Science
Three missions to Mars are now under way
By Don Barrett, 31 July 2020
Spacecraft from China, the United Arab Emirates and the United States have been successfully launched on trajectories that will take them to Mars by next February.
Antarctic ice sheet melting could accelerate rapidly, leading to catastrophic rise in sea level
By Philip Guelpa, 27 July 2020
If all the Antarctic ice were to melt, sea levels would rise by approximately an additional 60 meters (nearly 200 feet).
Canadian medical experts provide ideological justification for homicidal back-to-work drive
By Laurent Lafrance, 25 July 2020
Exploiting their professional qualifications to give their arguments credibility, the experts have fully endorsed the corporate elite’s reactionary dictum: “The cure cannot be worse than the disease.”
The nationalist hijacking of the race for a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus
By Benjamin Mateus, 24 July 2020
Vaccine nationalism is driving the fury to capitalize on being the first nation to produce a viable cure against the coronavirus.
White House in disarray as coronavirus numbers explode
By Patrick Martin, 16 July 2020
The one-day total of infections has set a new record of 71,670 and deaths are once again climbing.
The COVID-19 vaccine and the drive for profit
By Frank Gaglioti, 8 July 2020
As the pandemic rages across the planet, the struggle to develop a vaccine has become an urgent task. But the vaccines will be weaponized for geopolitical purposes, not to provide the treatments equitably on a global scale.
Scientist warns Istanbul earthquake could kill hundreds of thousands
By Ozan Özgür, 7 July 2020
Earthquake experts internationally agree that an earthquake of at least magnitude-7 is likely in the next 10 years in Istanbul.
Contact tracing and capitalism’s response to the pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 27 June 2020
As the globe rapidly approaches ten million cases of COVID-19, the United States continues to ignore any public health measures to contain the pandemic.
Pandemic’s negative impact on Australian scientific research future could last decades
By John Mackay, 19 June 2020
Research in the university sector is expected to decrease by at least $3 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The World Health Organization comes under new US attack for its relationship to China
By Benjamin Mateus, 9 June 2020
China and the WHO are useful scapegoats for the systematic neglect of the health and lives of millions of people on the part of the Trump administration and other imperialist governments
White House Coronavirus Task Force effectively ended by Trump
By Bryan Dyne, 3 June 2020
Now that all fifty states have begun reopening in some form, the pandemic is considered over by the US ruling elite even as coronavirus infections and deaths continue to climb.
Democratic Governor Whitmer lifts major COVID-19 restrictions in Michigan
By Kevin Reed, 3 June 2020
The announcement rescinds the stay-at-home order, along with a series of other restrictions even though most of the state remains in the “flattening” phase of the pandemic.
Canada’s governments ignored 2006 pandemic preparedness report
By Dylan Lubao, 3 June 2020
The 550-page “Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector” is further proof that the COVID-19 pandemic was both foreseeable and foreseen.
Microsoft to replace MSN news production workers with artificial intelligence
By Mike Ingram, 3 June 2020
Dozens of workers will be replaced with artificial intelligence software that will automatically select content and manage news production.
SpaceX launch of astronauts marks new stage of the privatization of space exploration
By Bryan Dyne, 2 June 2020
The fact that the event was so heavily promoted by SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk, the American media and President Donald Trump should give the excitement around the launch pause.
Discredited policy of coronavirus “herd immunity” placed in stark relief
By Benjamin Mateus, 1 June 2020
Much of the population of the globe remains susceptible to coronavirus infection, exposing the pursuit of herd immunity as a horrifically deadly policy.
Dow Jones hits 25,000 as pandemic death toll reaches 100,000
By David North, 27 May 2020
The Wall Street surge anticipates the shutdown of all restraints on corporate operations and capitalist profiteerring.
Reports question undercounting of COVID-19 deaths in US and globally
By Bryan Dyne, 27 May 2020
There is increasing evidence that the actual fatalities caused by the pandemic are up to three times the numbers officially reported.
Executives of vaccine developer Moderna cash in, cut corners
By Benjamin Mateus, 26 May 2020
In March, while the global economy was facing an implosion, CEO Stéphane Bancel became a billionaire based on the valuation of his nine percent stake in the publicly traded company.
Hydroxychloroquine: New scientific study refutes the quack-in-chief
By Benjamin Mateus, 23 May 2020
President Trump claimed this week he had been taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure. His statements demonstrate both ignorance and hostility to science.
