News
- Space
First rock from the sun turns out to have ice
Frozen material at the planet’s poles likely came from comet or asteroid impacts.
- Health & Medicine
Simulated brain mimics human quirks
Model representing 2.5 million neurons performs calculations, issues instructions for a behavior, and then expands its decision into action.
- Earth
Grand Canyon could be much older than thought
Disputed dating of rock erosion pegs the ancient chasm as 70 million years old.
- Earth
Shrinking polar ice caused one-fifth of sea level rise
Comprehensive analysis quantifies ice sheet loss in Greenland and Antarctica.
- Humans
Genetic diversity exploded in recent millennia
Among hundreds of thousands of DNA variants identified in a study, a large majority arose in the past 5,000 years.
- Life
Blue whales’ diet and exercise rolled into one
Marine predator performs underwater acrobatics for best chance at catching a meal.
- Health & Medicine
Auditory test predicts coma awakening
While all patients in a new study could discriminate between sounds early on, those whose ability improved during the first 48 hours wound up recovering.
- Life
Trees worldwide a sip away from dehydration
Plumbing systems operate on a razor’s edge, making even moist forests highly vulnerable to drought.
- Space
Glimpse at early universe finds expansion slowdown
BOSS project looks at acceleration rate before dark energy hit the gas.
- Life
Chromosome ends hold clues to a bird’s longevity
Short telomeres are tied to higher mortality in Indian Ocean warblers.
- Earth
Mexican silver made it into English coins
Chemical tests of currency help reveal where New World riches flowed.
- Psychology
Word-detecting baboons are a tough read
New models offer contrasting views of monkeys’ ability to identify frequently seen letter pairs.
