A selection of this week’s stories from Science’s new policy blog
Intelligence marks a man as a good match
Compromised welfare of zoo elephants; reconciling financial models with human behavior; and more.
Compromised welfare of zoo elephants; reconciling financial models with human behavior; and more.
Shocking new research shows size isn’t always an advantage in the animal world, shattering a widely-held belief that bigger is better.
Continue reading about In The Animal World, Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better
It is estimated that more than 1 billion individuals worldwide in 2005 had presbyopia, or age-related difficulty in seeing objects nearby, with an estimated 410 million with the condition unable to perform tasks requiring near vision, according to a new report.
Continue reading about Age-related Farsightedness May Affect More Than 1 Billion Worldwide
Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savanna elephants of Central Africa’s Sahel region, now hover at about 1,000 animals, down from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. Ivory poachers using automatic weapons have decimated elephant populations — particularly when herds venture seasonally outside of the park.
Continue reading about 2,000 Elephants Missing, Poaching Likely To Blame
Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are three times as likely to experience severe coronary events — including heart attacks — than people without the disease, according to a recent study that analyzed the risk of cardiovascular disease in nearly 1,000 patients with IPF and more than 3,500 matched controls.
Continue reading about Double Threat: Deadly Lung Disease Also Linked To Heart Attacks
Researchers recently found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn’t soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what look like fingers of fluid flowing downward. Scientists call these rivulets “gravity fingers,” and the explanation for their formation has to do with the surface tension [...]
Continue reading about Mystery Of Gravity Fingers Mathematically Explained
Severely obese patients who have lost significant amounts of weight by changing their diet and exercise habits may be as successful in keeping the weight off long-term as those individuals who lost weight after bariatric surgery.
Continue reading about Keeping The Weight Off: Which Obesity Treatment Is Most Successful?