New England’s iconic cod fishery has hit an all-time low. Scientists point the finger at a combination of fishing and climate change. Many fishermen reject that assessment and blame their woes on regulators. A new documentary film, Sacred Cod , tells the story of two populations in crisis – the cod, and the fishermen who’ve built a way of life around them. Cod fishing is what brought the first Europeans to New England, and the commercial fishery is the oldest in the nation. Hundreds of years of

Are you addicted to your smartphone? Many of us certainly feel drawn to our electronic devices - and the array of information and activities they offer - in a way we feel uncomfortable admitting. And, while there's some controversy about whether or not the term "addiction" is appropriate, there is growing evidence that things like posting on Facebook can elicit the same brain response as an addictive substance. "When you scan someone's brain when they're self-disclosing, they activate the same

For the start of spring, we thought we’d look back at the wacky weather we’ve been having over the past two months. Like the 71-degree Fahrenheit day in Boston on February 24, which set the record for the warmest day for that city for the month of February. Or the February 27 th tornado in Western Massachusetts. Or the radical swing to arctic temperatures in March. We invited Sean Sublette of Climate Central and Bob Henson of Weather Underground to weigh in on the impact that climate change is

We all know that we’d be healthier if we ate more fruits and vegetables. Your doctor may have suggested that. But few of us actually do anything about it. But would that change if you actually got a prescription that covered the cost of fresh, locally-grown produce? That was the question at the heart of a recent pilot project on Cape Cod, called FlavoRx. Dr. Kumara Sidhartha, a physician with the Emerald Physicians group, and Sustainable CAPE (the Center for Agricultural Preservation and

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant is scheduled to close in 2019, and there are many who would like to see it shut down sooner. But that leaves a significant gap in southern New England’s energy supply. And, love it or hate it, nuclear power is a source of electricity with a much smaller carbon footprint than fossil fuels. The public debate about the role of nuclear power often pits climate change concerns against the safety records of existing power plants. But those facilities are, quite frankly, old

From Wall Street to the weather, statistics are a routine part of modern daily life. Statistical analysis is also critical to scientific advancement. And yet, even among scientists, there's a lack of understanding about how statistical tests work and what the results mean. That's why Brown University senior Daniel Kunin created a new website called Seeing Theory . On one level, it's sort of an animated textbook. Each interactive module includes an explanation of the concept at work. But, as you

Shortly after last fall’s election, there was a rash of open letters from various groups within the science community asking for a range of things - strong climate policy, science-based policy, and multicultural diversity. One such letter came from a group that calls themselves 500 Women Scientists . That name quickly became a misnomer as more than ten thousand women scientists signed the letter in a matter of weeks. Four months later, nearly 17,000 women have signed. Not only that, they’ve

War is generally pretty bad for the environment, and, understandably, the environment is not one of the military’s top priorities when at war. But more Navy officials are now asking questions about how to tread a bit more lightly on the environment, and some are getting scientists outside the military involved. Chris Reddy is one example. He's a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who specializes in oil spills, and last year, he got an email from a Navy lieutenant commander

As if the epidemic of opioid addiction and overdoses isn’t bad enough, a new study finds that – in a very small number of cases – opioid use has been linked to profound memory loss. It’s kind of a medical mystery story that started in November of 2015. That’s when Dr. Jed Barash, a neurologist at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, MA, brought four patients to the attention of officials at the Department of Public Health. All four had showed up at the hospital with amnesia and, in

Mildred Dresselhaus - a pioneer of nanoscience, often called the Queen of Carbon for her groundbreaking studies of that element – died last week at the age of 86. Her work on the properties of thin layers and tubes of carbon laid the groundwork for carbon nanotubes found today in batteries, cars, sports equipment, biomedical devices, solar panels and the space program. Dresselhaus was the first woman to become a fully tenured professor and then an Institute Professor at MIT, and the first woman