All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Some probiotics could feed, rather than fend off, infections
Probiotics containing Lactobacillus gasseri Lg-36 prevented C. difficile infections in mice, but L. acidophilus probiotics made infection more likely.
- Astronomy
The Webb space telescope spies its first black holes snacking on stars
These star-shredding black holes sit within dusty galaxies that block many telescopes’ views. That’s not an issue for JWST.
- Health & Medicine
Some U.S. newborns still get HIV despite efforts to screen for it. Here’s why
Routine tests in the third trimester may catch missed cases and flag the need for treatment that reduces a baby‘s risk of getting HIV to near zero.
- Paleontology
A new species of ‘penis worm’ was discovered in the Grand Canyon
A trove of fossils, including a penis worm with a spiked, invertible throat, suggests this spot may have been a cradle of Cambrian evolution.
- Plants
Potatoes have their roots in ancient tomatoes
Knowing potatoes’ origin story could help future-proof the crucial crop against climate threats.
- Climate
A Midwest ‘megaflash’ is the longest lightning on record
A reanalysis of satellite data shows that a 2017 Texas-to-Missouri lightning megaflash stretched 829 kilometers and lasted 7.39 seconds.
- Earth
Why devastating tsunamis didn’t follow the Russia earthquake
Geologists unpack why the magnitude 8.8 temblor — the sixth largest ever recorded — fomented waves that reached Japan and Hawaii but caused little damage.
- Health & Medicine
A molecule produced by gut microbes may help spur heart disease
A leftover from microbes’ meals is linked to early heart disease in people. In mice, it contributed to plaque buildup in the arteries.
- Quantum Physics
A quantum computer goes to space
Quantum computers in space could be useful for communications networks or for testing fundamental physics.
- Artificial Intelligence
Can AI ‘feel’ guilt?
Research based on game theory suggests if we program AI agents with a sense of guilt, they could behave more cooperatively, much like humans do.
- Astronomy
Two colliding galaxies may have birthed this black hole
An infinity symbol–shaped galaxy hosts an active supermassive black hole. The growing giant may have come from the aftermath of a galactic smashup.
- Health & Medicine
You may already have some protection from bird flu, but don’t count on it
Studies suggest that people who had seasonal flus or vaccinations have low antibody levels against H5N1 bird flu.
