Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) issued a declaration on Thursday that urges residents to pray for rain as the state experiences record drought.
Why it matters: At least 90% of the state is currently experiencing "extreme" to "exceptional" drought, the two worst categories, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A government report did not find evidence of the existence of alien technology in unidentified flying objects, but it also does not offer a definitive conclusion on what the strange flying objects are, the New York Times reports.
The state of play: The report says that over 100 UFO incidents — many of which were witnessed by Navy personnel — did not originate from any government program, per the Times.
By our side for thousands of years, dogs are masters of understanding human communication. A new study finds their ability to understand social cues emerges from an early age — without much training — and that genetics plays a key role.
Why it matters: The findings suggest human preferences for communication may have shaped the domestication and evolution of one of our best animal friends. It could also help researchers to understand dogs' social cognition — and how it compares to humans.
After watching the swift success story of COVID-19 vaccines, researchers and advocates are hopeful renewed funding and vaccine advances might finally lead to an end to the devastating 40-year-old AIDS epidemic.
The big picture: HIV is more difficult to target than the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 becausethe virus can mutate quickly and a vaccine would need to trigger a broadly neutralizing antibody response.
The most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. Latinas is breast cancer, and it's their leading cause of cancer-related death, research published in the journal Cancer Control found.
Why it matters: "While they are less likely to get breast cancer than other ethnic groups, Hispanic women who are diagnosed are 20% more likely than white women to die from the disease," the Baltimore Sun writes.
Oxygen levels in hundreds of freshwater lakes in the U.S. and around the world are plummeting — and climate change is largely to blame, according to a study published Wednesday.
Why it matters: Per a statement from study co-author Kevin Rose, a professor of biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: "All complex life depends on oxygen. ... when you start losing oxygen, you have the potential to lose species."
