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Top headlines
Lead story
To get a full picture of how Earth’s climate is changing, scientists study how much heat the oceans take in and store. They also track how currents move heat through the oceans, which can lead to melting ice in places like Antarctica. But the Southern Ocean around Antarctica is deep, and its currents are rough. So, for the past several years, researchers have enlisted some unlikely assistants: seals.
Since these animals are strong swimmers and adept at navigating turbulent waters, they’re the perfect helpers for collecting oceanographic data. Using tags that look like little hats when they’re attached to the seals’ heads, researchers can gain insight into the physics of ocean currents, as well as study seal behavior. Oceanographer Lilian Dove describes the treasure trove of knowledge that tagged seals have opened up for researchers around the world.
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Seals are great swimmers, which makes them a great candidate for collecting ocean data.
Dan Costa
Lilian Dove, Brown University
In some of the most remote places on Earth, tags attached to seals collect data at the cutting edge of ocean science.
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Economy + Business
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Martin Lukk, University of Toronto; Erik Schneiderhan, University of Toronto
Most people are left refreshing the page and coming up empty-handed.
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Politics + Society
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Karyn Amira, College of Charleston
Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and other avatars of American conservatism wouldn’t recognize it under Trump.
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Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis
With the huge task of a late presidential run against Donald Trump, Kamala Harris faces challenges distinct from those faced by Vice President Hubert Humphrey after LBJ decided not to seek reelection.
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Sefa Secen, The Ohio State University
Following the most violent anti-Syrian riots to date in Turkish areas with large Syrian refugee populations, Turkey and Syria are on a delicate path to rapprochement that will affect the Middle East.
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Education
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Megan Staples, University of Connecticut
Developing students’ mathematical power and confidence is key to creating true equity.
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Health + Medicine
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Mark R. O'Brian, University at Buffalo
Many claims about the dangers of vaccines come from misrepresenting scientific research papers.
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Nasia Safdar, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Some of the infections are showing an increased resistance to antibiotics.
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International
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Ray Nickson, University of Newcastle
Sydney baseballer Travis Bazzana has taken the US by storm but the sport has endured a surprisingly troubled history in Australia.
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