Capitalism vs. science: The lessons of the 36-hour Moderna vaccine frenzy
By Benjamin Mateus, 20 May 2020
It took just 36 hours for the media’s frenzied promotion of a “breakthrough” treatment for the coronavirus to collapse under its own weight.
Spike in Kawasaki-like disease linked to coronavirus in France and Italy, one child dies
By Will Morrow, 18 May 2020
This is a damning indictment of capitalist governments internationally which are reopening schools and asserting that the virus does not harm children.
Market and profits impede COVID-19 vaccine effort
By Frank Gaglioti, 18 May 2020
The discovery of the genetic structure of the virus was the first step in the drive for a vaccine. It was also the starting gun for companies fighting for the bonanza that will fall to the successful candidate vaccine.
The Trump administration vs. science
By Patrick Martin, 15 May 2020
The president’s attack on his top coronavirus advisor, Anthony Fauci, is part of an appeal to the most backward and reactionary forces to support the deadly policy of “reopening” the US economy.
Children in US and UK dying from syndrome linked to COVID-19
By Jacob Crosse, 9 May 2020
At least two children in the US and one in the UK have died from the newly identified Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which is believed to be related to COVID-19.
Human challenge trials are being pushed to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus
By Benjamin Mateus, 5 May 2020
Purposefully exposing volunteers to the coronavirus after they have been given an experimental vaccine is fraught with tremendous risks to the patients themselves and the population at large.
Thirty years of the Hubble Space Telescope
By Bryan Dyne, 2 May 2020
While it has been a public relations boon for NASA, Hubble’s true importance lies in its continued and vast contributions to astronomy.
Coronavirus antibody tests lack validity and sufficient accuracy to offer reliable guarantee of immunity
By Benjamin Mateus, 28 April 2020
One of the most well-known attempts to justify sending workers back to offices and factories, based on a supposed antibody count, comes from the discredited Santa Clara study, as it has come to be known.
Star Trek: Picard—The prospects of an aging icon
By Lee Parsons, 18 April 2020
Set late in the 24th century, Star Trek: Picard concluded its 10-episode season in March to generally favourable reviews, if a mixed reception from the faithful.
Science vs. Trump: The dangerous promotion of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19
By Benjamin Mateus, 13 April 2020
Neither chloroquine nor hydroxychloroquine has been proven to deliver any benefit against the impact of the coronavirus.
World Health Organization warns against premature ending of social distancing measures
By Bryan Dyne, 8 April 2020
The warnings come as the number of deaths worldwide approaches 82,000 and the number of officially confirmed cases burst past 1.4 million.
An ominous warning ignored by governments
Netflix’s Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak
By Toby Reese, 1 April 2020
As the US became an epicenter of the current pandemic last week, the series jumped into the top ten most-viewed on Netflix.
UK Johnson government denounced for COVID-19 “herd immunity” policy
By Robert Stevens, 16 March 2020
For all its belated and half-hearted denials, the government’s actions prove that it is intent on not lifting a finger to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Computer modeling can assist in efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic
By Benjamin Mateus, 6 March 2020
Advances in computer modeling of the pandemic come up against the unwillingness of national governments to devote the resources necessary to fight it.
2020 began with the hottest January in recorded history
By Philip Guelpa, 26 February 2020
One of the major consequences of human-induced climate change is sea level rise, which threatens coastal flooding and the displacement of hundreds of millions of people.
Latest UN plan to address catastrophic decline in biodiversity—more empty platitudes
By Philip Guelpa, 1 February 2020
Earth faces the sixth mass extinction of life on the planet, and all the capitalist system can provide is another toothless document.
Trump administration ramps up campaign to abolish strong data encryption in aftermath of Pensacola terror shooting
By Kevin Reed, 21 January 2020
The administration, following in the footsteps of the Obama White House, is moving to attack privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Australia: Climate change and the bushfire crisis
By Frank Gaglioti, 4 January 2020
“Long-term climate change in Australia is an undeniable reality.”
Research explains how the measles virus destroys immune “memory”
By Frank Gaglioti, 27 December 2019
The measles virus is particularly dangerous as it wipes out immunity previously acquired after exposure to other microbes in a process known as “immune amnesia.”
