anything abstract suits life currently WW
WE ARE FUCKED
dont need an aged biden,stumbling around,muttering nonsensical shit,trying to soft/sweettalk
New Zealand's Threatened Fossils | Mapping Migrant Deaths | A Foray With Fungi
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April 2, 2021 — This week at
Undark Magazine —
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One of New Zealand's most spectacular fossil sites is an unremarkable rectangle of heaped white earth located in the middle of a sheep pasture. Named Foulden Maar, it's actually a low-rimmed volcanic crater that formed about 23 million years ago, which filled with seasonal layers of microscopic algae called diatoms. The fossils that have been uncovered reveal an entire ecosystem of new species, and the barcode-like stripes of diatomite provide a valuable high-resolution record of climate change.
The diatomite is also a valuable material that is mined extensively across the globe. Starting in the early 2000s, geologists and miners worked side-by-side at the site, allowing extraction to occur alongside scientific discovery. When a new mining company bought the site in 2015,
Kate Evans reports for Undark, their ambitious plans made scientists worry that the fossils would be crushed to dust. But New Zealanders rallied behind the fossils, and the ensuing public resistance may yet save the site for science.
Also this week: Each year, thousands of migrants on the Southwest border attempt to cross the Sonoran Desert, and the number who die from exposure to the harsh conditions is on the rise. To understand changes in migration routes,
researchers are now integrating GIS mapping and data from humanitarian aid groups — and showing how government policy has made crossing the border increasingly deadly.
And: In the humble mushroom, a writer finds lessons for living through one of the most trying times in recent memory. One lesson: Everything is connected — a truth that is both a comfort, as we continue to struggle in this pandemic,
Louise Fabiani argues, and a warning, as we try to avoid the next one. Links to these stories and more below.
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In New Zealand, Locals Rally to Save Fossils from Destruction
BY Kate Evans
For over a decade, a mining company allowed scientists to explore one of New Zealand's most spectacular fossil sites. When the site changed hands, it seemed the fossils would all be crushed to dust. But New Zealanders rallied behind the site. Has public resistance saved it for science?
Read on »
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In the Sonoran Desert, GIS Helps to Map Migrant Deaths
BY Emily Cataneo
According to GIS maps, after the U.S. government intensified its border patrol and surveillance efforts, migrants began crossing through hotter, more rugged, and deadlier parts of the Sonoran Desert. Researchers are calling on governments to rethink how their policies on borderlands contribute to deaths.
Read on »
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Amid the Pandemic, a Foray With Fungi Transformed Me
BY Louise Fabiani
Opinion | Last summer, when pandemic stress made my local urban woods more comforting than ever, I noticed many species of mushrooms in the understory. So began a self-directed deep-dive that would unearth lessons not only about mycology but about living through one of humanity’s most trying times in recent memory.
Read on »
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Book Review: How Everyday Chemicals May Affect Fertility Rates
BY Frieda Klotz
In "Count Down," epidemiologist Shanna H. Swan argues that our exposure to “everywhere chemicals” — particularly endocrine disruptors that alter the hormonal systems regulating health — may be responsible for an alarming decline in sperm counts, testosterone levels, and fertility across the animal kingdom.
Read on »
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With Great Caution, Scientists Seek Covid Treatments in Old Drugs
BY Esther Landhuis, California Healthline
Could a decades-old antidepressant be a secret weapon against Covid-19? Two recent studies look promising, but drug companies have no incentive to spend millions to test new uses for cheap, off-patent drugs. As a result, efforts to repurpose drugs have fallen to philanthropists.
Read on »
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Following WHO Report, Pandemic Origins Remain Murky
BY Michael Schulson
In our weekly news roundup: WHO team publishes findings on virus origins, Covid spread among migrant children, and more.
Read on »
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Ep. 54: Translating Portugal’s Approach to Drugs and Addiction
In a new episode of
The Undark Podcast, join global health journalist Elana Gordon and podcast host Lydia Chain as they sort through the policies that underlie Portugal’s drug decriminalization approach — which Oregon, the first U.S. state to decriminalize all drugs, used as a model for their new law. But many questions about how success may translate remain unanswered.
The Undark Podcast is available to stream or download on
our website, where it's accompanied by a transcript. You can also subscribe to The Undark Podcast on
SoundCloud,
Apple Podcasts,
TuneIn, or
Spotify.
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