for this module’s discussion, research a recent science news event that has occu

for this module’s discussion, research a recent science news event that has occurred in the last six months. The event should come from a well-known news source, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, NPR, PBS, BBC, National Geographic, The New York Times, and so on. Post a link to the news story, and in your initial post, identify the following:
Summarize your news story and its contributions to the science or STEM fields.
If your news event is overtly related to popular culture, how does this event contribute to popular culture studies? If your news event does not directly relate to popular culture, how could the science behind your event be applied to popular culture artifacts?
In response to your peers, provide feedback about their news story and describe the value of the science lens for understanding popular culture.
Make sure you support your response with the readings from this module and any additional resources, if needed.
Peer 1
Hi class, I hope you’re all having a great week.
The news story I found was from The Washington Post, titled “‘Weird, hot, black ice’: Scientists discover new phase of water” (Blakemore, 2021) This new form of ice is now called superionic ice. It was said that “researchers managed to create the substance using the same high temperatures and pressures that can be found inside ice giants Uranus and Neptune.” (Blakemore, 2021) Scientists say that a lot of the universe’s water exists in this hot, superionic form. They are working to try to understand its properties, which include “the ability to generate the magnetic fields that protect people and organisms from the sun’s blistering radiation.” (Blakemore, 2021) Since these magnetic fields are what allow planets to sustain life, superionic ice could lead us to other places where life is possible.
The idea of life on other planets is frequently brought up in pop culture. It takes place in movies, tv shows, books, music, and more. This recent study has led us closer to the science behind the idea, which can allow future pop culture artifacts to be more detailed and knowledgeable with their interpretation.
Reference:
Blakemore, E. (November 21st, 2021) ‘Weird, hot, black ice’: Scientists discover new phase of water. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/ice-superionic-icy-planets/2021/11/19/dcd7d1e0-47d6-11ec-b8d9-232f4afe4d9b_story.html
Peer 2
Hello Everyone!
With a growing public awareness of the condition of our planet and the effects of climate change, there has been a significant increase in the incorporation of themes of environmental activism in pop culture. One science news event which has garnered great public attention over the past few years are the incredibly destructive wildfires which have destroyed land across the planet. The article I have chosen to explore covers two active wildfires during July of 2021. During their active time, these two fires burned land nearly the size of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago combined (Elamroussi, 2021). The Dixie Fire, a California fire scorched 240,795 acres and forced the evacuation of 7,800 residents before being contained just 24% (Elamroussi, 2021). The Bootleg Fire in Oregon burned 413,562 acres within a month, tearing through 400 structures and at least 342 vehicles (Elamroussi, 2021). The increased instances of extremely damaging and persistent wildfires have been used as evidence of climate change and the extremely harmful effects is has. It is largely believed that human-induced climate change is the driving force in the recent increase in wildfire severity. Unprecedented droughts in Western United States have made the region increasingly vulnerable to wildfires, making the damage more significant and the fires harder to contain and faster to spread.  Understanding the science behind these disasters helps us to better plan for remediation and prevention.
The existence of these wildfires sheds light on two important factors: the damage they cause and the conditions that cause them. This is what gives way for pop culture coverage. When the public sees the damages brought on by the blazing wildfires, many are likely to be upset by the event in some way. Some may feel sorrow for the wildlife and people affected by the fires while others may fear that the wildfires will eventually impact their own homes and communities. Either way, many people who hear about these disasters will want to avoid them, thus bringing more individuals to the side of climate remediation and improvements in global greenhouse gas emissions and other sustainable activities.
With climate change becoming more of a mainstream issue, we are seeing it more and more in pop culture media across the globe. Many celebrities are known as climate activists, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Bill Nye, and Gwyneth Paltrow to name a few. Additionally, many large streaming services are producing their own documentaries, such as the 2019 Netflix series Our Planet narrated by David Attenborough. These documentaries are designed to teach the public about the environment and to make people more aware of issues threatening the planet’s well-being. One notable result of the increase of environmental science news in media is the increase of climate activism on the social media app TikTok. On this app, many of the younger generations have shared their opinions and concerns for the environment on a platform which can reach millions of people. The rapid-fire quality of this content allows many messages to get to many people in only a few minutes. By bringing environmental issues to the media, this leads to the exploration of these scientific topics in more focused works of documentary or film and also encourages public figures to engage in activism. This then allows a greater audience to become educated on these issues, leading to more support and activism and potential for improvements in these issues.
Thanks!
Kelly
Source:
Elamroussi, A. (31 July 2021). The two largest wildfires in the US have burned land nearly the size of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago combined. CNN. Retrieved 22 November 2021 from https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/31/weather/us-western-wildfires-saturday/index.html