Science Visualized
- Astronomy
This ‘polar ring’ galaxy looks like an eye. Others might be hiding in plain sight
New images of two galaxies reveal what look like rarely seen rings of hydrogen gas nearly perpendicular to the galaxies’ starry disks.
- Life
A fantastical world of potential giant viruses lurks beneath the soil
Giant viruses were already known for their large sizes. A close look at a scoop of soil shows that they may come in a variety of funky shapes as well.
- Health & Medicine
With a new body mapping technique, mouse innards glow with exquisite detail
Removing cholesterol from mouse bodies lets fluorescently labeled proteins infiltrate every tissue, helping researchers to map entire body systems.
- Animals
In a ‘perfect comeback,’ some birds use antibird spikes to build their nests
The spikes were meant to keep birds away. But five corvid nests in Europe use the bird-deterrents as structural support and to ward off predators.
- Climate
Antarctic sea ice has been hitting record lows for most of this year
Since hitting a record low minimum back in February, the amount of Antarctic sea ice has stayed well below normal all year.
- Paleontology
Paleontology has a ‘parachute science’ problem. Here’s how it plays out in 3 nations
When researchers study fossils from lower-income countries, they often engage in dubious or illegal practices that can stifle science.
- Climate
The summer of 2021 was the Pacific Northwest’s hottest in a millennium
Tree ring data from the Pacific Northwest reveal that the region’s average summer temperature in 2021 was the highest since at least the year 950.
- Physics
Videos of gold nanoparticles snapping together show how some crystals grow
Real-time electron microscopy shows gold nanoparticles tumbling and sliding in a fluid before snapping together in crystalline structures.
- Animals
These transparent fish turn rainbow with white light. Now, we know why
Repeated structures in the ghost catfish’s muscles separate white light that passes through their bodies into different wavelengths.
- Neuroscience
Scientists have mapped an insect brain in greater detail than ever before
Researchers have built a nerve cell “connectivity map” of a larval fruit fly brain. It’s the most complex whole brain wiring diagram yet made.
- 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.
