September 25, 2024: We're covering an asteroid-nuking experiment, mitigating climate change versus planning for it, and why children continue still are dying inside hot cars. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | The average number of children in the U.S. who die annually of heat stroke due to being unattended inside a stifling, hot vehicle has remained steady at 37 for the past 25 or so years. Since 1998, such deaths have been reported every month of the year and in every U.S. state other than Alaska and New Hampshire, reports Scientific American editor Andrea Thompson. The problem stems in part from misperceptions. For example, people generally are unaware of how fast a vehicle can heat up (see the graphic below) and fail to grasp that even a loving caregiver is capable of leaving a child in a car.
How this happens: When we secure a child in a car, our brains are in a "conscious memory" mode that helps us keep things in mind, neuroscientist David Diamond explains in the piece. Once we start driving, our brains shift to a different memory system, controlled by the basal ganglia, which is responsible for repetitive actions such as brushing our teeth or driving a familiar route. This autopilot mode can override the earlier mindful intention to recall and attend to the child in the backseat.
Solutions: Fortunately, some fixes are under way or in the works including awareness campaigns and newly required car technology that reminds drivers to check for items or people in the backseat. "It will take some time for this technology to spread through the U.S. car fleet," Thompson writes. | | | Zane Wolf; Source: NoHeatstroke.org | | | Mock Asteroid 'Nuked' in Lab | In a first-of-its-kind lab experiment, a powerful blast of X-rays successfully nudged and then fully vaporized two mock asteroids, suggesting that a nuclear explosion could be used to save Earth from the destruction of an incoming asteroid. The X-rays produced by a nuclear bomb would be more effective at deflecting an Earthbound asteroid than the momentum of the bomb's shock wave, which previously had been studied, reports freelance journalist Jonathan O'Callaghan. The lab asteroids were only 12 millimeters in diameter, but the researchers showed that the result would scale up to save Earth from asteroids as big as 4 kilometers in diameter.
How they did it: The researchers simulated the conditions of space by suspending the two mock asteroids by a thin piece of foil in a vacuum. The X-rays, shot from Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine, cut the foil, releasing the simulated asteroids into freefall. The X-rays vaporized the asteroid surfaces, initially causing gas to expand from the surfaces and accelerate the rocks before fully destroying them.
What the experts say: The new research is "one of the first blockbuster publications of trying to figure out on Earth how we can recreate how a nuclear deflection of an asteroid might go," says physicist Mary Burkey. | | | The X-rays emitted by a nuclear blast could deflect asteroids as they approach Earth, a new study suggests. Science Photo Library/Andrzej Wojcicki/Getty Images | | | • A 2017 flood at the entrance of a 16-year-old underground, refrigerated repository designed to preserve seeds for the world's key food crops reveals the shortcomings of planning for climate change rather than focusing on slowing it down, writes Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science. The seeds at the Svalbard Global Seed Bank also will not have evolved during storage and might no longer grow well in the natural world if and when they are re-introduced. | 4 min read | | | • Eating less beef is a climate solution. Here's why that's hard for some American men. | NPR | • Sharks and rays leap out of the water for many reasons, including feeding, courtship and communication. | The Conversation | • A bottle of water per email: the hidden environmental costs of using AI chatbots. | The Washington Post | • Spiders force male fireflies to flash like females—luring more males to their death. | Science | | | The concept of writer's block inspired our TikTok creators at Scientific American, Kelso Harper and Carin Leong, to post a fun video that explains the Infinite Monkey Theorem, that is, the idea that a monkey randomly striking keys on a keyboard over an infinite period of time could likely write any published text. We've also been enjoying TikToks by Elle Cordova, which recently have directly addressed science themes, including a beloved science-fiction TV and movie series.
| —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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