Scientists have invented a first-of-its-kind instrument to peer deeply into billions of Twitter posts–providing an unprecedented, minute-by-minute view of popularity, from rising political movements, to K-pop, to emerging diseases. The tool–called the Storywrangler–gathers phrases across 150 different languages, analyzing the rise and fall of ideas and stories, each day, among people around the world. The Storywrangler quantifies collective attention.
Tag: UVM
Scientists stunned to discover fossil plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice—indicating risk of rapid sea-level rise
Scientists found frozen plant fossils, preserved under a mile of ice on Greenland. The discovery helps confirm a new and troubling understanding that the Greenland Ice Sheet has melted entirely during recent warm periods in Earth’s history—like the one we are now creating with human-caused climate change.
Discovery: How Colorado Potato Beetles Beat Pesticides
New research shows that pesticide alter how Colorado potato beetles manage their DNA. These changes were passed down two generations suggesting that rapid resistance to pesticides may not require beetles to evolve their genetic code. Instead they may simply use existing genes to tolerate toxins already found in potatoes. The scientists were surprised that these epigenetic changes, triggered by a single tiny dose of pesticide, were maintained through multiple rounds of sexual reproduction.
After Election: Making the Endangered Species Act More Effective
Following the presidential election, a leading group of scientists are making the case that a “rule reversal” will not be sufficient to allow the Endangered Species Act to do its job of protecting species. Instead, they’re calling for deeper improvements to the rules the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service use to apply the law–aiming to make the Act more effective and to gain bipartisan and industry support in an era of accelerating climate change.
The team’s analysis and policy recommendations were published in the journal Science.
Study: Europe’s Old-Growth Forests at Risk
A new study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of primary forests in Europe—and shows that many of them are not protected and at risk of being destroyed. The researchers conclude that formal conservation of these forests should be a top priority for EU countries to meet their climate change and biodiversity goals.
What We Don’t Know (about lakes) Could Hurt Us
As the power of extreme weather events increase with climate change, a team of scientists warn that lakes around the world may dramatically change, threatening ecosystem health and water quality.
When coronavirus is not alone
Interacting contagious diseases like influenza and pneumonia—and perhaps coronavirus too—follow the same complex spreading patterns as social trends, like the adoption of new slang or technologies. This new finding, published in Nature Physics, could lead to better tracking and intervention when multiple diseases spread through a population at the same time.
In Cuba, Cleaner Rivers Follow Greener Farming
For the first time in more than 50 years, a joint team of Cuban and U.S. field scientists studied the water quality of twenty-five Cuban rivers and found little damage after centuries of sugarcane production. They also found nutrient pollution in Cuba’s rivers much lower than the Mississippi River. Cuba’s shift to conservation agriculture after the collapse of the Soviet Union—and reduced use of fertilizers on cropland—may be a primary cause.
CFES Brilliant Pathways Kicks Off Nationwide Effort to Train 5,000 College and Career Advisors to Increase Student Success
Leaders in higher education, business and K-12 education shared the latest research and best practices with 50 individuals from New York and Vermont as part of a national effort by CFES Brilliant Pathways to train 5,000 College and Career Readiness Advisors by 2022.
Tiny Price Gaps Cost Investors Billions
New research shows that, millions of times each day, investors in the U.S. stock market see different prices at the same moment—and that these differing prices cost investors at least $2 billion dollars each year.
Team builds the first living robots
Scientists repurposed living frog cells—and assembled them into entirely new life-forms. These tiny “xenobots” can move toward a target and heal themselves after being cut. These novel living machines are neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal. They’re a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism.