(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest, Saturday Science - Robin Wall Kimmerer, cooling, Vanuatu, PR Monkey Island [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-29 Welcome to Overnight News Digest- Saturday Science. Since 2007 the OND has been a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of science stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Topics in tonight’s digest include: Scribner publishes Robin Wall Kimmerer’s latest book Cooling homes without chemicals or electricity Why tourists are disappearing in Greece The best COVID mask with science Mathematicians ID the most beautiful equations How Vanuatu reduced plastic pollution Students at top British private schools have ten times more green space than students at state schools Puerto Rico’s primates’ surprising behavior after hurricane destroys their island New method may help locate flight MH370 The most common words from the dying or how to live without regrets Publishers Weekly by Sophia Stewart 'Braiding Sweetgrass' Author Robin Wall Kimmerer Heads to Scribner Scribner will publish the third and latest book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, on November 19. Kimmerer, a MacArthur-winning botanist and founding director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at SUNY ESF, is best known for her second book, the breakout hit Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, published by Milkweed Editions in 2013. Hardly an overnight success, Braiding Sweetgrass landed on the New York Times bestseller list in early 2020—five years after it was released in paperback—and has remained there for 219 weeks and counting. To date, the book has sold more than two million copies. In 2020, the Minneapolis-based Milkweed saw its sales jump 183% over 2019 thanks to the pandemic-era rediscovery of Braiding Sweetgrass, which was published in paperback in 2015, establishing what Milkweed marketing director Joanna Demkiewicz called a "new sales normal." Yanko Design by Tanvi Joshi HONEYCOMB-INSPIRED TERRACOTTA WALL CAN COOL HOUSES WITHOUT ANY CHEMICALS OR ELECTRICITY Ant Studio’s Beehive is a pioneering solution that marries traditional cooling techniques with modern design to offer an eco-friendly alternative to energy-intensive cooling and air purification systems. Created by Monish Kumar Siripurapu, a New Delhi-based architect and founder of Ant Studio, the Beehive system exemplifies the firm’s commitment to integrating art, architecture, technology, and nature. As the country sees soaring temperatures this summer, with New Delhi recording temperatures as high as the 50s Celcius (over 122°F), the Beehive is offering a low-cost tradition-backed cooling system that uses properties of materials and physics to help provide cooler temperatures without electricity or coolants. Penn Live by Emily Ann Jackman Tourists keep disappearing in Greece. Scientists think they know why After hiking in scorching temperatures on the Greek island of Symi, doctor and well-known TV presenter Michael Mosley was discovered dead earlier this month. But his wasn’t the only life that was lost, as a series of tourist deaths and disappearances have reportedly hit Greece as the country faces its early summer heat wave with temperatures soaring above 104 degrees. Joining the dead are a Dutch tourist who was found on the island of Samos recently, and an American tourist who was found on Mathraki, a small island west of Corfu on Sunday. Regarding those who went missing, American tourist Albert Calibet hasn’t been seen since he went for hike on June 11 on Amorgos, while two French women vanished on Sikinos after they went out for a walk. Even though the bodies of those who died are to be examined to establish a cause of death, there’s a stern warning from authorities to take the searing temperatures seriously. Science Alert by David Nield Study Confirms One Type of COVID Mask Is 'Significantly Better' Than Others Considering COVID-19 hasn't gone away, and we want to be as prepared as possible for the next potential pandemic, a new study into the most effective type of face mask offers some important insights: and there is a clear winner. A team led by researchers at the University of Maryland in the US asked 44 volunteers with COVID-19 to breathe into a bespoke device called the Gesundheit II Machine, which can measure the number of virus particles in exhaled breath. Four different mask types were tested this way, and the participants were told to vary their vocalizations while wearing the masks – one of the tests involved singing "Happy Birthday", for example. Each volunteer completed a 30-minute breathing session with a mask on, and another 30-minute session with no mask as a control. Scientific American by Rachel Crowell These Are the Most Beautiful Equations, according to Mathematicians To mathematicians, equations are art. Just as many are moved by a painting or piece of music, to those who appreciate and understand math, expressions