CuriousMinds

Mega El Niños kicked off the world’s worst mass extinction

Most species died off during the Great Dying 252 million years ago

The vast majority of Earth’s species died out at the end of the Permian Period, as illustrated here. The largest mass extinction yet has its roots in El Niños that grew increasingly stronger as an outpouring of greenhouse gases warmed the global climate.

Lynette Cook/Science Source

A barrage of intense, wild swings in climate conditions may have fueled the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. A re-creation of how ancient sea surface temperatures, ocean and atmosphere circulation, and landmasses interacted revealed an Earth plagued by nearly decade-long stints of droughts, wildfires and flooding.

Path to prosperity for planet and people shrinking rapidly, scientists warn

Our planet will only remain able to provide even the most basic standard of living for everyone in the future if economic systems and technologies are dramatically transformed and critical resources are more fairly used, managed and shared, a new report shows. The report is co-authored by over sixty leading natural and social scientists from the Earth Commission, led by the UvA’s Joyeeta Gupta, as well as Prof. Xuemei Bai and Prof. Diana Liverman. The report was published today in The Lancet Planetary Health.

The new research builds on the ‘Safe and Just Earth System Boundaries’ published in Nature last year, which found that most of the vital limits within which people and the planet can thrive have been surpassed. The new paper identifies the ‘Safe and Just Space’ - within which harm to humans and nature can be minimised…

The Surprising Benefits of Gossip | Scientific American

Social scientists are uncovering the intricate group dynamics of gossip

Scientists have studied gossip for decades. That’s not surprising given the activity’s near universality in any social group, big or small. It’s estimated that more than 90 percent of people in workplaces in the U.S. and Western Europe indulge in such banter—defined as talking about someone not present. People in modern societies spend about an hour a day immersed in chin-wagging, one study reports. But investigators are now approaching this fixture of social life from a new perspective.

In past decades, says Rice University psychologist Tianjun Sun, researchers focused primarily on the damage wrought by gossiping, and they zeroed in on either the gossip spreader or the target—the person being talked about. Now, she says, they have changed course by looking more at the benefits of gossip and the dynamics of a…

Researchers Create Solution That Makes Living Skin Transparent | The University of Texas at Dallas (utdallas.edu) In a pioneering new study, researchers made the skin on the skulls and abdomens of live mice transparent by applying to the areas a mixture of water and a common yellow food coloring called tartrazine.

Scientists safely made the skin of live mice transparent by applying a mixture of water and a common yellow food coloring called tartrazine. The reversible process allowed for direct observation of blood vessels and internal organs. (Illustration courtesy of Dr. Zihao Ou; schematics created with BioRender.com)

Dr. Zihao Ou, assistant professor of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, is lead author of the study, published online Sept. 5 in the journal Science.

Living skin is a scattering medium. Like fog, it scatters light, which is why it cannot be seen through.

“We combined the yellow dye, which is…