19 articles from TUESDAY 5.11.2019

Terrawatch: the recipe for an explosive volcano eruption

Study reveals which conditions can render basaltic volcanoes highly destructive More than half of the world’s volcanoes are basaltic. Most basaltic eruptions tend to ooze their magma out in a relatively benign way, producing a thick, sticky flow. But occasionally they go off with a big bang, like the eruption of Mount Etna in 122BC, which destroyed the Roman town of Catania. Now a study reveals...

Bradley Doorn Awarded NASA Exceptional Service Medal

Bradley Doorn has worked at NASA for 10 years. Credit: NASA/Bradley Doorn. Brad Doorn, program manager for NASA Earth Applied Sciences Water Resources Program and Food Security Program, is receiving NASA’s prestigious Exceptional Service Medal for his committed work to advance NASA’s goals. This award is granted to NASA civil servants for “sustained performance that embodies multiple...

NASA’s TESS Presents Panorama of Southern Sky

Portal origin URL: NASA’s TESS Presents Panorama of Southern SkyPortal origin nid: 454739Published: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - 13:00Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: The glow of the Milky Way — our galaxy seen edgewise — arcs across a sea of stars in a new mosaic of the southern sky produced from a year of observations by NASA’s Transiting...

How One Commonly Used Asthma Inhaler is Damaging the Planet

If there is any field of science that understands the doctrine of unintended consequences, it’s medicine. We rely on antibiotics to wipe out infections, and in the process breed a class of superbugs resistant to the drugs. We develop powerful medications that can control chronic pain, and in the U.S., have a nationwide addiction crisis to show for that breakthrough. Now, it appears, we can...

Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’

Statement sets out ‘vital signs’ as indicators of magnitude of the climate emergencyMost countries’ climate plans ‘totally inadequate’ – expertsThe world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists.“We declare clearly and unequivocally that...

Human Activities Are Drying Out the Amazon: NASA Study

Portal origin URL: Human Activities Are Drying Out the Amazon: NASA StudyPortal origin nid: 454756Published: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - 09:30Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: A new NASA study shows that over the last 20 years, the atmosphere above the Amazon rainforest has been drying out, increasing the demand for water and leaving ecosystems...

Why Didn't She Get Alzheimer's? The Answer Could Hold a Key to Fighting the Disease

The woman's genetic profile showed she would develop Alzheimer's by the time she turned 50.A member of the world's largest family to suffer from Alzheimer's, she, like generations of her relatives, was born with a gene mutation that causes people to begin having memory and thinking problems in their 40s and deteriorate rapidly toward death around age 60.But remarkably, she...