Skin Deep, Journey in the Divisive Science of Race, by Gavin Evans
By Philip Guelpa, 9 December 2019
The overwhelming weight of scientific research demonstrates that “race” does not exist as a valid biological category, but is a social construct.
Four years after the Paris Agreement
UN report calls for “radical transformations” to avert global climate catastrophe
By Bryan Dyne, 27 November 2019
Rising global greenhouse gas emissions demonstrate the inability to address climate change under capitalism.
Social inequality in Early Bronze Age Europe
By Philip Guelpa, 12 November 2019
Genetic and archaeological data indicate that social stratification in Europe during the third and second millennium BC was more complex than previously thought, and may indicate the origins of later, slave-based ancient societies.
Eleven thousand scientists warn of climate emergency
By Daniel de Vries, 11 November 2019
Forty years of climate negotiations among capitalist governments have done nothing to alter the trajectory towards environmental and humanitarian catastrophe.
Google announces a new breakthrough for quantum computing
By Bryan Dyne, 26 October 2019
By exploiting the quantum properties of matter at an atomic level, quantum computing represents a potentially gargantuan leap in computing power over ordinary machines based on integrated circuits.
Nobel Prize in Physics awarded for research in cosmology and exoplanets
By Bryan Dyne, 11 October 2019
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics focuses on the deeper understanding of humanity’s place in the cosmos that has been developed over the past six decades.
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for research in cellular responses to oxygen
By Benjamin Mateus, 10 October 2019
Everyone understands the general need for oxygen, but how cells actually use it has not been well understood.
As US vaping-related lung illnesses soar, FDA found negligent in enforcing e-cig regulations
By Benjamin Mateus, 7 October 2019
A report issued by the NIH’s drug abuse section highlights the dramatic rise in vaping among teenagers; 37.3 percent of 12th graders reported they had vaped in the past 12 months.
Study predicts significant outbreaks of measles in Texas due to low vaccination rates
By Gary Joad, 2 October 2019
Texas, the second most populous state, grants the greatest number of vaccine exemptions for personal philosophical and religious reasons of any state in US.
The only solution to climate change is world socialism
the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 19 September 2019
The millions marching against global warming must turn to the international working class to solve the unfolding environmental catastrophe.
Stunning discovery of pre-human fossil skull in Ethiopia
By Frank Gaglioti, 19 September 2019
As a near complete skull 3.8 million years old, the find opens the road to future research that will allow scientists to look back to more primitive species, while being able to reassess the transition to true humans.
Video: Paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie explains the significance of the discovery
19 September 2019
The video shows the area in Ethiopia where the human-like skull of Australopithecus anamensis, known as MRD, was found and explains its significance.
Hubble Space Telescope detects water vapor on habitable-zone exoplanet
By Bryan Dyne, 13 September 2019
The discovery is another step toward finding a world with an environment, and possibly life, on a planet outside our Solar System.
The issues raised by climate change in the wake of Hurricane Dorian
By Bryan Dyne, 9 September 2019
The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian further supports the prediction that global warming will cause more destructive tropical storms.
New human species discovered in the Philippines
By Frank Gaglioti, 21 August 2019
The latest find adds to our knowledge of the complex evolutionary path of human-like species and fills an important gap in our understanding.
Fifty years since the first Moon landing
By Patrick Martin, 20 July 2019
The first Moon landing remains an epoch-making scientific, technical and organizational achievement.
Multiple studies demonstrate global warming is melting glaciers faster
By Philip Guelpa, 24 June 2019
The accelerating rate of ice melting occurring around the world is a grave warning that climate change is rapidly reaching the point at which its catastrophic consequences will be felt by billions of people.
A million species threatened with extinction, UN-backed report warns
By Daniel de Vries, 14 May 2019
The comprehensive study of biodiversity called for “transformative change” to protect nature and humanity.
First imagery of black hole by the Event Horizon Telescope
By Bryan Dyne, 11 April 2019
The results from the planet-wide array of radio telescopes are the first direct measurements of the structure of a black hole and its surrounding environment.
Bone marrow transplant removes HIV from a second patient
By Benjamin Mateus, 29 March 2019
The “London patient” will be considered cured if free of the virus for three to four more years.
Ocean degradation accelerated by global warming
By Henry Allan, 19 March 2019
The decline in oceanic oxygen caused by climate change is at least as dangerous to marine life as ocean acidification.
