News

  1. Astronomy

    Magnetic-mapping mission resurrected

    The European Space Agency successfully launched Cluster II, a group of four spacecraft that will fly in tandem to generate a three-dimensional map of Earth's magnetosphere.

    By Ron Cowen
  2. Astronomy

    Spirograph in the sky

    Some 2,000 light-years from Earth, an elderly star has ejected its outer layers to form a puffy, gaseous cocoon that resembles a "spirograph" pattern.

    By Ron Cowen

  3. Hormone dulls a tongue’s taste for sweets

    The hormone leptin may suppress the tongue's ability to taste sugary substances.

    By John Travis
  4. Animals

    Snapping shrimp whip up a riot of bubbles

    High-speed video and fancy math demonstrate that snapping shrimp make so much noise by popping bubbles.