Science

An innovative campaign and the song really IS fantastic. Mark King breaks it down at My Fabulous Disease: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced a music video that joyfully educates gay men about HIV prevention options. And it is foot-stomping fabulous. The song, “Collect My Love,” was released by The Knocks and it features vocals by …

The Associated Press reports: Most people are trying to avoid Florida mosquitoes, blamed for dozens of cases of the Zika virus. But Republican Rep. David Jolly decided to make a point Wednesday by bringing a container of them to the House floor. “The politics of Zika are garbage right now,” the Florida lawmaker said in a short, angry speech condemning …

CNN reports: An experimental drug shattered and removed toxic plaques in the brains of patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said Thursday. Given to patients once a month for a year, infusions of the drug aducanumab cleared the brain of the deposits, which experts believe play a crucial role in disrupting cellular processes and blocking communication among nerve cells. Although …

The Verge reports: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, meant to launch a satellite this weekend, exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Reports suggest the explosion occurred during a static fire test of the rocket’s engines. The Falcon 9 was getting ready to launch the Amos 6 satellite, a communications probe for the Israeli satellite operator Spacecom. The mission …

Well, some of what you’re saying. From the Associated Press: Scientists have found evidence to support what many dog owners have long believed: man’s best friend really does understand some of what we’re saying. Researchers in Hungary scanned the brains of dogs as they were listening to their trainer speaking to determine which parts of the brain they were using. …

The Guardian reports: The search for life outside our solar system has been brought to our cosmic doorstep with the discovery of an apparently rocky planet orbiting the nearest star to our sun. Thought to be at least 1.3 times the mass of the Earth, the planet lies within the so-called “habitable zone” of the star Proxima Centauri, meaning that …

Yet another study has concluded that men who openly say they are homophobic give themselves away under the unblinking eye of science. Literally unblinking, in their case. Mic reports: Researchers at the University of Geneva tested 38 heterosexual male subjects by having them first rate their levels of “homonegativity” to determine how antigay each of them were. Then the men …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Two billboards designed to bring awareness to the spread of the Zika virus have been removed in Broward County after their depiction of an unrolled condom stirred controversy. A spokesperson with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation said pressure from the Fort Lauderdale Mayor’s office and the Tourism Board caused their signage company to pull the ad from …

CNN reports: July was the world’s hottest month ever, according to NASA, the tenth month in a row to break temperature records globally. But help may be on the way in the form of a developing La Nina weather pattern — it just may not arrive until 2017. On Tuesday, NASA confirmed in a statement 2016 had seen the warmest …

Politico reports: Sen. Marco Rubio said Saturday that he doesn’t believe a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus should have the right to an abortion — even if she had reason to believe the child would be born with severe microcephaly. “I understand a lot of people disagree with my view – but I believe that all human life …

Fusion reports: Our sci-fi future just got a whole lot closer to becoming a reality, after the Food and Drug Administration gave the okay to a field trial that would release genetically modified Zika-killing mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. On Friday, the FDA released a final environmental assessment of the trial, finding that it “will not have significant impacts on …

CNN reports: Thirty-three members of the US military have contracted the Zika virus overseas in countries where the virus has been identified, according to the Pentagon. One of the military service members is a pregnant female. Under Pentagon health policies, female service members are permitted to move out of countries where Zika exists. An additional six people who have military …

But it’s not a complete win. Reuters reports: A high court judge ruled on Tuesday that an HIV pill to prevent infection can be funded by the state health service in England, in a victory for AIDS campaigners who have been calling for its widespread use. So-called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, using Gilead Sciences’ medicine Truvada, can cut the …

Matt Drudge’s rarely used and infamous red siren is blaring. Via CNBC: Roger Ailes has resigned from his role as CEO of Fox News Channel, the company said on Thursday. Rupert Murdoch will assume the role of Chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, the company said. Embattled Fox News CEO Roger Ailes stands accused …

But not AIDS itself. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Australia’s peak AIDS organisations and scientists have announced an end to the AIDS epidemic, as the country joins the few nations in the world to have beaten the syndrome. The number of annual cases of AIDS diagnoses is now so small, top researchers and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations have …

CNN reports: NASA says it has received a signal from 540 million miles across the solar system, confirming its Juno spacecraft has successfully started orbiting Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. “Welcome to Jupiter!” flashed on screens at mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. The Juno team cheered and hugged. “This is phenomenal,” said …

The big moment starts around 10:30PM but I’m putting the feed up now so you can come back to it later. From the New York Times: The countdown for the Juno spacecraft to reach its destination at Jupiter is now a matter of hours. “Happy Fourth of July, everyone,” Scott Bolton, the principal investigator of the mission, said during a …

This one will definitely get me to fork out the IMAX bucks. Slate recaps: Few projects in the history of filmmaking have spent as long gestating as Terrence Malick’s IMAX movie The Voyage of Time, which explores our universe “billions of years in the making” and took about as long to produce. But after decades of stops and starts and …

Finally some good climate news. The Los Angeles Times reports: For the first time in 30 years, the gaping hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is showing signs of healing. Every year since it was discovered in 1985, scientists have watched the hole grow bigger from one Antarctic spring to the next, eventually covering 10.9 million square miles in …

Really cool stuff for science nerds! CNN reports: A spinning, solar-powered spacecraft as wide as a basketball court will arrive at Jupiter on July 4 to study the giant planet and to take the highest-resolution images of Jupiter in history. NASA’s robotic Juno probe is carrying seven science instruments designed to help scientists figure out how Jupiter formed and evolved. …