The Youth Climate Strike and the fight against global warming
By Bryan Dyne, 14 March 2019
That the demonstration planned for Friday has evoked a broad response is an indication of both the serious nature of the ecological crisis and the radicalization of youth all over the world.
Opportunity rover completes 15 years of Martian exploration
By Bryan Dyne, 15 February 2019
The Mars rover has provided an immense wealth of scientific knowledge and served as the eyes for tens of millions of people to view the landscapes of another world.
Science and social crisis in 2019
By Bryan Dyne, 19 January 2019
A series of major scientific breakthroughs demonstrate the potential for the progressive development of humanity, even as capitalism drags mankind into war and barbarism.
Scientific breakthrough promises to increase agricultural productivity by 40 percent
By Philip Guelpa and Thomas H. Douglass, 9 January 2019
Newly announced research on photosynthesis in plants, the basis of nearly the entire food chain on the planet, shows that advances in science and technology can abolish hunger and the danger of famine.
New Horizons completes flyby of Ultima Thule
By Bryan Dyne, 4 January 2019
Ultima Thule is 6.4 billion kilometers from Earth, the most distant astronomical body ever explored by a spacecraft.
Academics and students oppose Cambridge University appointment of eugenicist Noah Carl—Part 2
By Thomas Scripps, 31 December 2018
This is the second and concluding part of a series on the political significance of the appointment by Cambridge University of eugenicist Noah Carl as a research fellow.
Academics and students oppose Cambridge University appointment of eugenicist Noah Carl—Part 1
By Thomas Scripps, 29 December 2018
This is the first of a two-part series on the political significance of the appointment by Cambridge University of eugenicist Noah Carl as a research fellow.
Moon targeted for further exploration, orbiting space stations and militarization
By Henry Allan and Bryan Dyne, 27 December 2018
The development of the Lunar Gateway cannot be seen outside the context of the plan to create a “Space Force” as the sixth branch of the US military and the growing militarization of space in general.
Greenland ice sheet melting at an accelerating rate due to global warming
By Philip Guelpa, 14 December 2018
Data obtained from ice cores taken from the Greenland ice sheet reveal that the past decade has seen the fastest melt rate in 350 years.
Last light for the Kepler space telescope
By Bryan Dyne, 1 December 2018
The first and most productive space telescope designed to find planets beyond our Solar System has been retired after exhausting its fuel supply.
NASA InSight mission successfully lands on Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 28 November 2018
InSight will spend the next two years studying the tectonic activity, internal heat flow and interior rotation of the Red Planet.
World vertebrate populations have fallen 60 percent since 1970
By Bryan Dyne, 1 November 2018
The latest Living Planet Report demonstrates the far-reaching implications of human activity on both the climate and the degradation of the natural environment.
Japanese space agency lands two rovers on surface of asteroid
By Bryan Dyne, 26 September 2018
Although an asteroid was first landed on in 2001, the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission is the first to successfully deploy rovers on the surface of one.
Waste plastics poison the food chain and contribute to global warming
By Philip Guelpa, 7 September 2018
A variety of recent research highlights the ways in which the huge amounts of discarded plastic products are harmful to the environment and human health.
NASA spacecraft launched for close-up study of the Sun
By Bryan Dyne, 13 August 2018
The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft has begun its three-month journey to get closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft.
Evidence of liquid water lakes under polar ice caps on Mars
By Bryan Dyne, 26 July 2018
The previous 54 years of Mars space exploration have laid the groundwork for this remarkable discovery.
Global warming will increase the severity of hurricanes
By Philip Guelpa, 21 July 2018
Superstorms like Hurricane Harvey are now predicted to occur once every 16 years, rather than once every 100 years.
Large Hadron Collider resumes operations
By Joe Mount, 4 July 2018
Several results from the accelerator have been published in the last 12 months, including recent and more detailed studies of the Higgs boson.
Physics, poetry and the search for quantum gravity: Carlo Rovelli’s Reality Is Not What It Seems
By Bryan Dyne, 29 June 2018
Rovelli’s works on modern physics combine a materialist approach to science with a popular approach of explanation that is informed by a knowledge of literature and philosophy.
Martian dust storm covers the entire planet
By Bryan Dyne, 25 June 2018
The Curiosity rover and the constellation of satellites orbiting Mars are using the storm to study Martian weather and climate.
