Science Visualized
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Earth
Stunning images reveal glacial landscapes under the oceans
The most detailed atlas of the seafloor ever compiled offers colorful imagery and ghostly glimpses of Earth’s glacial past.
By Beth Geiger -
Animals
The scales of the ocellated lizard are surprisingly coordinated
The mazelike patterns of the ocellated lizard’s skin follow a set of rules from computer science.
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Life
Cells’ stunning complexity on display in a new online portal
A new online explorer tool from the Allen Institute for Cell Science shows 3-D models of cell interiors.
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Animals
Colorful pinwheel puts a new spin on mouse pregnancy
Among the winners of the 2017 Wellcome Image Awards is a rainbow of mouse placentas that shows how a mother’s immune system affects placental development.
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Paleontology
Under lasers, a feathered dino shows some skin
Laser-stimulated fluorescence reveals detailed images of soft tissue in a feathered dinosaur from 160 million years ago.
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Ecosystems
Mapping rainforest chemistry from the air reveals 36 types of forest
Aircraft analysis of tree chemicals reveals new biodiversity in the Peruvian rainforest.
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Astronomy
Observers caught these stars going supernova
Thirty years ago, astronomers witnessed a nearby stellar explosion, but it wasn’t the first. Humanity has been recording local supernovas for nearly two millennia.
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Life
Map of Zika virus reveals how it shifts as it matures
A cryo-electron microscopy map of immature Zika virus offers a never-before-seen glimpse of remodeling of the virus’s protein and RNA core.
By Meghan Rosen -
Paleontology
Bony head ornaments signal some supersized dinosaurs
Bony headwear, like bumps and horns, is tied to bigger bodies in the theropod dinosaur family tree.
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Life
Shimmering soap bubbles have a dark side
Merging dark spots are indicators that a bubble is about to burst.
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Tech
Rise of reusable rockets signals a new age of spaceflight
Successful landings by SpaceX and Blue Origin raise the prospect of cheaper and more efficient spaceflight.
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Animals
Plant-eating mammals sport bigger bellies than meat eaters
Mammalian plant eaters have bigger torsos than meat eaters, a new analysis confirms, but the same might not have held true for dinosaurs.