News
- Artificial Intelligence
A conference just tested AI agents’ ability to do science
AI promises to speed up scientific analysis and writing. However, AI agents struggled with accuracy and judgment.
- Humans
Napoleon’s retreating army may have been plagued by these microbes
DNA from Napoleonic soldiers’ teeth uncovered two fever-causing bacteria that may have worsened the army’s fatal retreat from Russia.
- Humans
Brain cancer can dissolve parts of the skull
Glioblastoma doesn't just affect the brain. It also erodes bones in the skull and changes the composition of immune cells in skull marrow.
- Animals
Subway mosquitoes evolved millennia ago in ancient Mediterranean cities
A variety of subway-dwelling mosquito seems like a modern artifact. But genomic analysis reveals the insect got its evolutionary start millennia ago.
- Paleontology
Dinosaurs were thriving before the asteroid hit, new analysis suggests
New dating of New Mexico rocks suggest diverse dinosaurs thrived there just before the impact, countering the idea dinos were already on their way out.
- Chemistry
Coffee beans pooped out by civets really are tastier. Here’s why
Pricey civet coffee gets its cred from its journey through the mammal’s gut, which changes the content of fat, protein, fatty acids — and even caffeine.
- Animals
Which venomous snakes strike the fastest?
Vipers have the fastest strikes, but snakes from other families can give some slower vipers stiff competition.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum ‘echoes’ reveal the potential of Google’s quantum computer
Google says its quantum computer achieved a verifiable calculation that classic computers cannot. The work could point to future applications.
- Physics
A tiny, levitated glass sphere behaves like the hottest engine ever made
At an effective temperature of 13 million kelvins, the jiggling glass sphere could help scientists understand physics at the microscale.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-related smell loss may last years
Using a scratch-and-sniff test, researchers discovered that smell loss after COVID-19 may linger for more than two years.
- Animals
Guppies fall for a classic optical illusion. Doves, usually, do too
Comparing animals’ susceptibility to optical illusions can show how perception evolved.
- Health & Medicine
Even for elite athletes, the body’s metabolism has its limits
While ultramarathoners are capable of huge energy spurts, overall the athletes top out at 2.5 times the metabolic rate needed for basic body functions.
