New Scientist Australian Edition 14-May-22

Discovery tour Dinosaur hunting in the Gobi desert: Mongolia Join us on a thrilling expedition to find dinosaur remains in the beautiful wilderness of the Gobi desert with specialists from the Mongolian Institute of Paleontology and Geology. Participate in live prospecting and fossil digging, plus visit the Flaming Cliffs where the first ever dinosaur eggs to be discovered were found. From 27 August, 15 days for £6495. newscientist.com/tours Virtual event Fantastic numbers and where to find them Leading physicist and YouTube star Tony Padilla takes us on an irreverent tour of the most extraordinary numbers in physics, using them to build a picture of how the universe works. He demonstrates how numbers are key to unlocking black holes, the holographic principle and the problem of the cosmological constant. Watch at…

Discovery tour Dinosaur hunting in the Gobi desert: Mongolia Join us on a thrilling expedition to find dinosaur remains in the beautiful wilderness of the Gobi desert with specialists from the Mongolian Institute of Paleontology and Geology. Participate in live prospecting and fossil digging, plus visit the Flaming Cliffs where the first ever dinosaur eggs to be discovered were found. From 27 August, 15 days for £6495. newscientist.com/tours Virtual event Fantastic numbers and where to find them Leading physicist and YouTube star Tony Padilla takes us on an irreverent tour of the most extraordinary numbers in physics, using them to build a picture of how the universe works. He demonstrates how numbers are key to unlocking black holes, the holographic principle and the problem of the cosmological constant. Watch at 6pm BST on 23 June or…

THE right to end a pregnancy has been protected in the US for nearly 50 years. In a matter of weeks, that may change. The country’s highest court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision. This would be disastrous for public health and equality more broadly. The US already has the highest maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation, with 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. In the UK, it is 8.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. Given the significant health risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth, forcing more people to carry unwanted pregnancies and give birth means forcing them to face those dangers. Those who seek and are denied abortions also report higher levels of anxiety, lower self-esteem and poorer quality of life compared with those who…

THE Amazon rainforest in Brazil has suffered its worst-ever April deforestation rate since 2016, according to modern satellite records, months ahead of a general election where environmental protections are expected to be a key dividing line. The area cleared almost doubled year-on-year, from 579 square kilometres in April 2021 to 1012 square kilometres last month. The losses are “bleak”, tweeted Tasso Azevedo, the former head of Brazil’s forest service. The destruction follows several years of rising deforestation rates under President Jair Bolsonaro, who has argued Brazil has a right to exploit the forest. Brazil was responsible for 40 per cent of forest cover loss in the tropics in 2021. “The continued deforestation highs are a direct result of President Bolsonaro’s sabotage of environmental law enforcement in Brazil,” says André Freitas at Greenpeace Brazil.…

THE right to end a pregnancy has been protected in the US for nearly 50 years. In a matter of weeks, that may change. The country’s highest court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision. This would be disastrous for public health and equality more broadly. The US already has the highest maternal mortality rate of any wealthy nation, with 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. In the UK, it is 8.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. Given the significant health risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth, forcing more people to carry unwanted pregnancies and give birth means forcing them to face those dangers. Those who seek and are denied abortions also report higher levels of anxiety, lower self-esteem and poorer quality of life compared with…

THE UK Met Office has warned there is an almost 50-50 chance the world will briefly overshoot its crucial 1.5°C climate change target within the next five years. The Paris Agreement set an aim to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a threshold seen as vital to limiting the worst impacts of global warming on people and ecosystems. That aim would only be missed if a temperature rise is sustained over a couple of decades. The Met Office’s climate models estimate there is a 48 per cent chance that the average global temperature of any year between 2022 and 2026 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. For the previous five-year period, 2017 to 2021, the chance was less than 10 per cent. The prediction shows how close the world…