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Cladosporium sphaerospermum, cultured at the Coimbra University Hospital Centre in Portugal. (Rui Tomé/Atlas of Mycology, used with permission) The Chernobyl exclusion zone may be off-limits to humans, but ever since the Unit Four reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded nearly 40 years ago, other forms of life have not only moved in but survived, adapted, and appeared to thrive. Part of that may be the lack of humans… but for one organism, at least, the ionizing radiation lingering inside the reactor's surrounding structures may be an advantage. There, clinging to the interior walls of one of the most...

Three days ago, the New York Post published an item on a recent tragedy in rural France—a “mob of about 10 knife-wielding thugs” had forced their way into a town celebration described by the mayor as “a very simple ball with a sound system organized by the village festival committee.” In the immediate aftermath, details about the identities and motive of the attackers weren’t “known” (but of course if you have a brain, they were); initial stories indicated a “brawl” while the prosecutor of Valence even suggested that the attack was to “settle a score” between rival criminal gangs. Now...

Shocking statements by Biden pick to lead DOJ Civil Rights Division (Kristen Clarke)

It had been thought that Northern Europeans developed light skin in order to absorb more UV light to process more vitamin D, necessary for healthy bones and immune function. But a new study conducted by a team led by professor of dermatology Peter Elias from the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the changes in skin’s function as a barrier to water loss is more likely. The skin-barrier protein filaggrin is broken down into a molecule called urocanic acid, which Elias says is the most potent absorber of UVB light in the skin. “It’s certainly more important than melanin...

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