Mystery Solved
- Planetary Science
Mercury’s dark secret revealed
Graphite from Mercury’s primordial crust might be responsible for making the innermost planet darker than the moon.
- Agriculture
Plants trick bacteria into attacking too soon
Scientists have discovered that a plant compound interferes with bacterial communication.
- Paleontology
Plesiosaurs swam like penguins
Computer simulations of plesiosaur swimming motion may resolve long-standing debate on how the marine reptile got around.
- Physics
Aircraft industry could take tips from penguins
Tiny grooves and an oily sheath prevent water droplets from freezing on the feathers of some penguins.
- Genetics
Bad Karma can ruin palm oil crops
Missing epigenetic mark makes for Bad Karma and poor palm oil crops.
- Chemistry
Mussels use chemical primer to cement themselves to rocks
Gluing proteins contain their own built-in primer.
- Earth
Natural concrete keeps lid on Italian volcano
Naturally occurring, concretelike rock allows the ground around Italy’s Campi Flegrei caldera to bulge without bursting.
- Health & Medicine
Why cancer patients waste away
A tumor-produced protein that interferes with insulin causes wasting in fruit flies with cancer.
- Astronomy
Source of puzzling cosmic signals found — in the kitchen
One type of radio burst has a pretty mundane origin: prematurely opened microwave ovens.
- Astronomy
Enigmatic 17th century nova wasn’t a nova at all
A nova observed in 1670 was actually two stars colliding, new evidence suggests.
- Physics
Why lattes are less prone to spills than regular coffee
Foam dampens liquids’ sloshing, keeping keeps lattes and beer from spilling so easily, researchers find.
- Life
Chili peppers’ pain-relieving secrets uncovered
Scientists discover how stuff that makes chili peppers hot relieves pain.
