News
- Earth
Fossil microbes show how some life bounced back after dino-killing impact
Pioneering microbes colonized the waters above the Chicxulub crater within hundreds of years following the impact, new research shows.
- Astronomy
Magnetic stars could have created LIGO’s massive black holes
Strong magnetic fields could provide a way for massive stars to create heavy black holes when they die.
- Life
Cells avoiding suicide may play role in spread of cancer
A newly discovered process can pull cells back from the brink of death.
- Quantum Physics
Vacuum’s quantum effect on light detected
Light can be polarized through interactions with empty space.
- Genetics
Epigenetic marks may help assess toxic exposure risk — someday
Exposure to things in the environment may change chemical tags on DNA and proteins, but it’s still unclear how to use that data to assess health risks.
- Life
Early RNA may have used isolation strategy to defeat useless mutants
Temporary barriers help RNA escape shorter, faster-replicating parasites
- Ecosystems
Losing tropical forest might raise risks of human skin ulcers, deformed bones
Bacteria that cause Buruli ulcer in people flourish with tropical deforestation.
- Neuroscience
Brain waves show promise against Alzheimer’s protein in mice
Flickers of light induce brain waves that wash amyloid-beta out of the brain, mouse study suggests.
- Science & Society
Virtual reality raises real risk of motion sickness
New research confirms anecdotal reports that virtual reality headsets can cause motion sickness, and may affect women more than men.
- Tech
Zippy new jumping bot catches air again and again
Leaping robot can bounce from floor to wall, parkour-style, and, like a bush baby, uses a “super-crouch” to get extra oomph out of jumps.
- Animals
First spider superdads discovered
Male spiders first known to give up solitary life for offspring care, often as a single parent.
- Quantum Physics
Cosmic test confirms quantum weirdness
Physicists used starlight to perform a cosmic Bell test.
