FIRE BOLT Lightning that crackles through volcanic ash plumes, such as during this 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, can kiln microscopic glass orbs, new research finds.
© WENN Ltd/Alamy
GAME ON Researchers have discovered brain cells in video game-playing macaques that predict another monkey’s next move. Such brain cells may be important in social interactions that require anticipating what others are thinking.
Katie Ris-Vicari/Cell 2015
FAR, FAR AWAY With the help of a new instrument, researchers measured distances to 181 galaxies, seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image, including a few that Hubble missed (highlighted).
R. Bacon/MUSE/ESO
VACUUM ATTRACTION Fleeting electromagnetic waves nudge parallel plates together through a phenomenon called the Casimir effect, illustrated here. If the same thing works with gravitational waves, it could prove the existence of particles that transmit gravity.
Emok/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Tropical plant knows whose bill is in its flowers
A rainforest plant avoids inbreeding by accepting pollen only from hummingbird species that must travel to reach it.
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Secondhand smoke exposure in womb linked to eczema in childhood
Secondhand smoke exposure in the womb may heighten risk of eczema and other dermatitis in children, a study finds.
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Planet collisions may have rearranged crowded solar systems
Solar systems discovered by Kepler with just one or two worlds may be remnants of planet families that were once far more crowded.
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For athletes, antioxidant pills may not help performance
Supplements of vitamins C, E and other antioxidants may blunt the positive effects of exercise training.
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Chronic stress can wreak havoc on the body
Scientists are shedding light on all the ways that chronic stress can boost inflammation and lead to serious health problems.
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Six ways to beat chronic stress
Counseling, mindfulness training and purposeful social contact may counteract the effects of chronic stress.
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Iron nanoparticles snatch uranium
With a dash of iron nanoparticles and a magnet, researchers can quickly harvest radioactive fuel.
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Coastal Los Angeles losing fog to urban sprawl
Fog in parts of Southern California has become significantly less frequent due to urban warming.
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Sexual conflict in mosquitoes may have worsened spread of malaria
Sexual conflict in Anopheles mosquitoes may have intensified their power to fuel human malaria.
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Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
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Genetic tweaks built humans’ bigger brains
Genetic tweaks may make human brains big.
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Bees may merge their flower memories
Bumblebees sometimes prefer fake flowers with the combined patterns and colors of ones seen before, suggesting they merge memories of past experiences.
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Wheat reached England before farming
European hunter-gatherers may have traded for agricultural products 8,000 years ago.
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Monster black hole lurks in the early universe
A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.