What We Are Reading Today: ‘Reefs of Time’ by Lisa S. Gardiner

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Updated 10 September 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Reefs of Time’ by Lisa S. Gardiner

With rising global temperatures, pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification, and other problems caused by humans, there’s no question that today’s coral reefs are in trouble.

As predictions about the future of these ecosystems grow increasingly dire, scientists are looking in an unlikely place for new ways to save corals: the past.

The reefs of yesteryear faced challenges too, from changing sea level to temperature shifts, and understanding how they survived and when they faltered can help guide our efforts to help ensure a future for reefs.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘An Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology’ by Steven A. Balbus

Updated 28 January 2026
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘An Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology’ by Steven A. Balbus

General relativity has entered a new phase of its development as technical advances have led to the direct detection of gravitational radiation from the merging of single pairs of stellar-sized black holes.

The exquisite sensitivity of pulsar signal timing measurements has also been exploited to reveal the presence of a background of gravitational waves, most likely arising from the mergers of supermassive black holes thought to be present at the center of most galaxies.

This book demonstrates how general relativity is central to understanding these and other observations.