NIGHT AND DAY Solar physicists gained new insight into the origins of coronal mass ejections as they watched the 2015 solar eclipse darken the sky above Svalbard, Norway.
© 2015 Miloslav Druckmüller, Shadia Habbal, Peter Aniol, Pavel Štarha
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Magazine
In the June 24 SN: Unlikely worlds around dim red stars, bacteria to the rescue, flamingos’ balancing act, Jupiter up close, hominid origins revisited, spacetime shakes again, ladybug wing origami and more.
LET THERE BE LIGHT Exposure to blue-green light helps babies get rid of jaundice-causing molecules that build up in their bodies. First discovered 50 years ago, light therapy is now a popular treatment in U.S. hospitals for the condition.
PetrBonek /iStockphoto
CLOUD TOWERS The tiny white spots in this image of Jupiter’s south tropical zone, taken May 19, 2017, by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, are actually towers of clouds composed of ammonia ice and, perhaps, water ice. Located high in Jupiter’s atmosphere, these towers can stretch about 50 kilometers wide and reach roughly 50 kilometers tall.
NASA, SWRI, MSSS, Gerald Eichstädt, Seán Doran
QUANTUM CONNECTION Using the quantum-communications satellite Micius (illustrated), researchers successfully sent entangled photons to two cities in China. The result paves the way for a future worldwide quantum network.
Jian-Wei Pan
Science News
News
Bones make hormones that communicate with the brain and other organs
Bones send out hormone signals that chat with other parts of the body, studies in mice show. What influence these hormones have in people, though, remain a mystery.
News
Protein in Parkinson’s provokes the immune system
The immune system recognizes parts of a protein linked to Parkinson’s disease as foreign, triggering an autoimmune response.
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A baby’s DNA may kick off mom’s preeclampsia
A large genetic analysis points to a protein made by the fetus that may trigger preeclampsia in the mom.
Feature
Life might have a shot on planets orbiting dim red stars
The number of planets in the habitable zone of dim red suns, known as M dwarfs, is growing. They’re a good place to look for life.
For Daily Use
Here’s why your wheelie suitcase wobbles
Physicists explain why roller suitcases rock back and forth as you dash through the terminal.
Feature
Live antibiotics use bacteria to kill bacteria
Certain bacteria will destroy other bacteria without harming humans. They may be an answer to antibiotic-resistant infections.
News
New material could filter water contaminants that others miss
A new polymer offers a better way to pull fluorine-containing pollutants out of drinking water.
News
Kepler shows small exoplanets are either super-Earths or mini-Neptunes
The final catalog from the Kepler space telescope splits Earthlike exoplanets into two groups and pinpoints 10 new rocky planets in the habitable zone.
News
DNA reveals how cats achieved world domination
Analysis of 9,000 years of cat remains suggests two waves of migration
News
African farmers’ kids conquer the marshmallow test
Nso farmers in Cameroon groom kids for self-control that Western peers often lack.
News
Eclipse watchers catch part of the sun’s surface fleeing to space
A serendipitous eruption during a solar eclipse showed relatively cool blobs of plasma, wrapped in a million-degree flame, streaming from the sun.
Science Visualized
See the latest stunning views of Jupiter
Once every 53 days, NASA’s Juno spacecraft zooms past Jupiter’s cloud tops. A new sequence of images reveals the encounter from Juno’s viewpoint.
News
Ancient attack marks show ocean predators got scarier
Killer snails and other ocean predators that drill through shells have grown bigger over evolutionary time.
News
Magma stored under volcanoes is mostly solid
Ancient zircon crystals provide clues about the magma that fuels volcanic eruptions.
News
Quantum satellite shatters entanglement record
A satellite sent entangled particles to two Chinese cities 1,200 kilometers apart.
50 Years Ago
In 1967, researchers saw the light in jaundice treatment
Researchers discovered how to use light to treat babies with jaundice 50 years ago. But questions remain about the technique’s effectiveness in some cases.
News
How bearded dragons switch their sex
RNA editing might affect reptile sex determination at temperature extremes.
News
New heart attack treatment uses photosynthetic bacteria to make oxygen
Photosynthetic bacteria can produce oxygen to keep rat heart muscles healthy after a heart attack.
News
Ancient DNA shakes up the elephant family tree
DNA from straight-tusked elephant fossils is forcing scientists to reconsider the history of elephant evolution.
News
New kind of ‘tan in a bottle’ may one day protect against skin cancer
A drug for activating melanin production without using ultraviolet radiation works in human skin samples.
Teaser
Ladybugs fold their wings like origami masters
Ladybug wings could lead to new foldable technologies.
The –est
New video camera captures 5 trillion frames every second
A new camera’s record-breaking speed offers researchers a window into never-before-seen phenomena, such as combustion reactions.
News
Jupiter’s precocious birth happened in the solar system’s first million years
Jupiter formed within the first million years of the solar system, according to meteorite measurements.
News
Water circling a drain provides insight into black holes
Water waves scattering off a vortex can exhibit rotational superradiance, an effect predicted to appear in black holes.