Science Visualized
- Astronomy
Newborn stars sculpt their galaxies in new James Webb telescope images
Dark voids riddle the galaxies’ faces, highlighting previously invisible details about how new stars alter their locales.
- Health & Medicine
3-D maps of a protein show how it helps organs filter out toxic substances
Images of LRP2 in simulated cell environments reveal the structural changes that let it catch molecules outside a cell and release them inside.
- Animals
Some young sea spiders can regrow their rear ends
Juvenile sea spiders can regenerate nearly all of their bottom halves — including muscles and the anus — or make do without them.
- Physics
Tiny bubbles that make icicles hazy are filled with water, not air
Like tree rings, layers of itty-bitty water pockets also preserve a record of an icicle’s growth.
- Health & Medicine
Fungi that cause serious lung infections are now found throughout the U.S.
Doctors should be on the lookout for three types of fungi that, when inhaled, can lead to serious infections, researchers say.
- Life
Certain young fruit flies’ eyes literally pop out of their head
The first published photo sequence of developing Pelmatops flies shows how their eyes rise on gangly stalks in the first hour of adulthood.
- Astronomy
A 3-D model of the Cat’s Eye nebula shows rings sculpted by jets
The Cat’s Eye is one of the most complex nebulae known. A 3-D reconstruction reveals the source of some of that complexity.
- Life
A glimpse inside a gecko’s hand won the 2022 Nikon Small World photo contest
The annual competition highlights microscopic images that bring the smallest details from science and nature to life.
- Life
Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers
Starlet sea anemones use speedy projectiles to sting predators and prey. New images capture a detailed look at these weapons in action.
- Chemistry
A pigment’s shift in chemistry robbed a painted yellow rose of its brilliance
The degradation of an arsenic-based paint stripped shadows and light from a still life flower in a 17th century work by painter Abraham Mignon.
- Climate
Coastal cities around the globe are sinking
Of 99 coastal cities, nearly one-third are sinking in some places at more than a centimeter per year, making them more vulnerable to rising seas.
- Microbes
New images reveal details of two bacteria’s molecular syringes
It’s unclear exactly how these species use their tiny injectors, but learning how they work could lead to nanodevices that target specific bacteria.
