It’s not news to readers of this newsletter that climate change raises the chances of extreme weather events. But Michael Wysession, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, writes there are additional factors driving this year’s record-breaking heat and downpours, including an expected El Niño this year, solar fluctuations and even a massive underwater volcanic eruption last year. The combination of factors means the next couple of years could be “very rough,” Wysession warns.

One aspect of the race to build the atomic bomb that hasn’t gotten a lot of media attention in the wake of the “Oppenheimer” film is the legacy of nuclear waste. Researcher William J. Kinsella examines the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state and the troubling public health and environmental harms from its involvement in the development of plutonium fuel used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. In addition to polluting communities and ecosystems, activities at the site fostered a culture of secrecy that has hampered efforts to address the problems there, he writes.

Back on the theme of heat, University of Arizona professor of architecture and building science Jonathan Bean explains why older homes can be harder to cool and why air temperature is an imperfect way of measuring comfort for people inside buildings. He explains not only the science but practical steps people can take to make homes cooler.

Also in this week’s science news:

If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email.

Martin LaMonica

Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters
2023’s weather has been extreme in many ways. AP Photo/Michael Probst

4 factors driving 2023’s extreme heat and climate disasters

Michael Wysession, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

The bad news: This extreme heat is probably going to stick around for a couple more years.
Packaging excavated radioactive materials at the Hanford site in Washington state. USDOE

The nuclear arms race’s legacy at home: Toxic contamination, staggering cleanup costs and a culture of government secrecy

William J. Kinsella, North Carolina State University

Nuclear weapons production and testing contaminated many sites across the US and exposed people unknowingly to radiation and toxic materials. Some have gone uncompensated for decades.
The temperature you feel on a hot, sunny day doesn’t always match the thermostat. Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

Why homes often feel warmer than the thermostat suggests – and what to do about it

Jonathan Bean, University of Arizona

Thermostats don’t tell the whole truth about heat, particularly in older homes.

To get rid of hazing, clarify what people really think is acceptable behavior and redefine what it means to be loyal

Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College

People often privately feel uncomfortable about bad behavior they see around them but mistakenly believe their peers don’t share their concerns.

Your genetic code has lots of ‘words’ for the same thing – information theory may help explain the redundancies

Subhash Kak, Oklahoma State University

Many of the amino acids that make up proteins are encoded by genetic material in more than one way. An information theorist explains how principles of nature may account for this variance.

Trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt suicide when gender dysphoria is met with conversion therapy than with hormone treatment

Travis Campbell, Southern Oregon University; Nathaniel Tran, Vanderbilt University; Samuel Mann, Vanderbilt University

Because of ethical considerations, there are no clinical trials comparing the effects of hormone therapy to conversion therapy on trans youths. But a set of recent studies tease out cause and effect.

As suicides rise in the US, the 988 hotline offers hope – but most Americans aren’t aware of it

Emmy Betz, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts, emotional distress, substance abuse issues or mental health problems.