The Science Life

  1. An image of a black hole
    Math

    Here’s a peek into the mathematics of black holes

    The universe tells us slowly rotating black holes are stable. A nearly 1,000-page proof confirms it.

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  2. A photo of two men walking side by side on a road. Both men have a piece of fabric across their foreheads that attaches to a large log on their backs.
    Anthropology

    Two scientists’ trek showed how people of Chaco Canyon may have hauled logs

    By carrying a log with the aid of head straps called tumplines, the duo demoed how people may have hauled timbers to Chaco about 1,000 years ago.

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  3. Claude Monet’s 1899 painting “Charing Cross Bridge”.
    Environment

    Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters

    The impressionist painting style can be partly explained by the reality of rising air pollution from the industrial revolution, an analysis finds.

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  4. The Pantheon in Rome still stands including its soaring dome.
    Chemistry

    These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete

    Roman concrete has stood the test of time, so scientists searched ruins to unlock the ancient recipe that could help architecture and climate change.

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  5. An engraving of Hercules capturing the three-headed dog Cerberus with a rope around its neck amidst mysterious flames
    Anthropology

    How mythology could help demystify dog domestication

    The path that dog myths took around the world closely parallels that of dog domestication, a new study finds.

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  6. an ecologist releases a hawkmoth at dusk
    Animals

    How death’s-head hawkmoths manage to fly straight for miles in the dark

    By tailing death’s-head hawkmoths in an airplane, scientists have found that the nocturnal insects appear to navigate using an internal compass.

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  7. Chemist Michel Nieuwoudt and art historian Erin Griffey, both blond women wearing goggles, masks and lab coats, holding vials and standing in front of Renaissance-era art and a sign that reads Beautiful Chemistry
    Chemistry

    These researchers are unlocking Renaissance beauty secrets

    An art historian has teamed up with chemists to uncover the science behind cosmetics used around 500 years ago.

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  8. photo of a brown leech on a leaf
    Animals

    Leeches expose wildlife’s whereabouts and may aid conservation efforts

    DNA from the blood meals of more than 30,000 leeches shows how animals use the protected Ailaoshan Nature Reserve in China.

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  9. a Hill’s horseshoe bat in a green gloved hand
    Animals

    How scientists found an African bat lost to science for 40 years

    African researchers had been searching for the Hill’s horseshoe bat since 2013. Now, the first recording of its echolocation call may help find more.

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  10. Castleton Tower, a sandstone formation near Moab, Utah
    Earth

    How climbers help scientists vibe with Utah’s famous red rock formations

    Researchers teamed up with rock climbers to collect rare data that help them assess the seismic stability of red rock formations in Utah.

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  11. golden tortoise beetle on a leaf
    Animals

    Mirror beetles’ shiny bodies may not act as camouflage after all

    Hundreds of handmade clay nubbins test the notion that a beetle’s metallic high gloss could confound predators. Birds pecked the lovely idea to death.

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  12. scientist facing a rack of boxes of skeletal remains
    Chemistry

    One forensic scientist is scraping bones for clues to time of death

    The bones of more than 100 cadavers are shedding light on a more precise and reliable way to determine when someone died.

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