ScienceDaily: Society - December 19, 2023
Top society research news
Exoplanets'climate -- it takes nothing to switch from habitable to hell
The Earth is a wonderful blue and green dot covered with oceans and life, while Venus is a yellowish sterile sphere that is not only inhospitable but also sterile. However, the difference between the two bears to only a few degrees in temperature. A team of astronomers has achieved a world's first by managing to simulate the entirety of the runaway greenhouse process which can transform the climate of a planet from idyllic and perfect for life, to a place more than harsh and hostile. The scientists have also demonstrated that from initial stages of the process, the atmospheric structure and cloud coverage undergo significant changes, leading to an almost-unstoppable and very complicated to reverse runaway greenhouse effect. On Earth, a global average temperature rise of just a few tens of degrees, subsequent to a slight rise of the Sun's luminosity, would be sufficient to initiate this phenomenon and to make our planet inhabitable.
Lukasz Pawel Szczepanski/shutterstock.com
Since 2009, the Cambridge Conservation Initiative has coordinated an annual horizon scan, a well-established method for predicting which threats, changes, and technologies will have the biggest impact on biological conservation in the following year. This year, the 15th horizon scan included 31 scientists, practitioners, and policymakers who developed a list of 96 issues, which they eventually narrowed down to the fifteen most novel and impactful. Their findings include topics related to sustainable energy, declining invertebrate populations, and changing marine ecosystems.
People who abandon New Year's resolutions or other commitments can maintain the respect of their peers by blaming external factors such as lack of money, new research suggests. Studies have found that people were more likely to be seen as having good self-control despite abandoning a commitment to live a healthier life if they claimed they did not have the money for a gym membership or expensive new cooking equipment. People who instead claimed they didn't have the time to exercise or to replace a takeaway habit with healthy, home-cooked food, were more likely to be seen as having poor self-control.
Positive tipping points must be triggered to solve climate crisis
Positive tipping points must be triggered if we are to avoid the severe consequences of damaging Earth system tipping points, researchers say.
How an overlooked study over a century ago helped fuel the Colorado River crisis
At the start of World War I, a scientist named Eugene Clyde La Rue hiked the American West to estimate how much water flows down the Colorado River. His findings were ignored, but leaders today don't have to make the same mistake.
How can Europe restore its nature?
Early 2024, the European Parliament will take a final vote on the 'Nature Restoration Law' (NRL), a globally unique but hotly debated regulation that aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in Europe. An international team of scientists has investigated the prospects of the new regulation.
Researchers sought to investigate whether socioeconomically vulnerable households experienced longer power outage durations after extreme weather events. The team analyzed data from the top eight major Atlantic hurricanes between 2017 and 2020 that knocked out power for over 15 million customers in nine states across the southeastern U.S. The team found that people in lower socioeconomic tiers wait significantly longer to have power restored after a major storm -- nearly three hours longer on average. Â
Jurors recommend death penalty based on looks, but new training can correct the bias
A new study shows that people use facial appearance to make sentencing decisions, and finds an intervention to counter the bias.
Thinking about God inspires risk-taking for believers, study finds
Does thinking about faith make religious people more likely to take leaps? A new study says yes, finding that participants were more likely to take risks when thinking about God as a benevolent protector. The study specifically looked at American Christians and 'morally neutral' risks.Â
U.S. renters are hit the hardest when a hurricane strikes, new research shows
Two new studies based on data from 2009 to 2018 show that renters living along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States face rent increases, higher eviction rates, and a lack of affordable housing in the aftermath of a hurricane.
Do you celebrate your birthday in the same month as your mum? If so, you are not alone. The phenomenon occurs more commonly than expected -- a new study of millions of families has revealed.Â
Was the earthquake induced or natural? New study tests frameworks to answer the question
Using questionnaires created to determine whether a particular earthquake is natural or induced by human activity, a panel of experts concluded that the November 2022 magnitude 5.2 Peace River earthquake sequence in Alberta, Canada was likely to be induced.
And after nearly two years of fighting, war is destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage on a scale not seen since World War II, according to new research.
