A roundup of science news from around the Web — and around the world.
• 30 years after leaving physics because of harassment, Margaret Wertheim explores why sexism is so hard to get rid of in science. (Aeon)
Using dummies and cadavers, the U.S. military is researching how to protect soldiers against the newest threats. (Visual by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ernesto Hernandez Fonte/Flickr)
• A miner gave up on his search for gold in pursuit of another treasure: graphite, which can be turned into graphene, the strongest material on Earth. (Bloomberg)
• The U.S. military is using cadavers and specially designed dummies to research how to protect soldiers. (New York Times)
• Along with bison and elk, early human cave drawings also included strange geometric shapes. Now one researcher thinks that they might be a precursor to writing. (National Geographic)
• The shooting of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo has fueled the debate over whether or not it’s wrong to keep certain animals in captivity. (Washington Post)
• New research suggests that taking opioids may actually make patients more sensitive to pain over time. (Science)
• It has long been thought that earthquakes exacerbate carbon emissions, but new research suggests that they might actually help capture carbon instead. (The Economist)
• Amazon’s Alexa is now for more than just the home. Hospitals are using the technology to allow patients to ask questions and pull up health records using only their voice. (STAT)
• During the ice age, Europe was full of elephants. Now, one zoo in Denmark wants to use rewilding to see them roam again. (BBC)
• And finally, toxin levels in crops like wheat and maize might be rising in the wake of recent climate conditions. (Scientific American)
