Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs[1], a class of fire-resistant industrial chemicals, were widely used in electrical transformers, oils, paints[2] and even building materials[3] throughout the 20th century. However, once scientists learned PCBs were accumulating in the environment and posed a cancer risk to humans, new PCB production was banned in...
A psychology researcher explains why people comply – and how to resist
You’re in a meeting when your boss suggests changing a number to make the quarterly report look stronger. Heads nod. The slides move on. You feel a knot in your stomach: Do you speak up and risk being branded difficult, or stay silent and become complicit?
Most people picture defiance as dramatic outbursts. In reality, it’s often these...
2 newly launched NASA missions will help scientists understand the influence of the Sun, both from up close and afar
Even at a distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) away[1], activity on the Sun can have adverse effects on technological systems[2] on Earth. Solar flares[3] – intense bursts of energy in the Sun’s atmosphere – and coronal mass ejections[4] – eruptions of plasma from the Sun – can affect the communications, satellite...
NASA will say goodbye to the International Space Station in 2030 − and welcome in the age of commercial space stations
For 24 hours a day, seven days a week since November 2000, NASA and its international partners have sustained a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit[1], including at least one American – a streak that will soon reach 25 years.
When viewed in the history of spaceflight, the International Space Station is perhaps one of humanity’s...