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To avoid catastrophic climate change, the world will need to emit less than one trillion metric tons of carbon between now and 2050, according to two new papers published in Nature today. In other words, there is only room in the atmosphere to burn or vent less than one quarter of known oil, natural gas and coal reserves. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have reached 386 parts per million—and rising, because every year, human activity spews more than 30 billion metric tons of CO2....

Twenty-five primary school students in the U.K. are the authors of a new study on how bees perceive color and patterns. In fact, the children devised the research, conducted the experiments, analyzed the data and wrote up the results. Led by neuroscientist Beau Lotto, of University College London, the students found that bees can use both color and location to remember where nectar-producing flowers are. “It‘s an original discovery, quite apart from who did it,” Lotto says....

After launching to space in 2013, the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope has been spinning in full circles every six hours, mapping all the stars it can see in every direction. Scientists recently released a new catalog of the mission’s latest data, which includes measurements of the chemical compositions, temperatures, colors, masses, ages and speeds of almost two billion stars in the Milky Way. These data reveal typical trends for stars: The massive stars tend to be hot and young....

Researchers may have explained why a few tiny galaxies around the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies are so rich in dark matter, the invisible stuff that makes up most of the matter in the universe. The key seems to be the bigger, brighter galaxies next door. Simulations indicate that million-degree coronas around these larger galaxies could have scoured away much of the visible gas in their young neighbors while leaving the dark material behind....

Writing in Scientific American in 2007, Harry A. Atwater of the California Institute of Technology predicted that a technology he called “plasmonics” could eventually lead to an array of applications, from highly sensitive biological detectors to invisibility cloaks. A decade later various plasmonic technologies are already a commercial reality, and others are transitioning from the laboratory to the market. These technologies all rely on controlling the interaction between an electromagnetic field and the free electrons in a metal (typically gold or silver) that account for the metal’s conductivity and optical properties....

Key concepts: Food science Chemistry Artificial sweeteners Sugar Taste Introduction Picture your favorite treats: chocolate fudge cake, vanilla ice cream, pink lemonade… Yum! Can you imagine what these might taste like without the sweet flavor of sugar? Your sweet tooth might be aching without the chemical compound of sucrose that is so appealing. Much of the food we eat contains sucrose or natural sweeteners such as honey. There are of course other sweetening options....

Yes, NASA takes great photographs of the stars, galaxies and gas clouds throughout the universe. But the agency has telescopes floating in space that make this accomplishment a little easier. Miguel Claro, a Portugese astral photographer, takes all his portraits from the ground. Claro goes to great lengths to distill fragments of the night sky—even waiting out almost five hours of exposure time for a single shot. The results have earned him positions as a European Southern Observatory photo ambassador and as the astrophotographer for the Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve, the world’s first starlight tourist destination....

Dear EarthTalk: I am in the market for a new flat screen TV. Are some models greener than others?­ - Michael Kavanaugh, Rome, NY According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Americans’ 275 million TV sets burn through some 65 billion kilowatt hours of energy each year, representing four to five percent of U.S. household electricity consumption. Each U.S. household spends around $200/year for electricity to power their TVs and related equipment....

In 2007 a network of automated telescopes observed a star about 433 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The star dimmed noticeably for at least 54 days, with its feeblest light measured around April 29. In 2012 astronomers determined that this star hosted a huge, Saturn-size gaseous planet orbited by a spectacular array of 37 rings. Just as Saturn does, this world known as J1407b has a gap in its ring system....

The typical supermarket tomato is ripe-red, firm to the touch and free of blemishes—as well as of flavor. Since at least the 1970s, U.S. consumers have lamented the beautiful but bland fruits that farmers breed not for taste but rather for high yield and durability during shipping. Recently organic farmers and foodies have championed the superior flavors of heirloom tomatoes—older varieties that come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors....

For a recent breast cancer study, epidemiologist Kathryn H. Schmitz of the University of Pennsylvania sent out 60,000 letters—and netted 351 women. Walking each participant through the paperwork took 30 minutes or more. Such inefficient methods of finding test subjects have been the norm for medical research. Yet there’s a wealth of data out there from the billion smartphones and 70 million wearable health trackers we buy every year. Their sensors generate terabytes of data every day about our activity, sleep and behavior....

Lancet reported that the company had created human embryonic stem cells without using cell “feeders”, about the same time rival Geron published similar research. The breakthrough is important because exposing stem cells to mouse or human cell feeders contaminates them, rendering them potentially unusable for medical therapies. Despite the controversy and excitement surrounding its science, ACT has always operated on a shoestring. Its executives have publicly lamented their tight budgets, saying they have often had trouble paying their small staff....

Among the most successful approaches to helping caregivers is the New York University Caregiver Intervention (NYUCI), designed to support people tending to loved ones with dementia. The program was based on work in the late 1990s by N.Y.U. psychiatric epidemiologist Mary S. Mittelman. A key measure of its efficacy is the fact that caregivers in the program are able to successfully tend to their loved ones at home far longer than nonparticipants, delaying the need for institutionalization....

For 28 years, Bill Gilmore lived in a New Hampshire beach town, where he surfed and kayaked. “I’ve been in water my whole life,” he said. “Before the ocean, it was lakes. I’ve been a water rat since I was four.” Now Gilmore can no longer swim, fish or surf, let alone button a shirt or lift a fork to his mouth. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease....

Ten years ago technology writer Nicholas Carr published an article in the Atlantic entitled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” He strongly suspected the answer was “yes.” Himself less and less able to focus, remember things or absorb more than a few pages of text, he accused the Internet of radically changing people’s brains. And that is just one of the grievances leveled against the Internet and at the various devices we use to access it–including cell phones, tablets, game consoles and laptops....

DANA POINT, Calif. – Ford Motor Co.’s executive chairman offered a rare glimpse yesterday into the U.S. auto industry’s corporate direction and culture, painting a bright picture for the sector even though Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. are flirting with bankruptcy. Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, said the U.S. auto industry is facing an unprecedented financial crisis that has shaken its foundation. But, he said, the turn toward insolvency should mean opportunity for an “insular industry” that has long been mired in stale thinking....

The number of cases of vaping-related illnesses spiked sharply again this week as pressure mounts to uncover the cause of the mysterious symptoms. There have been 805 confirmed and probable cases of lung injury linked with e-cigarette use across 46 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The case count marks a surge from the 530 cases reported last week, and the 380 cases reported the week prior....

You’re a stressed-out intensive care unit (ICU) doctor, trying desperately to save the lives of a score of patients under your care. Most of them are on ventilators, and you know that a good number of such patients will go on to develop pneumonia, upping their risk of death. You want to treat them, and fast. But which ones do you treat? Do you treat all of them with antibiotics, which could lead to other complications?...

From Nature magazine The trillions of microbes in the human gut contribute to obesity and to the risk of diseases such as diabetes. This microbial menagerie — the microbiome — also has a role in cancer, researchers report today in Science1. Mice with inflammatory bowel disease contain higher proportions of toxin-producing bacteria that may lead to colorectal cancer, the researchers say. Moreover, people with colorectal cancer were found to be more likely than healthy people to harbour these bacteria....

Key concepts Physics Gases Plant science Food science Introduction Do you like popcorn? It’s not only a tasty snack but also fascinating to watch when it pops in the pot. Why does it do that? What makes the small popcorn kernel jump into the air and change its appearance? Where does the characteristic popping sound come from, and does every corn pop? There are many good questions about this simple snack....