Disney’s new Winnie the Pooh film, Christopher Robin, it’s reported. No reason has been given for the decision, but it’s believed to be part of a nationwide clampdown on references to the beloved children’s character. Chinese authorities have been blocking images of Pooh on social media since last year, after the AA Milne bear became a symbol of political dissent. It’s after the Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been…

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