of numbers, variables, operations and relations between quantities can be just as compelling. As is the case with artistic beauty, mathematical beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One mathematician may prize simple-to-state, succinct equations, while another may favor the opposite. And just as some favor modern art while others prefer medieval works, both ancient and contemporary equations are admired for their cleverness, power and possibility. Here are some mathematicians’ selections of the most beautiful math equations, as well as their own words on what factors make them so exquisite. The Guardian by Prianka Srinivasan How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution For generations, the people of Erakor village in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu would pass their time swimming in the local lagoon. Ken Andrew, a local chief, remembers diving in its depths when he was a child, chasing the fish that spawned in its turquoise waters. That was decades ago. Now 52, Andrew has noticed a more pernicious entity invading the lagoon: plastic. “The plastic would form a small island inside the lagoon, it was so thick,” Andrew says. “We used fishing nets to pull some of the trash out, but we didn’t know how to get rid of it all. We couldn’t conquer it, there was just too much.” While residents were struggling to empty Vanuatu’s waters of plastic, the country’s politicians were considering another solution. Could they stop the waste directly at the source? The Guardian by Helena Horton, et al Revealed: students at top private schools have 10 times more green space than state pupils Children at the top 250 English private schools have more than 10 times as much outdoor space as those who go to state schools, an exclusive Guardian analysis can reveal. A schoolboy at fee-charging Eton has access to 140 times more green space than the average English state school pupil, the analysis found. Experts condemned the “staggering” and “gross” inequalities. The Guardian mapped the land owned and used by the top private schools in the country – an area never previously established. Using publicly available information, alongside satellite tools to map school buildings and green space, the analysis established that: The average student at one of England’s top private schools has access to approximately 322 sq metres of green space, whereas the average state school student has access to about 32 sq metres of green space: a ratio of 10:1. [More findings follow in the article.] Fast Company by Jessica Hollinger Puerto Rico’s “Monkey Island was destroyed by a hurricane. Researchers were shocked by how the primates responded In 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, killing more than 3,000 people. The storm devastated the small island of Cayo Santiago, also known as Monkey Island for its population of rhesus macaques. Most of the monkeys survived, but their home now looked very different: More than 60% of the island’s trees were destroyed, limiting the animals’ access to shade and leaving them vulnerable to the island’s searing temperatures. Scientists expected this new strain on resources would lead to more conflict and confrontation. After all, these are prickly primates, with a reputation for being what the researchers call “despotic.” To see if they were right, the researchers analyzed and compared the monkeys’ behaviors over 10 years—both before and after the hurricane. These monkeys are free ranging, but are managed by the Caribbean Primate Research Center, and they’ve been monitored almost continuously since their colony was established in 1938, so the researchers had plenty of observational data to pull from. Popular Mechanics by Tim Newcomb A new scientific method may finally locate flight MH370 A few well-placed underwater microphones could tell us the final resting place of downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 (MH370). Now lost for 10 years, those searching for the missing aircraft have come no closer to understanding where the plane and its 239 passengers and crew on board ended up. We’ve all heard the quips asking if a tree falling in the forest makes a sound if nobody is there to hear it. But in the case of a catastrophic crash or explosion in an ocean—such as a plane crashing or a submarine exploding—there’s a distinct pressure signal, more commonly known as a sound wave. And there’s often an underwater microphone—known as a hydrophone—there to pick up the signature. Finding that singular sound from March 2014 could help isolate exactly where flight MH370 now rests. Inc.com by Jessica Stillman An oncologist revealed the most common words among the dying — and what they say about how to live without regrets This is an open thread where everyone is welcome, especially night owls and early birds, to share and discuss the science news of the day. Please share your articles and stories in the comments. 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