Science

SpotlightUrban Furnaces or Cool Oases: The Choice Lies Inside Our Walls

Bélinda Ibrahim 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Heatwave Cities Buildings Greening Cooling

Heat is no longer just a summer inconvenience. With extreme heatwaves becoming more frequent, it is now a risk factor for health, the economy and quality of life. In a country like Lebanon, where urbanization has surged without climate adaptation planning, heatwaves often become an ordeal. Many buildings are made of heat-retaining materials, ...

SpotlightWhy Does a Fan Cool You Without Cooling the Air?

Bélinda Ibrahim 13/08 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fan Cooling Heat Illusion

It’s 32°C in your living room. Heat clings to your clothes, your clammy skin refuses to dry. You flip the fan switch. Within seconds, something changes: a breeze brushes your arms and neck, and everything feels more bearable. Yet the thermometer hasn’t moved. The secret lies not in the air itself, but in how your body interacts with it. A ...

HighlightFive Key Things About Heatwaves in Europe

This is Beirut 13/08 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

europe climate heatwaves

Scorching temperatures, such as those recorded in southern Europe, illustrate the intensifying heatwaves in Europe, which scientists consider a direct result of climate change. Here are five things to know about the heatwaves in Europe, which the EU climate monitor Copernicus says is the "fastest-warming continent on Earth". 2003: ...

Four Days Left to Square the Circle on Global Plastic Pollution Treaty

This is Beirut 11/08 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations Plastic Pollution

Countries remained at loggerheads Monday over how to tackle plastic pollution, with only four days left to craft a landmark global treaty on reining in the ever-growing scourge. While plastic has transformed modern life, plastic pollution poses an increasing threat to the environment and the human body -- and every day the garbage accumulates on ...

SpotlightNeedle Attacks: Between Collective Rumor and Stalled Investigations

Bélinda Ibrahim 07/08 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Needle Attacks Concerts World Investigations

Concerts, festivals, nightclubs and crowded subway carriages – these lively, bustling venues have, in recent years, become the alleged sites of a phenomenon as disturbing as it is elusive. Since autumn 2021, hundreds of people across France have reported sudden needle pricks in their legs, arms or backs, followed by nausea, dizziness, fainting ...

Q&AWhy Is Everyone Getting Sick This Summer?

Yara Germany 07/08 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Covid-19 rotavirus virus Lebanon Health

Sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, high fever. It feels like everyone knows someone who's down with something. COVID is back, stomach bugs are spreading and even flu-like symptoms are making a summer comeback. To understand why so many people are falling ill in Lebanon this summer, and how to stay protected, we spoke with Dr. Rola Husni Samaha, ...

SpotlightBrazil: Why Lightning (Almost) Always Spares Christ the Redeemer

Bélinda Ibrahim 06/08 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Brazil Christ the Redeemer Lightning Science Rio de Janeiro

Standing 38 meters tall, arms outstretched atop Mount Corcovado, Christ the Redeemer watches over Rio de Janeiro. But this stone guardian, national symbol of Brazil, is also a prime target for lightning strikes. At nearly 710 meters above sea level and perched in isolation, the statue is struck an average of four to six times per year. During ...

HighlightChikungunya in China: What You Need to Know

This is Beirut 06/08 09:25 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

China Chikungunya Virus Mosquito

Cases of chikungunya fever are rising in southern China, prompting local authorities to take measures to curb its spread. Here is what you need to know about the disease: What is chikungunya? Chikungunya is caused by a virus that can be passed to humans by infected mosquitoes, with most cases occurring in Africa, Asia and the ...

Plastic Pollution 'Grave and Growing' Health Threat: Lancet

This is Beirut 04/08 10:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

United States USA Pollution Plastic

Plastic pollution is a "grave, growing and under-recognized danger" to health that is costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year, experts warned in a report on Monday. The new review of the existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks opening in Geneva aiming ...

SpotlightEclipse of the Century: Encounter with Darkness on August 2, 2027

Bélinda Ibrahim 02/08 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Middle East Africa Lebanon Solar Eclipse World

On August 2, 2027, a narrow band of totality will stretch from southern Spain to the southern Arabian Peninsula, offering a dramatic celestial display already dubbed “the eclipse of the century.” It is set to be one of the most spectacular astronomical events of the 21st century. The eclipse will begin over the Atlantic Ocean shortly after ...

HighlightWhat are All These Microplastics Doing to Our Brains?

This is Beirut 01/08 09:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Health Microplastics Brains

Tiny shards of plastic called microplastics have been detected accumulating in human brains, but there is not yet enough evidence to say whether this is doing us harm, experts have said. These mostly invisible pieces of plastic have been found everywhere, from the top of mountains to the bottom of oceans, in the air we breathe and the food we ...

SpotlightPestalotiopsis microspora: The Fungus That Eats Plastic

Bélinda Ibrahim 31/07 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fungus Pestalotiopsis microspora Plastic Amazon

In 2011, during a scientific expedition in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest, Yale students stumbled upon an unusual fungus. Hidden within the tissues of certain plants in Yasuní National Park, Pestalotiopsis microspora revealed a unique ability: it can break down one of the most common types of plastic, the polyurethane, even in completely ...