Science News for Writers

One job of the writer is to stay current with the trends in our societies.  An alarming increase in the number of suicides within our oldest is just such an occurrence. Why after a lifetime of work and planning are so many seniors opting to end their lives?  The answers, according to this study, shows how the changes in our economy are effecting people, leaving them hopeless and grasping for options.   Suicide rates for adults between 40 and 64 years of age in the U.S. have risen about 40% since 1999, with a sharp rise since 2007. One possible explanation could be the detrimental effects of the economic downturn of 2007-2009, leading to disproportionate effects on house values, household finances, and retirement savings for that age group. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that external economic factors were present in 37.5% of all completed suicides in 2010, rising from 32.9% in 2005. In addition, suffocation, a...

Brad Pitt in the movie, "World War Z"   A team of Cornell University researchers focused on a fictional zombie outbreak as an approach to disease modeling.  They suggest heading for the Rockies to save your brains from the undead . What should you do to survive a Zombie outbreak? Statistical mechanics reveals the ideal hideout. A team of Cornell University researchers focusing on a fictional zombie outbreak as an approach to disease modeling suggests heading for the hills, in the Rockies, to save your brains from the undead. Reading World War Z, an oral history of the first zombie war, a graduate statistical mechanics class inspired a group of Cornell University researchers to explore how an "actual" zombie outbreak might play out in the U.S. During the 2015 American Physical Society March Meeting, on Thursday, March 5 in San Antonio, Texas, the group will describe their work modeling the statistical mechanics of zombies--those thankfu...

There are many who feel that nuclear power is much more green than we have been led to believe. Could it be that most of what we fear about nuclear power stations is wrong?  Perhaps scare tactics from the coal and oil industries? Top environmentalists and global warming researchers such as James Lovelock have been urging the countries of the world to re-examine the risks of nuclear power when compared to the known costs of global warming and environmental degradation.  Now film director Robert Stone has created a riveting Sundance Film Festival winning documentary explaining our options in a rapidly changing and warming world in a fascinating exploration of this question. Click on image to view trailers or the film. Stone and his film crew take you to Fukushima, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island, to waste storage facilities in France and naturally radioactive beaches in Brazil  Stone's film features Stewart Brand of the Wh...

astronomy.stackexchange.com New research concludes that Earth's infrequent but predictable path around and through our Galaxy's disc may have a direct and significant effect on geological and biological phenomena occurring on Earth. Scientists conclude that movement through dark matter may perturb the orbits of comets and lead to additional heating in the Earth's core, both of which could be connected with mass extinction events. And does dark matter cause mass extinctions and geologic upheavals? One U.S. researcher thinks so.  Research by New York University Biology Professor Michael Rampino concludes that Earth's infrequent but predictable path around and through our Galaxy's disc may have a direct and significant effect on geological and biological phenomena occurring on Earth. In a new paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, he concludes that movement through dark matter may perturb the orbits of comets and lead to addi...