News
- Chemistry
Ancient recipes led scientists to a long-lost natural blue
Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and extracted from its tiny fruits a blue watercolor whose origins had long been a mystery.
- Space
A weird stellar explosion may have caused the brightest supernova yet seen
Astronomers may have spotted the first known example of a rare “pulsational pair-instability” supernova.
- Health & Medicine
Why 6 feet may not be enough social distance to avoid COVID-19
Scientists who study airflow warn that virus-laden drops may travel farther than thought.
- Climate
Climate change made a southwestern U.S. drought one of the worst in 1,200 years
Tree ring records show that the 2000–2018 drought in southwestern North America is among the most severe to strike the region in over a millennium.
- Earth
Forecasters predict a very active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season
Warmer ocean temperatures could fuel a very active Atlantic hurricane season, with one forecast predicting 18 named storms, including nine hurricanes.
- Physics
A star orbiting the Milky Way’s giant black hole confirms Einstein was right
An oddity previously seen in Mercury’s orbit has been spotted in a star circling the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 may be most contagious one to two days before symptoms appear
The coronavirus probably spreads the most before symptoms appear, making containing viral transmission harder.
- Quantum Physics
New quantum computers can operate at higher temperatures
Silicon chips operate at higher temperatures than many others, raising hopes for building quantum integrated circuits.
- Physics
Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements
Today’s scientists keep adding to the periodic table. But an element has to earn its spot.
- Animals
Cold War nuclear test residue offers a clue to whale sharks’ ages
One unexpected legacy of the Cold War: Chemical traces of atomic bomb tests are helping scientists figure out whale shark ages.
- Astronomy
‘Oumuamua might be a shard of a broken planet
A new origin story for the solar system’s first known interstellar visitor suggests it may have been part of a world that got shredded by its star.
- Math
To cook a perfect steak, use math
As a steak cooks in an oven, movement of liquid within the meat causes it to become extra juicy in the center in a way that can be predicted by mathematics.
