In “Explaining Life Through Evolution,” Prosanta Chakrabarty invokes the legacy of Charles Darwin’s to explain the fundamentals of evolutionary theory and its vital role in the history of science, and why its central ideas are more important to understand today than at any point in our history.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/29/book-review-explaining-evolution/

Fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are ubiquitous in the environment and have been found to increase the risk of certain cancers and other conditions. A document analysis shows that PFAS manufacturers knew for decades about the chemicals’ toxicity but kept promoting them to the public.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/28/pfas-toxic-industry-research/

After Covid-19 left millions of people without a sense of smell, research on olfactory dysfunction gained rapid attention. But three years later, scientists are still fighting to show that smell matters. Meanwhile, people born with the condition say they are being left out of the research.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/27/smell-loss-research/

For millennia, lakes in Greenland’s tundra have locked up vast stores of carbon in their sediment. But as the Arctic becomes warmer and wetter, scientists believe these lakes could be turning into sources of carbon, which would have important consequences for the world’s climate.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/26/arctic-lakes-carbon/

Afghans raised children, went to work, and gave birth for two decades next to America’s vast military bases and burn pits, and their prolonged exposure to the air, soil, and water pollution continues to this day. Dealing with the consequences of the war’s contamination may take generations.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/25/afghanistan-war-toxic-pollution/

The psychedelic drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, may be best known for its recreational use. But as journalist Rachel Nuwer chronicles in “I Feel Love,” it has also emerged as a potentially valuable therapeutic tool for a variety of medical conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/22/book-review-the-long-strange-history-of-mdma/

The opioid crisis, driven by fentanyl, is showing signs of slowing, with a rise in the use of synthetic stimulants taking place. The cheap and addictive Captagon — known as the ‘poor man’s cocaine’ — shows all the signs of following in fentanyl’s footsteps, according to drug trafficking expert Jim Crotty.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/21/will-poor-mans-cocaine-fuel-the-next-u-s-drug-crisis/

For around 25 years, people have played out what existence might be like on, or en route to, another planet. These “analog astronauts” test out tools and reveal the stressors of space missions. As the field matures, researchers are making it standardized and cultivating collaboration.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/20/inside-the-small-world-of-simulating-other-worlds/

In a massive effort to stamp out rabies, every year the U.S. Department of Agriculture blankets the Eastern Seaboard with more than 9 million vaccine-laden baits. The program is effective for racoons and other terrestrial mammals, but bats, an up-and-coming carrier, are harder to vaccinate.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/19/how-to-vaccinate-raccoons-for-rabies-from-the-sky/

Few institutions in American society embraced vaccine mandates as enthusiastically as universities. But as the pandemic wore on and the efficacy of the initial course of vaccines in curbing transmission waned, some critics say subsequent booster requirements for college students were unjustified.

via Undark Magazine https://undark.org/2023/09/18/college-covid-vaccine-boosters-science/