News
- Space
A newfound exoplanet may be the exposed core of a gas giant
A planet about 734 light-years away could be a former gas giant that lost its atmosphere or a failed giant that never finished growing.
- Climate
4 ways to put the 100-degree Arctic heat record in context
June’s record heat in Siberia is part of a much bigger picture of dramatic climate change in the Arctic.
- Science & Society
The U.S. largely wasted time bought by COVID-19 lockdowns. Now what?
As states reopen, most don’t have adequate systems in place to test, trace and isolate new COVID-19 cases, setting the stage for future outbreaks.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s what we’ve learned in six months of COVID-19 — and what we still don’t know
Six months into the new coronavirus pandemic, researchers have raced to uncover crucial information about SARS-CoV-2. But much is still unknown.
- Life
Here’s how flying snakes stay aloft
High-speed cameras show that paradise tree snakes keep from tumbling as they glide through the sky by undulating their bodies.
- Life
Fish eggs can hatch after being eaten and pooped out by ducks
In the lab, a few carp eggs survived and even hatched after being pooped out by ducks. The finding may help explain how fish reach isolated waterways.
- Psychology
Monkeys may share a key grammar-related skill with humans
A contested study suggests the ability to embed sequences within other sequences, a skill called recursion and crucial to grammar, has ancient roots.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Why scientists say wearing masks shouldn’t be controversial
New data suggest that cloth masks work to reduce coronavirus cases, though less well than medical masks.
- Health & Medicine
Strokes and mental state changes hint at how COVID-19 harms the brain
In a group of people severely ill from the coronavirus, strokes, psychosis, depression and other brain-related changes come as complications.
- Health & Medicine
The second-worst Ebola outbreak ever is officially over
As Congo grapples with COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks, the country’s 10th battle against Ebola has ended.
- Health & Medicine
Millions of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may have gone undiagnosed in March
Millions of people in the United States went to the doctor in March with influenza-like symptoms. Many may have had COVID-19, a study suggests.
- Animals
Dolphins can learn from peers how to use shells as tools
While most foraging skills are picked up from mom, some bottlenose dolphins seem to look to their peers to learn how to trap prey in shells.
By Jack J. Lee