Uncategorized
- Climate
Canada’s Crawford Lake could mark the beginning of the Anthropocene
The mud of a Canadian lake holds an extremely precise record of humans’ influence on Earth. But the Anthropocene isn’t an official geologic epoch yet.
- Materials Science
This ‘thermal cloak’ keeps spaces from getting either too hot or cold
A new thermal fabric prototype could help keep cars, buildings and other spaces a comfortable temperature during heat waves while reducing CO₂ emissions.
- Humans
Lauren Schroeder looks beyond natural selection to rethink human evolution
Paleoanthropologists studying the fossil record have long focused on natural selection, but other processes play a big role too.
- Ecosystems
This seagrass is taking over the Chesapeake Bay. That’s good and bad news
Higher water temperatures are wiping out eelgrass in the Chesapeake Bay and weedy widgeongrass is expanding. Here’s why that seagrass change matters.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists thought coffee might treat hyperactivity
Decades of follow-up research into whether caffeine can treat the symptoms of kids with ADHD has come up with more questions than answers.
-
- Paleontology
This ancient, Lovecraftian apex predator chased and pierced soft prey
Half a billion years ago, Anomalocaris canadensis probably used its bizarre headgear to reach out and snag soft prey with its spiky clutches.
-
From our brains to gravity, how science surprises us
Editor in chief Nancy Shute discusses how science unravels mysteries, such as missing chunks of brain, gravity's strength and the start of the Viking era.
- Chemistry
Tear-resistant rubbery materials could pave the way for tougher tires
Adding easy-to-break molecular connectors surprisingly makes materials harder to tear and could one day reduce microplastic pollution from car tires.
- Psychology
‘Fires in the Dark’ illuminates how great healers ease mental suffering
Kay Redfield Jamison’s new book examines approaches used throughout history to restore troubled minds and broken spirits.
- Physics
Electrons are extremely round, a new measurement confirms
The near-perfect roundness deepens the mystery behind how the universe came to be filled with matter as opposed to antimatter.
- Life
Rats sense the wind with antennae-like whiskers above their eyes
Long, thin whiskers above rats’ eyes appear to sense faint air movement, which may be helpful for detecting moving threats in dark, narrow corridors.
