When I was a youth soccer coach I took mandatory concussion training, but even in the decade since then, it seems the science around treating concussions and understanding how common they are has advanced significantly.

Hilary Diefenbach of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and a specialist in brain injury recovery for adults writes that brain health is a crucial factor in how a person recovers after a concussion. She explains how a good “cognitive reserve,” or having a "fuller density of brain cells," can create a sort of buffer against damage from injury or aging, and she outlines steps people can take to build that protection. “Living an active lifestyle – physically, mentally and socially – can drive neuroplasticity and maintain the brain,” she writes.

The U.N. COP28 climate change conference will kick off at the end of this month, amid a long list of signs that countries are not cutting pollution at the speed or scale needed to avert dangerous effects from global warming. Energy and environmental policy researchers Kate Hua-Ke Chi and Maulik Jagnani from Tufts University explain why cutting fossil fuel usage and investing in sustainable energy in low-income countries is so critical to any efforts to limit global warming. In that regard, they see signs that international agreements could make progress toward equitable energy transitions.

Anyone curious about when and whether there will be human settlements on the Moon should track the ongoing exploration for water, writes University of Colorado planetary scientist Paul Hayne. He provides an in-depth explanation of ongoing research and recent lunar missions to search for pockets of ice in shadowed parts of the Moon. “Building a space station on the Moon might seem like something out of a science fiction movie, but each new lunar mission is bringing that idea closer to reality,” he writes.

Also in this week’s science news:

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Martin LaMonica

Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters
Every brain injury is unique, as is every person’s path to recovery. Chinnapong/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Brains have a remarkable ability to rewire themselves following injury − a concussion specialist explains the science behind rehabilitation and recovery

Hilary A. Diefenbach, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Concussions can teach researchers a great deal about how the brain recovers after injury and offer insights into how people can promote brain health throughout their lives.
Fossil fuel emissions are still growing in much of the world. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

UN’s ‘global stocktake’ on climate is offering a sober emissions reckoning − but there are also signs of progress

Kate Hua-Ke Chi, Tufts University; Maulik Jagnani, Tufts University

With many countries planning fossil fuel production increases and continuing subsidies, negotiators have their work cut out for them when the COP28 climate summit begins.
The stark landscape of the Moon as viewed by the Apollo 12 astronauts on their return to Earth. NASA / The Planetary Society

Scientists suspect there’s ice hiding on the Moon, and a host of missions from the US and beyond are searching for it

Paul Hayne, University of Colorado Boulder

Some dark craters on the Moon are never exposed to light − ice could be hiding in these permanently shadowed regions, and India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission marked a big step toward finding it.

Volcanic Iceland is rumbling again − a geologist explains eruptions in the land of fire and ice

Jaime Toro, West Virginia University

Iceland’s volcanic activity is generally tame compared with explosive eruptions along the Pacific’s Ring of Fire. This time, it’s shaking up a town.

Insulin injections could one day be replaced with rock music − new research in mice

Bill Sullivan, Indiana University

Researchers successfully treated diabetes in mice by engineering cells to make insulin in response to the music of Queen.

How PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are getting into Miami’s Biscayne Bay, where dolphins, fish and manatees dine

Natalia Soares Quinete, Florida International University; Olutobi Daniel Ogunbiyi, Florida International University

Scientists discovered PFAS hot spots in the bay and found PFAS in water along the Atlantic coast. In a new study, they traced the chemicals’ origins to help stop the harm.

Maine voters don’t like their electric utilities, but they balked at paying billions to buy them out

Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida

Power companies can be publicly or privately owned and may report to corporate boards, local governments or co-op members. But there’s no one best way to deliver electricity reliably and affordably.