News
- Astronomy
Five things we learned from last year’s Great American Eclipse
A year after the total solar eclipse of 2017, scientists are still pondering the mysteries of the sun.
- Anthropology
A fossil mistaken for a bat may shake up lemurs’ evolutionary history
On Madagascar, a type of lemur called aye-ayes may have a singular evolutionary history.
- Particle Physics
Ghostly antineutrinos could help ferret out nuclear tests
Antineutrino detectors could one day help reveal stealthy nuclear blasts.
- Astronomy
A galaxy 11.3 billion light-years away appears filled with dark matter
The “Cosmic Seagull,” a distant galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, seems chock-full of dark matter, in contrast with other galaxies almost as far away.
- Tech
Here’s what robots could learn from fire ants
Fire ants’ secret to success is prioritizing efficiency over fairness. Robot teams could use that strategy to work more efficiently in tight, crowded quarters.
- Tech
Children may be especially vulnerable to peer pressure from robots
Elementary school children often endorsed unanimous but inaccurate judgments made by small groups of robots.
- Oceans
Viruses may help phytoplankton make clouds — by tearing the algae apart
Sick phytoplankton shed their calcium carbonate plates more easily than their healthy counterparts, which could play a role in forming clouds.
- Health & Medicine
A resurrected gene may protect elephants from cancer
Researchers have found another gene that may play a role in explaining elephants’ cancer resistance.
- Computing
A new computer program generates eerily realistic fake videos
It’s getting harder to tell fact from fiction — even on camera.
- Life
Tiny bits of RNA can trigger pain and itchiness
Two microRNAs may shed light on the causes of nerve pain and itch.
- Animals
In the animal kingdom, what does it mean to be promiscuous?
A review of hundreds of scientific studies finds that the label “promiscuous” is applied to a surprisingly wide range of mating behaviors in animals.
- Health & Medicine
The first gene-silencing drug wins FDA approval
The FDA just approved the first drug that works via RNA interference.
