Puerto Rico’s Worst Drought in Decades Forces 180,000 Into Water Rationing
A Crisis Years in the Making Puerto Rico’s water crisis entered a new phase on Friday, August 7, as rationing started for thousands in the San Juan region, where severe drought has exacerbated an ongoing issue with outages and low water pressure for the past…
July Jobs Report Stuns Economists as US Economy Loses 23,000 Positions
A Shocking Reversal for the American Job Market A summer hiring slump dogged the US labor market in July as the economy unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report, published on August 7, landed…
FDA Approves First mRNA Flu Vaccine, Promising Faster and Stronger Protection
A Historic Milestone in Flu Prevention The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind flu vaccine made with messenger RNA technology, enabling its developer, Moderna, to complete a dramatic regulatory turnaround. The approval clears the way for a new vaccine option for older adults…
Scientists Used AI to Build Viruses From Scratch and 16 of Them Actually Work
A First in Science: Viruses Written by Machine Artificial intelligence has been used to design brand new viruses that are fully functional and can replicate in the laboratory — and it marks the first time whole genomes have been successfully designed by AI. The study,…
Romania Sinks Barges Into the Danube in Desperate Bid to Save Nuclear Power
A River Running Out of Time In one of the most dramatic emergency engineering operations in recent European memory, Romania on Thursday, August 7, sank four rock-laden barges into the Danube River in a last-ditch attempt to keep its only functioning nuclear reactor alive. Romania…
Scientists Use CRISPR to Create the World’s First Truly Allergen-Free Dogs
A Dog for People Who Could Never Have One For millions of people, the dream of owning a dog has always come with a catch — the sneezing, the watery eyes, the skin rashes that make sharing a home with a pet feel impossible. That…
Turkey Moves to End 40-Year Kurdish Conflict With Historic Peace Law
A Landmark Step Toward Ending Decades of Bloodshed After more than four decades of armed conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, Turkey is making its most concrete legal move yet toward peace. Turkey’s ruling alliance submitted legislation to parliament on Wednesday that…
Record Sun Images Reveal Hidden Vortices That Could Reshape Space Weather Science
A Solar Breakthrough Hidden in Plain Sight For decades, scientists suspected that tiny, swirling whirlpools were churning across the surface of the sun. They had the math to back it up. What they didn’t have was a telescope powerful enough to actually see them —…
Iran Suspected as Hackers Breach Drinking Water Systems Across 12 States
Hackers suspected to have Iranian ties have targeted drinking water and wastewater systems across at least 12 states, compromising control systems used to manage pumps, valves, and water pressure. More than 30 systems in Minnesota and nine in Michigan were affected. While some residents faced low pressure or boil water notices, officials confirmed drinking water was not contaminated thanks to built-in safeguards and manual operations.
A Discarded SpaceX Rocket Carved a Fresh Crater Into the Moon Early Wednesday
A discarded SpaceX rocket stage is expected to have crashed into the moon early this morning, traveling at roughly 5,400 miles per hour and releasing the force of about 15,000 sticks of dynamite. The impact likely carved a crater near the Einstein Crater up to 100 feet wide. Scientists see it as a rare opportunity to study human-made lunar collisions as space debris becomes an growing concern.
