Alter

A de facto moratorium on solar geoengineering will stay in place after heated talks at the United Nations Environment Assembly ended in a stalemate. The debate is over whether to let people launch particles into the sky that would reflect sunlight back into space, ostensibly cooling down the planet. It’s a hotly contested tactic for tackling climate change. Geoengineering does nothing to stop what’s actually causing the problem: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. And tinkering with the makeup of our planet and…

In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet, smartphones have become an inseparable part of our lives. The device once used for…

The "microbiome" is the unique population of microorganisms found in and on every plant and animal. Scientists have now genetically altered that population in rice plants, making them more resistant to harmful bacteria. The technology could one day reduce the need for pesticides.In the initial phase of the study, the researchers identified a gene in rice plants which is responsible for their production of lignin (a biopolymer that makes up plants' cell walls).The scientists suspected that this gene also affects the makeup…

Jonathan Howe has focused much of his research on understanding the experiences of Black student-athletes in the predominantly white spaces of historically white institutions and Division I college athletics. His latest study, "Self-Presentation and Black Male College Athletes at Historically White Institutions," was recently published in the Sociology of Sport Journal. Credit: Temple University On Sept. 16, the University of…

Do social media echo chambers deepen political polarization, or simply reflect existing social divisions?A landmark research project that investigated Facebook around the 2020 US presidential election published its first results Thursday, finding that, contrary to assumption, the platform's often criticized content-ranking algorithm doesn't shape users' beliefs. The work is the product of a collaboration between Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and a group of academics from US universities who were…

Troubled edtech major Byju’s has reached a tentative agreement to rework its loan pact with lenders who collectively own more than 85% of the $1.2 billion Term B loan, people aware of the matter told ET. An announcement in this regard is expected early Monday.A Term Loan B (TLB) typically is aimed at generating long-term returns on investment through interest payment to investors while the borrower will get time to pay the principal amount only at the end of the tenure.The sources cited said that according to the new…

A study by Northwestern Medicine links recent and long-term marijuana use to changes in the human epigenome. The research identified significant epigenetic changes through observing DNA methylation markers. While the study does not establish causal relationships, it sets the stage for further research into marijuana’s epigenetic impact and its potential health effects.Recent and long-term marijuana use is linked to changes in the human epigenome, a new Northwestern Medicine study published in the journal Molecular…

Credit: The Conversation Back-to-school sales are underway, and people across the country will be shopping online to fill up backpacks, lockers and closets—and they'll be taking advantage of free returns. Making it easy for customers to return items at no cost started as a retail strategy to entice more people to shop online. But…

There’s been quite a bit of movement lately among venture capitalists moving to new firms or going out on their own, while others are getting into VC. NEA partner Pete Sonsini and Kleiner Perkins’ Wen Hsieh were reportedly leaving their respective firms to start their own firms. David Cahn left Coatue for Sequoia Capital and Maria Salamanca left Unshackled Ventures last year for Ulu Ventures. Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Glancy and Julie Wainwright joined the world of venture capital. Former Index…

It’s surprisingly easy for someone to mess with the makeup of Earth’s atmosphere, regardless of the consequences that could have for our planet. Now, as part of its plans to address security risks posed by climate change, the European Union is calling for talks on a potential international framework on how to treat deliberately atmosphere-altering technologies, AKA geoengineering.The idea with geoengineering is to deploy new technologies that might be able to cool the planet down. The tactic that’s caused the most uproar…