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ABSTRACT Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events and circumstances by attributing them to the supposed secret actions of powerful, malevolent groups. Due to their associations with potentially harmful non‐normative behaviors at both the individual and collective levels, researchers have expressed particular concern over conspiracy theories that malign science. To better understand such beliefs, we conducted a national US survey to gauge respondents’ agreement with 11 science‐related conspiracy theories and their political, psychological, and social characteristics. We find that beliefs in specific science‐related conspiracy theories represent two unique factors that are (i) related to non‐normative behaviors including political violence, vaccine refusal, and sharing false information online, and (ii) undergirded by a range of non‐normative personality traits and attitudes. We conclude by discussing the potential role of political leaders in propagating science‐related conspiracy theories and the implications for preventing or reversing science‐related conspiracy theory beliefs. 

Super-conserved Receptors Expressed in Brain (SREB) are a highly conserved family of orphan G protein-coupled receptors that consist of three members in most vertebrates: SREB1 (GPR27), SREB2 (GPR85), and SREB3 (GPR173). Each receptor is associated with diverse physiological processes and expressed in both ovaries and testes, but reproductive functions are only beginning to be understood. In addition, some fishes gained a novel fourth gene, SREB3B, which may have unique functions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a spatial and quantitative analysis of SREBs in the gonads of pufferfish (Dichotomyctere nigroviridis), which expresses all four genes. Multiplex RNAscope and absolute qPCR were used to assess gene expression patterns in both ovaries and testes. Expression was detected in early ovaries and dominated by sreb1 (approximately 2500 copies/ng RNA vs. 300 or less for others), with notable expression of all receptors in primary oocytes, granulosa cells, and small numbers of extra-follicular cells. Within primary oocytes, sreb1 and sreb3b exhibited diffuse patterns that may indicate early functions, while sreb2 and sreb3a were granular and may reflect stored mRNA. Early testicular development was dominated by sreb1 and sreb2 (∼5000 copies/ng RNA) in spermatogonia. These patterns were somewhat reduced in late testes (∼1000–2600 copies/ng RNA), but sreb3b exhibited a novel spatial pattern (∼380 copies/ng RNA) within spermatogenic cysts. These results highlight diverse roles for the SREB family, and sreb3b is hypothesized to have unique roles in fish reproduction. 

ABSTRACT Animals at early life stages are generally more sensitive to environmental stress than adults. This is especially true of oviparous vertebrates that develop in variable environments with little or no parental care. These organisms regularly experience environmental fluctuations as part of their natural development, but climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of these events. The developmental plasticity of oviparous vertebrates will therefore play a critical role in determining their future fitness and survival. In this Review, we discuss and compare the phenotypic consequences of chronic developmental hypoxia on the cardiovascular system of oviparous vertebrates. In particular, we focus on species-specific responses, critical windows, thresholds for responses and the interactive effects of other stressors, such as temperature and hypercapnia. Although important progress has been made, our Review identifies knowledge gaps that need to be addressed if we are to fully understand the impact of climate change on the developmental plasticity of the oviparous vertebrate cardiovascular system. 

Abstract Changing wildfire regimes in the western US and other fire-prone regions pose considerable risks to human health and ecosystem function. However, our understanding of wildfire behavior is still limited by a lack of data products that systematically quantify fire spread, behavior and impacts. Here we develop a novel object-based system for tracking the progression of individual fires using 375 m Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite active fire detections. At each half-daily time step, fire pixels are clustered according to their spatial proximity, and are either appended to an existing active fire object or are assigned to a new object. This automatic system allows us to update the attributes of each fire event, delineate the fire perimeter, and identify the active fire front shortly after satellite data acquisition. Using this system, we mapped the history of California fires during 2012–2020. Our approach and data stream may be useful for calibration and evaluation of fire spread models, estimation of near-real-time wildfire emissions, and as means for prescribing initial conditions in fire forecast models.