Wildfires have become a distressingly common part of millions of people’s lives, including those living across large parts of the western U.S. In a provocative article, three experts in urban planning and environmental design from the University of California, Davis, say that retreating from certain areas vulnerable to wildfire is unavoidable. At the same time, they note, a number of development-related policies, such as limiting future development or stricter standards for new construction, are also part of at-risk communities’ toolkits for dealing with wildfires.
A story on the history of syphilis challenges a long-held belief that the disease originated in the New World and was another result of the so-called Columbian exchange. Historian Marylynn Salmon weighs the evidence, both from documents and artwork as well as the ongoing work of a group of paleopathologists, to explain why she thinks it’s time to drop syphilis from the “intellectual framework” the Columbian exchange provides and instead look at the ample evidence.
And in case you missed it, some of the biggest science news of the year came out this week when NASA and President Joe Biden shared the first science-quality images from the James Webb Space Telescope. UMass Lowell astronomer Silas Laycock walks us through his first impressions of the images and explains the science being done in this mission, while barely containing his excitement. “The real images are even better than anyone could have hoped for,” he writes.
Also in this week’s science news:
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After the 2018 wildfire in Paradise, Calif., many fire-damaged homes were razed.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Emily E. Schlickman, University of California, Davis; Brett Milligan, University of California, Davis; Stephen M. Wheeler, University of California, Davis
Communities already retreat from flooding and in the face of sea level rise. Is retreat from wildfires next, and what would that look like?
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Does a painting from 1400 depict one of Jesus’ torturers as suffering from ‘saddle nose,’ a common effect of syphilis?
Detail of an Austrian painting c. 1400 of the Passion of Christ, The Cleveland Museum of Art
Marylynn Salmon, Smith College
The idea that Europeans brought new diseases to the Americas and returned home with others has been widely accepted. But evidence is mounting that for syphilis this scenario is wrong.
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This cluster of galaxies, called Stephan’s Quintet, is a composite image produced from two cameras aboard the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA/STScI
Silas Laycock, UMass Lowell
NASA released five new images from the James Webb Space Telescope, revealing incredible details of ancient galaxies, stars and the presence of water in the atmosphere of a distant planet.
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Yuyu Zhou, Iowa State University
Artificial light is upending trees’ ability to use the natural day-night cycle as a signal of seasonal change.
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Benjamin Kaveladze, University of California, Irvine; Jonathan Schooler, University of California Santa Barbara; Oliver Sng, University of California, Irvine
It’s not logical to believe your relationship is “meant to be.” But believing in destined love may have evolved as a way to keep couples together long enough to reproduce and raise children.
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Christine Helms, University of Richmond
A physicist explains how atoms arrange themselves into molecules – and how scientists are able to image these tiny bits of matter that make up everything around you.
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Kate Ann Markey, University of Washington
Patients with blood cancer undergoing stem cell transplantation have a high risk of complications. The bacteria in their gut, however, can help their immune system recover and fight infections.
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Marissa Lawson, University of Washington; Christoph Lee, University of Washington
Early detection of breast cancer is critical to improving chances of survival. But racial and ethnic minority patients systematically have delayed diagnoses that reduce the benefits of screening.
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Serina Taluja, Texas A&M University
Plant breeding, informed by genetic analysis, could be critical to the future of one of the world’s oldest crops.
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