• Public Awareness of “Nuclear Winter” Too Low Given Current Risks

    The scientific theory of nuclear winter sees detonations from nuclear exchanges throw vast amounts of debris into the stratosphere, which ultimately blocks out much of the sun for up to a decade, causing global drops in temperature, mass crop failure and widespread famine. The combined nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia have about 1,450 megatons. The use of only 0.1% of this joint arsenal would cause a nuclear winter which will claim 225 million lives.

  • Superbug Threat Grows

    A new report provides evidence that the environment plays a key role in the development, transmission and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  Prevention is at the core of the action and environment is a key part of the solution.

  • Study Links Adoption of Electric Vehicles with Less Air Pollution and Improved Health

    Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC conducted one of the first-ever studies showing that electric cars are associated with real-world reductions in both air pollution and respiratory problems.

  • The Last of Us: Why We Should All Think Like Preppers – and How to Do It

    “Prepping” – as it is widely known – is a way of anticipating and adapting to impending conditions of calamity by preparing homes, rooms and bunkers to survive in. Despite attempts by preppers to push back on stereotypes, prepping does still come with associations of doomsday and apocalyptic thinking. If done in the right way, however, prepping – thinking ahead and being proactive – is the opposite of panic, irrationality, or conspiratorial tendencies.

  • Warmer Climate May Drive Fungi to Be More Dangerous

    The world is filled with tiny creatures that find us delicious. Bacteria and viruses are the obvious bad guys, drivers of deadly global pandemics and annoying infections. But the pathogens we haven’t had to reckon with as much – yet – are the fungi.

  • Exxon Disputed Climate Findings for Years. Its Scientists Knew Better.

    Projections created internally by ExxonMobil starting in the late 1970s on the impact of fossil fuels on climate change were very accurate, even surpassing those of some academic and governmental scientists. The oil company executives sought to mislead the public about the industry’s role in climate change, contradicting the findings of the company’s own scientists and drawing a growing number of lawsuits by states and cities.

  • U.S. Secret Service Report Examines Five Years of Mass Violence Data

    The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) the other day released a comprehensive report examining 173 incidents of targeted violence and highlighting the observable commonalities among the attackers.

  • Doomsday Clock Set at 90 Seconds to Midnight

    The Doomsday Clock was set at 90 seconds to midnight, due largely but not exclusively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the increased risk of nuclear escalation. The new Clock time was also influenced by continuing threats posed by the climate crisis and the breakdown of global norms and institutions needed to mitigate risks associated with advancing technologies and biological threats.

  • The Last of Us: Fungal Infections Really Can Kill – and They’re Getting More Dangerous

    Millions have been tuning in every week to watch the highly anticipated TV adaptation of “The Last of Us.” The show depicts a post-apocalyptic world where society has collapsed due to the outbreak of a dangerous, brain-controlling fungal infection that turns humans into hostile, cannibalistic “zombies.” Fortunately for us, a fast-spreading fungal pandemic is pretty unlikely – but this doesn’t mean fungi aren’t still a concern.

  • ‘Stand Your Ground’ and Shall-Issue Laws Increase Gun Violence, Study Finds

    The RAND Corporation’s latest gun policy report examined 18 popular laws for their effects on violence. The sweeping synthesis of gun policy research has found supportive evidence that “stand your ground” and shall-issue concealed carry laws increase levels of violence, and that child access prevention policies reduce firearm injuries and deaths among children.

  • How to Shelter from a Nuclear Explosion

    There is no good place to be when a nuclear bomb goes off. Anything too close is instantly vaporized, and radiation can pose a serious health threat even at a distance. Researchers simulated an atomic bomb explosion from a typical intercontinental ballistic missile and the resulting blast wave to see how it would affect people sheltering indoors.

  • How to Survive a Tactical Nuclear Bomb? Defense Experts Explain

    What would happen during a tactical nuclear bomb explosion, including the three stages of ignition, blast, and radioactive fallout? How one might be able to survive such an explosion?

  • How Does a Child Become a Shooter? Research Suggests Easy Access to Guns and Exposure to Screen Violence Increase the Risk

    In the aftermath of a shocking incident in which a first grader shot and seriously injured a teacher at a school in Newport News, Virginia, the city’s mayor asked the question: “How did this happen?” As experts in media use and its connections to violence, we have reported some disturbing findings about how children are influenced by gun violence depicted in media like television, movies and video games. What makes this more troubling is the fact that millions of children in the U.S. have easy access to firearms in their homes, increasing the risk of gun deaths, including suicides.

  • U.S. Gun Violence Soars in 2022

    Across America, gun violence surged in many communities in 2022 as overall death rates from firearms rose to the highest level in nearly three decades. The year saw a near-record number of mass casualty shooting incidents, including several motivated by hate.

  • Machine Learning Could Predict Rare Disastrous Events Like Earthquakes or Pandemics

    Researchers suggest how scientists can circumvent the need for massive data sets to forecast extreme events with the combination of an advanced machine learning system and sequential sampling techniques.