Today’s top news
There is a possibility that a “Super El Niño” will occur this summer, causing abnormally high temperatures that could make 2027 a candidate for the hottest year on record.
That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, which says there is a 62% chance that a natural weather pattern will occur between June and August, and that the probability is particularly strong at one in three.
This is big news for an increasingly turbulent climate, where El Niño tends to increase hurricane activity in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean while suppressing hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, causing extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves around the world.
trend
There are currently 10,000 Starlink satellites above our heads. The news comes as a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California last night, adding 25 new satellites to the growing low-Earth orbit constellation. [Spaceflight Now]
This is a remarkable technological achievement, especially considering the tens of thousands of evasive maneuvers that must be completed to avoid collisions between satellites in the array. But it also comes at a high cost to radio astronomy and possibly nearby spacecraft, while also increasing the likelihood of uncontrollable orbital chain reactions.
3 books to read
British authorities are racing to stop the spread of the bacterial strain of meningitis behind a deadly outbreak in Kent, England. [The Guardian]A federal court has blocked Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from making vaccine changes and reshaping a key vaccine advisory committee. [The Hill]A single injection of a therapeutic drug like mRNA could help the heart muscle heal after a heart attack in mice and pigs. Is it also effective for humans? [Live Science]
said, said
Word of the day: Etosha — A word in Osindonga (a Namibian dialect) that roughly translates to “Great White Place.” The Etosha Pans are approximately 1,800 square miles (4,700 square kilometers) of salt flats north of Namibia’s capital Windhoek. And it looks really amazing from space.
Word of the day: “Think of your brain like a city. While the entire city is awake and active, a few specific “neighborhoods” (areas of the brain) decide to turn off the lights for a moment. If these neighbors are responsible for your attention, you will experience ataxia. ”
Elaine Pingal, a neuroscientist at Melbourne’s Monash University, talks about how brain activity during sleep can lead to distraction, and how adults with ADHD experience this more often.
fun and games
This crossword by Senior Staff Writer Harry Baker took Editor-in-Chief Alexander McNamara 1 minute 55 seconds to complete. Do you think you can beat him?
Follow Live Science on social media
Want more science news? Follow our Live Science WhatsApp channel to keep up with the latest discoveries. It’s the best way to get expert reporting on the go, but even if you don’t use WhatsApp, you can use Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Flipboard, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, and LinkedIn.
Source link
