News
- Microbes
Now we know how much glacial melting ‘watermelon snow’ can cause
Algae that give snow a red tint are making glacial snow in Alaska melt faster.
- Quantum Physics
A new test of water ripples supports the idea of quantum heat in a vacuum
Water waves bolster theory that accelerating space travelers really feel the heat.
- Animals
Animal goo inspires better glue
Researchers are turning to nature to create adhesives that work in the wet environment of the human body.
- Astronomy
R.I.P. Cassini
After 20 years, nearly 300 orbits and pioneering discoveries, the Cassini spacecraft plunges to its death in Saturn’s atmosphere — taking data until its very last breath.
- Physics
How to peel permanent marker off glass
Water’s surface tension can peel a thin hydrophobic film such as permanent ink off glass surfaces.
- Anthropology
Skeleton ignites debate over whether women were Viking warriors
Scientists spar over a 10th century woman who may have had serious fight in her.
- Paleontology
Like sea stars, ancient echinoderms nibbled with tiny tube feet
An ancient echinoderm fossil preserves evidence of tube feet like those found on today’s sea stars.
- Astronomy
The sun’s strongest flare in 11 years might help explain a solar paradox
The sun tends to release its biggest flares at the ends of solar cycles — and we might finally be able to test why.
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- Life
When a fungus invades the lungs, immune cells can tell it to self-destruct
Immune system resists fungal infection by directing spores to their death.
- Neuroscience
Brain chemical lost in Parkinson’s may contribute to its own demise
A dangerous form of the chemical messenger dopamine causes cellular mayhem in the very nerve cells that make it.
- Paleontology
Woolly rhinos may have grown strange extra ribs before going extinct
Ribs attached to neck bones could have signaled trouble for woolly rhinos, a new study suggests.
