As a science communication scholar[1], I’ve always supported vaccination and trusted medical experts – and I still do. As a new mom, however, I’ve been confronting new-to-me emotions and concerns[2] while weighing decisions about my son’s health.
Vaccines are incredibly effective and have minimal risks of side effects[3]. But I began to...
The artificial intelligence boom has had such a profound effect on big tech companies that their energy consumption, and with it their carbon emissions, have surged[1].
The spectacular success of large language models such as ChatGPT has helped fuel this growth in energy demand. At 2.9 watt-hours per ChatGPT request, AI queries require about ...
Storm-chasing for science can be exciting and stressful – we know[1], because we do it[2]. It has also been essential for developing today’s understanding of how tornadoes form and how they behave.
In 1996 the movie “Twister[3]” brought storm-chasing into the public imagination as scientists played by Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton raced...
While millions of Americans vacation[1] on beaches every year to seek out sun, sand and the sea, many might not realize how dangerous digging holes in the sand can be. In February 2024, a 7-year-old girl died[2] after an approximately 5-foot (1.5-meter) hole she and her brother dug in the sand collapsed in on her, burying her alive.
As a...