News
- Space
Spacecraft goes from crash landing to mission accomplished
The wreckage of the Genesis probe yields a bonanza of discoveries about conditions in the early solar system.
-
- Paleontology
Big dinosaurs kept their cool
Body temperature of long-gone beasts resembled that of mammals, study of fossil teeth suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Food choices matter in weight control
Potatoes and sugary soft drinks add pounds, a long-term analysis shows; fruit, yogurt and nuts help shed them.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Multicellular life arises in a test tube
A yeast experiment recapitulates a major early milestone in the history of life.
By Susan Milius - Space
NASA spacecraft puts moon in new focus
Images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show fine details of the lunar surface.
By Nadia Drake - Physics
Better putting in a few simple steps
A physicist develops a rule of thumb for getting the ball in the hole.
By Devin Powell - Earth
Modern-day sea level rise skyrocketing
A spike that began during the 19th century appears to be linked to rising temperatures and increasing greenhouse gases.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Brain has two slots for working memory
The left and right hemispheres have equal and independent capacity, monkey study finds.
- Physics
Science of friction is a bit rough
In lab experiments, physicists trying to understand earthquakes are bumping up against the limitations of existing theory.
By Devin Powell - Planetary Science
Messages from Mercury
The latest data from a NASA spacecraft give compositional clues and reveal craters that could hold frozen water
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Tsunami lit up the heavens
Camera captures glowing atmospheric ripples triggered by Japan’s deadly quake as they pass over Hawaii.