DOUBLE BUBBLE Two enormous bubbles sandwich the Milky Way and emit gamma rays (illustrated). Two chimneys that glow in X-rays seem to connect these bubbles to the galaxy’s center, scientists report.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
-
Magazine
In the March 16 SN: Disappearing Bering Sea ice, nanohealers, the world's largest bee, pollen’s beautiful physics, a tiny T. rex relative, testing Ebola drugs in Congo and more.
Science News
News
Women have a new weapon against postpartum depression, but it’s costly
The newly approved drug brexanolone simulates a natural hormone to alleviate symptoms of postpartum depression.
Science Visualized
U.S. fentanyl deaths are rising fastest among African Americans
New statistics on fentanyl-related overdoses show troubling increases in deaths among African Americans, Hispanics and men.
Sponsor Message
The –est
The oldest known astrolabe was used on one of Vasco da Gama’s ships
A navigational device for taking altitudes at sea was found in a Portuguese shipwreck in the Arabian Sea and dates back to 1496.
Feature
What happens when the Bering Sea’s ice disappears?
Record-low sea ice in 2018 sent ripples through the Bering Sea’s entire ecosystem. Will this be the region’s new normal?
News
Newfound fossils in China highlight a dizzying diversity of Cambrian life
A new treasure trove of Cambrian fossils in China dating to 518 million years ago could rival Canada’s Burgess Shale.
News
Saving monkey testicle tissue before puberty hints at a new way to preserve fertility
Frozen testicle tissue samples from prepubescent monkeys transplanted back onto those monkeys once they matured produced sperm.
News
A new ketamine-based antidepressant raises hope — and questions
Little is known about the long-term effects on people of a newly approved antidepressant based on the anesthetic ketamine.
News in Brief
Ryugu is probably a chip off one of these two other asteroids
Japan’s Hayabusa2 team has narrowed down the asteroid Ryugu’s origins based on its color.
News
X-ray ‘chimneys’ connect the Milky Way to mysterious gamma-ray bubbles
Two columns of X-rays that are hundreds of light-years long could explain the existence of giant bubbles of energetic light that sandwich the galaxy.
News in Brief
In a first, a fossilized egg is found preserved inside an ancient bird
Scientists have found the first known fossil of a bird that died with an unlaid egg inside its body. The egg has been crushed by pressure over time.
Feature
Nanosponges sop up toxins and help repair tissues
Nanoparticles coated with blood cell membranes can move through the body to clean up toxins or heal tissues — without instigating an immune reaction.
News
Surprising astronomers, Bennu spits plumes of dust into space
Bennu spews dust from its rocky surface, which may be a new kind of asteroid activity.
News
The learning gap between rich and poor students hasn’t changed in decades
The educational achievement gap between the poorest and richest U.S. students remains as wide as it was almost 50 years ago.
Reviews & Previews
How a tiger transforms into a man-eater
‘No Beast So Fierce’ examines the historical and environmental factors that turned a tiger in Nepal and India into a human-killer.
News
Ultima Thule may be a frankenworld
The first geologic map of Ultima Thule shows it might be made of many smaller rocks that clumped together under the force of their own gravity.
News
People can sense Earth’s magnetic field, brain waves suggest
An analysis of brain waves offers new evidence that people subconsciously process information about the planet’s magnetism.
Introducing
Meet India’s starry dwarf frog — a species with no close relatives
The newly identified starry dwarf frog represents a new species, genus and potentially even a new family.
News
Resurrecting woolly mammoth cells is hard to do
Japanese scientists say some proteins in frozen mammoth cells may still work after 28,000 years. But that activity may be more mouse than mammoth.
Television
‘Epic Yellowstone’ captures the thriving ecosystem of the world-famous park
A new documentary series about Yellowstone displays the dynamic, dramatic and exciting ecosystem that thrives within the park’s gates.
How Bizarre
Some shrimp make plasma with their claws. Now a 3-D printed claw can too
Scientists used a replica of a shrimp claw to re-create the extreme pressures and temperatures that the animals produce underwater.
News in Brief
U.S. heart attack mortality reached a two-decade low in 2014
Deaths within 30 days of a heart attack have declined from 20 percent in 1995 to 12.4 percent in 2014, according to an analysis of Medicare patient data.
Exhibit
A new T. rex exhibit takes a deep dive into the iconic dinosaur
“T. rex: The Ultimate Predator,” a new exhibit in New York City, draws on the latest science to provide a fresh look at Tyrannosaurus rex and its relatives.
News
The rise of farming altered our bite and changed how people talk
Eating soft, processed foods refashioned adults' jaws, which added “f” and “v” sounds to speech and changed languages worldwide, a study finds.
News
Flickers and buzzes sweep mouse brains of Alzheimer’s plaques
Precisely timed clicking noises can counter signs of Alzheimer’s in the brains of mice and improve memory.