How does Hail form?

According to the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory: Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone’s surface. If the water freezes instantaneously when colliding Read more…

Interest in CTE and the NFL over time

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the term used to describe brain degeneration likely caused by repeated head traumas. CTE is a diagnosis made only at autopsy by studying sections of the brain. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370921 The signs and symptoms of CTE can include: Despite receiving more attention recently (at least based on Google web Read more…

The Importance of Science in a Post-Truth Era

Scientific American recently took a look at how some scientists are responding to the seemingly increasing anti-science outlook in the world: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/nobelists-students-and-journalists-grapple-with-the-antiscience-movement/. Two important points stood out to me. First,  that scientists need to do a better job of outreach to inform the public of the scientific process. Because science is Read more…