🌲 North America's forests are in danger

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August 11 2022

The record-breaking temperatures around the globe this month are an obvious reminder that humans are already experiencing the effects of climate change.

While extreme heat is one example, more subtle shifts are occurring all around us. This week, a group of studies published in Nature investigated the effects that climate change will have on trees. As the globe warms up, the researchers found, tree growth will likely stall. Trees store an enormous amount of carbon so any amount of tree loss will be a lost opportunity to offset global warming.

We aren’t all doom and gloom this week, however. If you ever wanted to create authentic, Bronze Age bronze, now could be your chance. Reporting in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists say that they may have finally decoded the historic formulas for ancient bronze written by Bronze Age Chinese craftsmen. The recipes might still be missing some key ingredients to the secret sauce, though.

What's New

Climate

Science

Climate change may push North America’s forests to a “tipping point”

When we think about forests and climate change, our minds often see an image of rainforests burning in the Amazon or tropical jungles being scorched in Indonesia for palm oil.

But new research reveals that climate change has also dramatically affected more temperate, colder forests in North America, potentially accelerating the impacts of global warming even further as these trees store significant amounts of carbon.

A trio of studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature look at the different ways climate change threatens forests on the continent. Their conclusions suggest the prospects for long-term survival are grim if we don’t get our act together and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we release into the atmosphere. Inverse breaks down the three big takeaways from these studies and what they mean for our planet.

Science Fiction

Movies

How Dune: Part 2 will radically change the sci-fi saga’s universe

It's not all about the desert planet. At least, not anymore. The world of Dune is about to look a whole lot different.

In July 2022, Dune: Part 2 began filming in Italy, a significant visual change to the franchise — a shift that likely comes straight from the book. If Dune: Part 2 is going where we think it’s going, the movie's universe will not only look much more diverse but should also feel much, much bigger.

Learn more

Ancient History

Innovation

The ancient secret behind China’s Bronze Age

Around 2,300 years ago in a region just north of modern-day Shanghai, scribes recorded six meticulous recipes that have puzzled researchers ever since. They weren’t for a particular food — rather, these directions held the key to forging bronze, one of the Zhou Dynasty’s most prized possessions.

It’s already possible to recreate ancient bronze, which can be reverse-engineered by modern technology. But archaeologists have struggled for decades to decode these historic formulas written for Bronze Age Chinese craftsmen, which could offer valuable knowledge on the period’s manufacturing techniques.

Specifically, they couldn’t quite tell what the mysterious components called "Jin" and "Xi" from these formulas referred to. Now, a pair of researchers from Oxford University and the British Museum may have hammered out the answer.

Streaming

Gaming

Did you know Netflix has games? Here's how to find them

According to a report from CNBC, less than 1 percent of Netflix’s subscribers actually play the app’s games daily, and its 221 million-strong audience has only downloaded games a measly 23.3 million times. That’s a shame, since after an underwhelming first round of offerings, Netflix has built a surprisingly good library of games available with your subscription — including Into the Breach, Before Your Eyes, and Moonlighter — that’s only getting better.

Part of the problem may be that lots of Netflix subscribers don’t even know games are an option. Games were only added to Netflix back in November 2021, and Netflix doesn’t exactly make them easy to find. As we’ll show you here, it’s easy to play games on Netflix, as long as you know where to look.

Learn more

Creatures

Science

Watch these sea sponges sneeze in slow motion

Gesundheit! Writing this week in the journal Current Biology, researchers recorded sponges sneezing mucus in slow motion to rid their bodies of unwanted substances.

“Let’s be clear: sponges don’t sneeze like humans do. A sponge sneeze takes about half an hour to complete. But both sponge and human sneezes exist as a waste disposal mechanism,” says Jasper de Goeij, marine biologist and study author, in a press release.

Watch here

Meanwhile...

450 million years ago, Earth’s magnetic field almost collapsed

New Hubble Space Telescope capture and more: Understand the world through 7 images

Star Wars fans are mad about a "mistake" in Andor

10 years ago, Jeremy Renner ruined the best spy-thriller franchise of the century

Today in history: On August 11, 1984, Carl Lewis became the third track-and-field athlete to win four gold medals in one Olympics.

Song of the day: "Sweet Disposition," The Temper Trap

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🌲 North America's forests are in danger

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