Climate scientists warn about “methane time bomb”
By Matthew MacEgan, 23 May 2018
Climate scientists are warning that human-driven atmospheric changes could lead to a mass extinction event rivaling the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Study finds alarming decline in biodiversity worldwide
By Philip Guelpa, 14 May 2018
The increasingly rapid loss of plant and animal species threatens a sixth mass global extinction.
Some early modern populations in Britain may have had dark skin
By Philip Guelpa, 22 March 2018
Recently published research suggests that Mesolithic Britons may have had dark skin, but the science is unsettled.
Cosmologist Stephen Hawking dies at 76
By Bryan Dyne, 15 March 2018
Hawking, who lived much of his life debilitated by Lou Gehrig’s disease, was one of the world’s most significant cosmologists and a renowned popularizer of physics.
Scientists produce new treatment to block the development of breast cancer
By Benjamin Mateus, 17 February 2018
A team of researchers successfully used an inhibitor called HET0016 to block a chemical known as 20-HETE, which can promote the growth of breast cancer cells.
Falcon Heavy launch marks new stage in the privatization—and perversion—of space exploration
By Don Barrett and Patrick Martin, 9 February 2018
The new rocket has two purposes, neither of them connected with the advance of science: to boost the wealth of billionaire Elon Musk, and to expand the military arsenal of the Pentagon.
“Big Sugar” and metabolic syndrome, killers of millions annually worldwide
By Gary Joad, 2 February 2018
Mass consumption of excessive quantities of sugar plays a major rolein adolescent and adult diabetes, heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cancer, a fact that has long been suppressed by the industry and federal agencies.
Explore the complexities and beauty of Earth’s oceans in Blue Planet II
By Bryan Dyne, 22 January 2018
The series is a vindication of what can be achieved with scientifically coordinated and socially progressive human activity.
Insights into a new class of HIV retroviral drugs
By Benjamin Mateus, 30 December 2017
Recent investigation into the process of the HIV virus capsid maturation suggests a new method of disrupting its ability to infect.
The roots of intelligence: What the study of whales and dolphins can reveal about the basis of human intelligence
By Philip Guelpa, 12 December 2017
Both humans and cetaceans have large and highly developed brains as well as sophisticated social behaviors.
Genetic study demonstrates that racial classification by skin color has no scientific basis
By Philip Guelpa, 9 November 2017
Skin color is controlled by multiple genes, each with many variants, which have deep evolutionary origins and are widely dispersed across human populations, irrespective of “racial” categories.
Brazil cuts science budget amid mounting yellow fever threat
By Miguel Andrade, 8 November 2017
Brazil’s Science Ministry is facing a 44 percent funding cut by the end of 2017 and another reduction of 15 percent for 2018.
Trump administration silences government environmental scientists
By Daniel de Vries, 27 October 2017
The EPA ordered three agency scientists to cancel long planned talks this week which were related to climate change.
Neutron star merger observed through gravitational waves and light
By Don Barrett, 18 October 2017
The initial detections by the LIGO, Virgo and Fermi collaborations were followed up by observations involving more than 3,500 astronomers.
Observation of gravitational waves wins Nobel Prize in physics
By Bryan Dyne, 6 October 2017
The announcement comes seven weeks after the detection of the fourth gravitational wave by the two Advanced LIGO detectors and the Advanced Virgo detector.
FDA recommends approval of new leukemia treatment
By Benjamin Mateus, 23 September 2017
This is the first time that white blood cells have been successfully engineered to fight off a cancer.
The legacy of the Cassini spacecraft
By Don Barrett, 16 September 2017
After 20 years of insights into Saturn, its rings, its moons and the Solar System as a whole, Cassini’s mission has ended.
Inherited genetic disorder corrected in human embryos
By Benjamin Mateus, 2 September 2017
New research in the study of the human genome has provided a new way to reduce or potentially eliminate inherited genetic disorders by correcting harmful genetic mutations while the subject is still an embryo.
Millions travel to view 2017 total solar eclipse
By Don Barrett, 21 August 2017
The first solar eclipse in 99 years to cross the whole of the continental United States has attracted interest among millions of people.
Will the Trump administration censor climate scientists?
By Daniel de Vries, 15 August 2017
A draft of an authoritative federal study by US scientists was released amid fear of suppression.
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