Tag: Quantum Stuff

How the Inside of a Black Hole Is Secretly on the Outside

Theoretical physics has been in crisis mode ever since 1974, when Stephen Hawking argued that black holes destroy information. Hawking showed that a black hole can evaporate, gradually transforming itself and anything it consumes into a featureless cloud of radiation. During the process, information about what fell into the black hole is apparently lost, violating… Continue reading How the Inside of a Black Hole Is Secretly on the Outside

Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

Reading about death and suicidality can be distressing. Please read this in a moment where you feel safest and ready to do so. Pediatricians, child psychologists and psychiatrists, social workers and pediatric emergency teams know something that many people who care for children don’t: we are much busier during the school year. I’m a full-time… Continue reading Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

We Need More Health Clinics at Schools

After more than two years of disrupted lessons during the pandemic, it’s clearer than ever that schools are more than just places to learn: they are vital safe spaces for students to build friendships, receive nourishing meals and talk to trusted adults. And they can be more—schools can also provide health care. Around 3,000 school-based… Continue reading We Need More Health Clinics at Schools

Bold New Jersey Shore Flood Rules Could Be Blueprint for Entire U.S. Coast

No one paid much attention to paragraph 1C of the executive order New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed on Jan. 27, 2020. Its directive for state environmental officials to “integrate climate change considerations” into regulations seemed vague. The deadline — two years — was remote. But New Jersey officials since have made clear they are… Continue reading Bold New Jersey Shore Flood Rules Could Be Blueprint for Entire U.S. Coast

What Happens to My Brain on the Psychedelic DMT?

Explore One question for Christopher Timmermann, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, where he leads the DMT Research Group and focuses on the nature of consciousness. Photo courtesy of Christopher Timmermann What happens to my brain on the psychedelic DMT? The DMT experience is one in which people… Continue reading What Happens to My Brain on the Psychedelic DMT?

Eye Tests May Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease

During an embryo’s development, a piece of the still-growing brain branches off to form the retina, a sliver of tissue in the back of the eye. This makes the retina, which is composed of several layers of neurons, a piece of the central nervous system. As evidence builds that changes in the brain can manifest… Continue reading Eye Tests May Help Diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease

Sandcastle Engineering: A Geotechnical Engineer Explains How Water, Air and Sand Create Solid Structures

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. If you want to understand why some sandcastles are tall and have intricate structures while others are nearly shapeless lumps of sand, it helps to have a background in geotechnical engineering. As a geotechnical engineering educator myself, I use sandcastles… Continue reading Sandcastle Engineering: A Geotechnical Engineer Explains How Water, Air and Sand Create Solid Structures

Astronomers Reveal New Details of How Stars Devour Planets

Astronomers have been witnessing the ends of worlds for millennia. Even in antiquity, sky watchers noted the rare star suddenly bursting into brightness and then fading away over months or years. These outbursts are supernovae, explosive stellar deaths that can also annihilate a star’s accompanying planets. Today modern researchers can see black holes shredding entire… Continue reading Astronomers Reveal New Details of How Stars Devour Planets