This is an article from Science Times which was taken from a Washington Post report about squid's and octopus' unusually ability to rewrite their own RNA. They can edit the RNA and make different proteins from the same RNA. The colder the habitat the more likely it is that the animal will make edits. Scientists want to use this to understand adaptability to the environment.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/health/fda-genetic-tests-23andme.html?_r=0 This is an article from the Business Section of the NYT about the FDA permitting the genetic testing company 23andMe to sell tests predicting genetic risks of developing certain diseases directly to consumers. Customers who purchase a $199 kit can determine whether they have mutations that may predispose them to rare diseases such as Gaucher's Disease. Other diseases, like Parkinsons or Alzheimers are treated differently. An ethical question arises whether people need genetic counseling to deal with some of this information.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/opinion/sunday/to-be-a-genius-think-like-a-94-year-old.html Article from the NYT about the most common ages for receiving patents, which is between 46 and 60. The point as articulated in a quote in the article is that "there is clear evidence" of the contributions of older people to invention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/08/fashion/sleep-tips-and-tools.html From the style section, no less, is an article about new research into the "ideal sleep environment".Researchers at UCLA Berkeley Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory are testing the effect of direct current stimulation on the aging brain to prevent sleeplessness. Hello, Inc. is the name of a technology company started by a British entrepreneur which is developing products to improve sleeping for which Professor Matthew Walker of the Berkeley lab is the chief scientist. I had the pleasure of interviewing Prof. Walker for an article a couple of years ago.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/health/ear-wax.html?_r=0 A snippet of an article in the NYT about cerumen, or ear wax.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/climate/trump-nasa-satellites-global-warming-data.html An article in the Science Times about the possibility of a climate change data gap. "Climate monitoring has fallen into a big gap" between NASA and NOAA because of the proposed cuts in the 2018 science budget according to Dr. Ackerman, a climate scientist at the U of Washington. Many of NASA's climate-monitoring instruments are at the end of their useful lives. Someone named Betsy Weatherhead, another climate scientist, is also interviewed.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/science-educators-stakes-teaching-next-generation-feel-higher-ever/ From PBS a news article about the NSTA conference in Texas and the motivation of science teachers in the era of science denial to teach young people as their legacy. Recently, a science-denial organization submitted anti-science and climate change denial materials into teachers' mailboxes.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/04/12/study-finds-female-professors-outperform-men-service-their-possible-professional This article from insidehighered.com reports a study published in Research in Higher Education done at UCRiverside and IU Bloomington with data from the national survey Faculty Survey of Student Engagement of 2014 and an annual faculty survey from two research-intensive universities, which concluded that women in the national sample performed 30 more minutes per week of service than men and 1.5 more service activities per year than men in the local sample.The study differentiated between internal and external service. The conclusion was that there was a "gender imbalance".
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/opinion/the-point-of-hate.html This is a commentary in the NYT about why evolution has preserved hate. According to a 2008 study of the human brain there is a brain circuit of activated neurons to generate aggression. Some parts of the brain that are involved with hateful feelings overlap with parts of the brain involved in feelings of love. But the impulses for hateful feelings also responds to violations of cultural norms.and holds societies together., in effect, by punishing transgressors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/17/science/climate-change-glacier-yukon-river.html?_r=0 This is a link to an article in the NYT about the Kashawulsh Glacier, at which last spring melting waters cut through the ice, diverting water into the Alsek River, which flows on to the south and eventually into the Pacific. Normally the water from the glacier flows north to the Bering Sea via the Slims and Yukon Rivers. The significance of this is the timing because it "normally" takes thousands of years to divert a river and this happened in a few months in 2016. Scientists call this "river piracy".
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