Zack Fishman

Reporter, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences

Zack Fishman, based in Chicago, covers Life Sciences and Physical Sciences for The Academic Times. Previously, Zack received his M.S. in journalism at Northwestern University, specializing in health, environment and science reporting, and his B.S. in engineering physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Pandemic lockdown led to a cleaner, not just clearer, Lagoon of Venice

By Zack Fishman

Less than two months after tourist crowds dispersed during COVID-19 restrictions, the world-famous lagoon of Venice, Italy experienced a 40% decrease in the number of identifiable pollutants known as volatile organic compounds, which are primarily derived from plastics, water traffic and tourism activity.

Coldest surface waters are hot spots for ocean heat entry

By Zack Fishman

As the world's oceans bear most of the warming burden created by climate change, a study found that half of all added heat from the last 44 years entered through the coldest one-quarter of surfaces, according to a newly debuted framework that sorts oceanic regions by temperature.

Creation of first molecular Bose-Einstein condensate opens doors to new science

By Zack Fishman

For the first time, molecules have been put in an extreme quantum state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate, an experimental result that sets the stage for applications such as new kinds of chemistry and quantum computing.

First direct ‘neutron skin’ measurement refines physics of atoms, neutron stars

By Zack Fishman

After 20 years of research plans and experiments, an expansive collaboration of physicists has directly measured the thickness of the layer of neutrons in a lead atom's nucleus, an unprecedented direct observation that informs how atomic nuclei and neutron stars alike remain stable.

Newly explained behavior of atmospheric aerosols can improve climate models

By Zack Fishman

Three major types of aerosols form up to three different liquid phases simultaneously when they mix in the atmosphere, a once-poorly understood interaction that can better inform future modeling of air pollution and the climate, according to recent research.

Alaskan permafrost consistently emits carbon thanks to global warming

By Zack Fishman

A 15-year study of Alaskan tundra has demonstrated that thawing permafrost is persistently releasing more carbon-based compounds than it absorbs, a historic reversal that is adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and exacerbating the planet's rising temperatures.

Astrophysicists found a new way to detect plasma ejections from stars

By Zack Fishman

By looking for stars that temporarily dim, researchers have spotted 21 instances of plasma being thrown from the stars' outer layers, more than all previous observations of stars besides the sun.

Satellite galaxy has left gravitational ‘wake’ in Milky Way’s outer reaches

By Zack Fishman

New observations have revealed that as it orbits, the Large Magellanic Cloud is disturbing stars on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy, an interaction that can be used to improve galactic models and test theories of gravity and dark matter.

Scientists propose using the moon to detect gravitational waves

By Zack Fishman

An international collaboration of scientists has developed a blueprint for moon-based seismometers that detect gravitational waves reverberating throughout the celestial body, a design that would pick up frequencies that are out of reach for detectors on Earth.

Elusive beaked whale species found to be ‘resilient’ to climate change

By Zack Fishman

A new DNA analysis of stranded Gray's beaked whales, a species rarely observed alive, demonstrated with the highest accuracy yet that the population is large and has high genetic diversity, factors that will help it avoid being threatened by global warming and other ecosystem changes like many other whales are.

Two-decade disagreement on quantum spin liquids put to rest with new findings

By Zack Fishman

A fresh experiment on an extreme state of matter has settled nearly 20 years of contradictory results about its ground state in one material, using direct measurements of electron spins unprecedented to the material to advance understanding of an almost five-decade-old physics problem.

Breakthrough experiments on polarized material could open the door to ultrafast computers

By Zack Fishman

Physicists and material scientists have created a way to interact with electricity-based "polar vortices" that respond to signals at a rate of nearly 400 billion times per second, a fundamental scientific approach that could someday provide data storage and processing that is more compact and more than 100 times faster than some modern central processing units.