According to a report from the American Lung Association (ALA), approximately 156 million Americans, or 46 percent of the population, lived in areas with unhealthy air quality from 2021 to 2023, the period of analysis in the most recent report. This represents a higher number of individuals than at any time in the preceding decade. Bakersfield-Delano, California, was the region most affected by pollution.

The report suggests that the United States is experiencing a decline in clean air measures. Record-breaking heat, drought and wildfire smoke caused by climate change are damaging air quality throughout the country. The ALA’s analysis is based on official air quality monitoring sites maintained by federal, state and tribal governments.

An unrelated 2023 report from Stanford University, published in the journal Nature, estimated that wildfire smoke has undone about a quarter of the progress achieved under the Clean Air Act of 1963.

 

Solar-Powered Sea Slug

The waters off the coast of the Philippines harbor a tiny sea slug known as the leaf sheep. Measuring only seven to eight millimeters in length, this remarkable marine invertebrate has black eyes, insect-like antennae with black tips that resemble sheep’s ears and spiky green appendages distributed across its body known as the cerata.

The leaf sheep feeds on Avrainvillea, a species of algae. After ingesting the algae’s cells containing chlorophyll, the slug stores it in the tissues of its cerata for up to 10 days. This allows the slug to supplement its algae-based diet with photosynthesis, a process typically reserved for plants that converts sunlight into energy.

 

Seeing a New Color

It is estimated that the human eye can see almost 10 million different colors. In a paper published in Science Advances, scientists described a precise laser setup that stimulated the retinas of five participants, three of which were co-authors of the paper, to perceive colors beyond the normal human visual range.

The procedure, called “Oz”, involved delivering minute doses of light to the cone cells in the eye responsible for detecting the color green. Each participant observed a saturated bluish-green color resembling teal, which the researchers named “olo”. The participants confirmed that olo was beyond the standard visual range by comparing it with a teal-colored laser and adjusting the saturation by subtracting white light.

 

Chilean Deep-Sea Ecosystems Discovered

An international team of scientists aboard a Schmidt Ocean Institute research vessel embarked on a 55-day expedition to explore cracks in the ocean floor along the Chilean coast. The cracks release methane gas bubbles into the ocean, feeding microbes that support a diverse array of life forms.

The team used remotely operated, unmanned underwater vehicles to dive up to 9,800 feet below sea level, allowing them to map the methane seeps, as well as four previously unexplored underwater canyons. The deep-sea ecosystems they discovered differed from site to site. At least 60 new species were identified.

Notable observations included red cusk-eels, a highly valued fish in Chile; large Humboldt squid; a bioluminescent anglerfish; and chemosynthetic clam beds that are able to survive without sunlight.

 

3D-Printed Train Station

The West Japan Railway Company replaced a 75-year-old train station in just six hours using 3D-printed components that were assembled overnight, between the last train at night and the first in the morning, directly adjacent to the site of the old station. Measuring only 100 square feet, the innovative 3D-printed station has a minimalist design and white color scheme.

The company estimates that it saved more than two months of nighttime construction work and half the cost of a traditional structure. The printing was done by the construction company Serendix at a factory 500 miles away. The parts printing procedure and concrete reinforcement took seven days to complete.