Hurricane Beryl's ominous start to the storm season

+ getting astronauts safely back to Earth US Edition - Today's top story: Hurricane Beryl’s rapid intensification, Category 5 winds so early in a season are alarming: Here’s why more tropical storms are exploding in strength [View in browser]( US Edition | 3 July 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Hurricane Beryl is [setting an ominous tone for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season](. Forecasters have been warning that the high ocean temperatures and atmospheric conditions would be ideal for an [extremely active storm season](. But Beryl’s rapid intensification, jumping from tropical storm to major hurricane strength within hours and then quickly becoming the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record, alarmed scientists. The hurricane flattened parts of the Grenadine Islands and was headed for Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Wednesday, still as a major hurricane. Brian Tang, an atmospheric scientist at the University at Albany, State University of New York, studies hurricane intensification as part of an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. He explains why Beryl was able to explode in strength and why we seem to be seeing so many more rapidly intensifying hurricanes. Also in this week’s science news: - [How popcorn was discovered]( - [Hunger in Gaza could affection generations of people]( - [Government funding for research suffers from partisan split]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Stacy Morford Environment + Climate Editor Hurricane Beryl hit the island of Carriacou, Grenada, on July 1, 2024, with 150 mph sustained winds. NOAA [Hurricane Beryl’s rapid intensification, Category 5 winds so early in a season are alarming: Here’s why more tropical storms are exploding in strength]( Brian Tang, University at Albany, State University of New York Beryl’s strength and rapid intensification set records, raising alarms about what’s already expected to be a very active Atlantic hurricane season, as a meteorologist explains. The Orion capsule from NASA’s Artemis I mission splashes down. NASA via AP [The science behind splashdown − an aerospace engineer explains how NASA and SpaceX get spacecraft safely back on Earth]( Marcos Fernandez Tous, University of North Dakota Safely landing a spacecraft that’s falling from the sky very quickly is easier said than done. Domestic Bactrian camels in the Altai province of western Mongolia. Joel Berger/Wildlife Conservation Society [Flirting with disaster: When endangered wild animals try to mate with domestic relatives, both wildlife and people lose]( Joel Berger, Colorado State University Conflicts between herders and the wild ancestors of their yaks, camels and reindeer are a serious threat to both people and wildlife, writes a scientist who has seen these clashes firsthand. [AI companies train language models on YouTube’s archive − making family-and-friends videos a privacy risk]( Ryan McGrady, UMass Amherst; Ethan Zuckerman, UMass Amherst Many videos people upload to YouTube aren’t really meant for public consumption, but they’re available for AI companies to vacuum up. Many of these personal videos are posted by children. [Lucy, discovered 50 years ago in Ethiopia, stood just 3.5 feet tall − but she still towers over our understanding of human origins]( Denise Su, Arizona State University A photo of Lucy’s reconstructed skeleton next to a live four-year-old girl shows how human Lucy was – and how small. [How does hail grow to the size of golf balls and even grapefruit? The science behind this destructive weather phenomenon]( Brian Tang, University at Albany, State University of New York An atmospheric scientist explains how hail forms and what to do if you’re suddenly being pelted by giant ice chunks falling from the sky. [From diagnosing brain disorders to cognitive enhancement, 100 years of EEG have transformed neuroscience]( Erika Nyhus, Bowdoin College Deciphering how neurons talk to each other by reading the brain’s electrical activity has given scientists insights into memory and conditions like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s. - [Extreme heat waves aren’t ‘just summer’: How climate change is heating up the weather, and what we can do about it]( Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell; Jeffrey Basara, UMass Lowell The June heat wave triggered warnings of a flash drought and caused a surge in ER visits. Many other countries have been facing extreme heat at the same time. - [Federal funding for major science agencies is at a 25-year low]( Chris Impey, University of Arizona Research funding is down in recent years despite promises made with the CHIPS and Science Act. - [Even short trips to space can change an astronaut’s biology − a new set of studies offers the most comprehensive look at spaceflight health since NASA’s Twins Study]( Susan Bailey, Colorado State University A set of papers published in Nature contain groundbreaking research into how even quick jaunts to space can affect an astronaut’s health. - [Ferns and flowers bribe helpful ant defenders with nectar, but ferns developed this ability much later – our study shows why]( Jacob S. Suissa, University of Tennessee Ferns have evolved a mutually beneficial relationship with ants, but this happened late in their evolution. A recent study shows that old dogs can learn new tricks. - [Boost your immune system with this centuries-old health hack: Vaccines]( - [Gazans’ extreme hunger could leave its mark on subsequent generations]( - [How was popcorn discovered? An archaeologist on its likely appeal for people in the Americas millennia ago]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: • [Politics Weekly]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Giving Today]( • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Follow us on social media: • [Threads]( • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon]( • [Post.news]( • [LinkedIn]( • [Instagram]( • [Facebook]( • Or [get a daily text from us]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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