Coal’s decline in US has huge health impact – in a good way

+ microRNA for disease therapies; icy secrets of Uranus US Edition - Today's top story: Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 November 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( A study published in the journal Science last week offers a sobering assessment of how burning coal has increased mortality rates in the U.S. – but also a hopeful sign of how positive changes can occur over time. Researchers linked emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants to death records of Americans over 65 on Medicare, and they found that air pollutants from these plants were associated with [nearly half a million premature deaths from 1999 to 2020](. Regulations to control emissions of very small particles and reduced use of coal in favor of cheaper natural gas have led to dramatic cuts in sulfur dioxide emissions – and deaths attributed to each power plant – since 1999, writes researcher Lucas Henneman. Tomorrow marks one year since OpenAI released the chatbot ChatGPT to the general public and kicked off a frenzy of interest in generative AI – as well as lots of worries. Iowa State University researcher Joe Hollis explains the ways that [AI and robotics could benefit farmers and agriculture](, including reduced use of pesticides and better price forecasts. (To learn more about generative AI and how it’s changing society, [sign up for our newsletter course Understanding AI]( – four emails delivered every other day.) Most people probably don’t think about the Earth’s magnetic field very often – perhaps when they consider what’s going on with auroras, such as the northern lights. But UMass Lowell physicist Ofer Cohen writes that the [magnetic field is moving]( and that its polarity has actually reversed in the past. He explains what generates the protective magnetosphere and why we shouldn’t be too worried about it flipping, since it happens over hundreds of thousands of years. Also in this weeks’ science news: - [Fentanyl drives spike in adolescent drug deaths]( - [Bullying – why do people do that?]( - [How to stay safe from chlorine gas]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Martin LaMonica Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters Kids jump on a trampoline as steam rises from a coal power plant in Adamsville, Ala., in 2021. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images [Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows]( Lucas Henneman, George Mason University The longest-running study of its kind reviewed death records in the path of pollution from coal-fired power plants. The numbers are staggering − but also falling fast as US coal plants close. Farming today is as much about data as hardware. AP Photo/Nati Harnik [3 ways AI can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern agriculture]( Joe Hollis, Iowa State University AI is exciting and scary, but it’s also a very useful tool. Here’s how AI is helping farmers shore up their bottom lines, protect the environment and boost food security. The Earth’s magnetic field deflects particles emitted by the Sun. Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library via Getty Images [Earth’s magnetic field protects life on Earth from radiation, but it can move, and the magnetic poles can even flip]( Ofer Cohen, UMass Lowell Ever seen the northern lights? You have a magnetic layer in Earth’s atmosphere to thank for those beautiful displays. But the magnetosphere does a lot more than create auroras. [MicroRNA is the master regulator of the genome − researchers are learning how to treat disease by harnessing the way it controls genes]( Andrea Kasinski, Purdue University When just one of the thousands of microRNAs in people go awry, it can cause diseases ranging from heart disease to cancer. [Unwrapping Uranus and its icy secrets: What NASA would learn from a mission to a wild world]( Mike Sori, Purdue University Five of the Uranus moons might be ocean worlds − and if there’s water, there might be life. [How climate negotiators turn national self-interest into global collective action]( Asif Husain-Naviatti, Columbia University Negotiating global progress on climate change involves walking a fine line, as a former UN official explains. [People who experienced childhood adversity had poorer COVID-19 outcomes, new study shows]( Jamie Hanson, University of Pittsburgh People with adverse experiences during childhood − whether physical, emotional or sexual abuse − had higher rates of death and hospitalization decades later from COVID-19. - [A researcher’s prescription for better health care: A dose of humility for doctors, nurses and clinicians]( Barret Michalec, Arizona State University Research shows that when health care professionals work in a collaborative manner, patient satisfaction and outcomes improve. - [Why are bullies so mean? A youth psychology expert explains what’s behind their harmful behavior]( Sara Goldstein, University of Delaware No matter your age, if you’re being bullied − there’s help out there. - [Dozens of US adolescents are dying from drug overdoses every month − an expert on substance use unpacks the grim numbers with 3 charts]( Ty Schepis, Texas State University Among adolescents, boys are more likely to die of an overdose than girls, and using combinations of drugs substantially raises the risk of an overdose. - [Chlorine is a highly useful chemical that’s also extremely dangerous − here’s what to know about staying safe around it]( Aliasger K. Salem, University of Iowa Chlorine is a widely used industrial chemical that’s frequently a factor in toxic accidents and workplace injuries. A pharmaceutical expert explains why it’s so hazardous. - Like this newsletter? 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