14 articles from SATURDAY 3.12.2022
Beyond beliefs: does religious faith lead to a happier, healthier life?
The stress-reducing, life-extending benefits of religion can offer useful strategies even for non-believers, say scientistsIn his Pensées, published posthumously in 1670, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal appeared to establish a foolproof argument for religious commitment, which he saw as a kind of bet. If the existence of God was even minutely possible, he claimed, then the potential gain was...
Black and minoritized ethnic communities at disproportionate risk of homelessness in the UK
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a heightened awareness of ethnic inequality in the UK. Despite some recent studies on housing conditions in the context of the pandemic, little attention has been paid to how racial inequality and homelessness intersect.
How giant-faced owls snag voles hidden in snow
Hovering over a target helps giant-faced Great Gray owls pinpoint prey hidden beneath as much as two feet of snow.
Coronavirus drug target that could halt virus replication identified
Structural details of an attractive drug target in coronaviruses that could be used against SARS-CoV-2 and in future pandemics have been published by international teams co-led by UCL researchers.
Nevada toad in geothermal power fight gets endangered status
A tiny Nevada toad at the center of a legal battle over a geothermal power project has officially been declared an endangered species, after U.S. wildlife officials temporarily listed it on a rarely used emergency basis last spring.
Earthshot Prize: Prince William announces five winners
Friends from Oman who turn CO2 into rock and a UK firm making packaging from seaweed are among the winners.
Notpla: UK plastic-alternative developer among £1m Earthshot Prize winners
A London firm which developers nature-friendly packaging is among five climate prize winners.
Earthshot fund gives £1m to UK scientists fighting climate crisis
Scientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed among those to be given prize by Prince of WalesScientists who have replaced plastic packaging with seaweed are among those who have been given a £1m prize by the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot fund.The prize is aimed at rewarding innovative solutions to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies, and is named after former US...
New U.S. law promises to light up marijuana research
It just got easier for U.S. scientists to get their hands on some pot—for research, that is.
President Joe Biden today signed into law a bill that streamlines access to marijuana for medical research.
The new law
is expected to speed the issuance of government permits to scientists who want to study cannabis, whose medicinal promise has been widely touted but...