Poor diet quality during adolescence is linked to serious health risks
Diet quality among adolescents in the United States is among the worst across all age groups, putting young people at risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes, among other cardiometabolic diseases later in life, according to a new study. The research used the Healthy Eating Index-2015 and medical testing to assess a group of youth aged 10-16 years.
What would be the most effective use of a certain plot of land in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, which is a natural means of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or erecting fields of solar panels, which reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? This dilemma has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, for the first time -- based on findings from arid areas and on comprehensive measurements of the energy flow exchanged between the ground and the atmosphere -- we may have an answer to this question. Â
Workplace gossip can benefit employees and employers
New research shows how some workplace gossip could reduce the likelihood of employee turnover and, as a result, potentially boost an organization's effectiveness.
Large study presents evidence for behavioral sciences in policymaking
A new global study underscores the crucial role of behavioral sciences in formulating policy decisions, while also asserting the need for clear standards for what evidence gets used in policy decisions.
National policy aimed at reducing U.S. greenhouse gases also would improve water quality
A climate policy that raises the price of carbon-intensive products across the entire U.S. economy would yield a side benefit of reducing nitrate groundwater contamination throughout the Mississippi River Basin. The Gulf of Mexico, an important U.S. fishery, also would see modest benefits from the nitrate reductions.
Much of the discussion around implementing artificial intelligence systems focuses on whether an AI application is 'trustworthy': Does it produce useful, reliable results, free of bias, while ensuring data privacy? But a new article poses a different question: What if an AI is just too good?
Artificial intelligence systems excel at imitation, but not innovation
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are often depicted as sentient agents poised to overshadow the human mind. But AI lacks the crucial human ability of innovation, researchers have found.
Single-use e-cigarettes contain batteries that last hundreds of cycles despite being discarded
While the lithium-ion batteries in disposable electronic cigarettes are discarded after a single use, they can continue to perform at high capacity for hundreds of cycles, according to a new study. The analysis highlights a growing environmental threat from these increasingly popular vape pens, which are not designed to be recharged.
Cannabis exposure linked to 1.5 times higher risk of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes
In a large study of more than 9,000 pregnant people from across the U.S., researchers at University of Utah Health have found that cannabis exposure during pregnancy is associated with a composite measure of unhealthy pregnancy outcomes, especially low birth weight, and that higher exposure is associated with higher risks.
Is age linked to the picture of the perfect partner?
How do women picture the partner of their dreams? And how does this vary between women based on their age? A team of researchers has investigated the complex relationships between age and preferences for a partner in a large, international sample of single women. The study found that most preferences for a partner showed no variation between women of different ages. However, higher age was linked to a preference for confident and assertive partners, as well as acceptance of a larger age range, in particular a higher acceptance of a partner being younger than oneself. Age was also linked to the parenting intentions of the ideal partner: consistently high in importance until approximately age 28 and then decreasing thereafter.
How a drought led to the rise of skateboarding in 1970s California
Why did professional skateboarding arise in southern California in the 1970s? Was it a coincidence, or was it a perfect storm of multiple factors? It's fairly well-known that a drought in southern California in the mid-1970s led to a ban on filling backyard swimming pools, and these empty pools became playgrounds for freestyle skateboarders in the greater Los Angeles area. But a new cross-disciplinary study shows that beyond the drought, it was the entanglement of environmental, economic and technological factors that led to the explosive rise of professional skateboarding culture in the 1970s.
Ukraine has lost 18% of its scientists due to the war
18% of Ukraine's most talented scientists have fled due to the war and research capacity is down 20%, according to recent research. The researchers urge stakeholders to plan future policies to ensure the return of talent for rebuilding Ukraine.
Genetic 'protection' against depression was no match for pandemic stress
Living through a historic pandemic while handling the stress of the first year of college sent one-third of students in a new study into clinical depression. That's double the percentage seen in previous years of the same study. And while certain genetic factors appeared to shield first-year students in pre-pandemic years from depression, even students with these protective factors found themselves developing symptoms in the pandemic years.