Uncategorized
- Science & Society
Humans exploit about one-third of wild vertebrate species
An analysis of nearly 47,000 vertebrate animal species reveals that using them for food, medicine or the pet trade is helping push some toward extinction.
- Climate
The snow forest of North America may be about to shrink
From 2000 to 2019, the boreal forest’s northern boundary didn’t move while southern tree cover thinned due to climate change, wildfires and logging.
- Astronomy
A newfound gravitational wave ‘hum’ may be from the universe’s biggest black holes
Scientists reported evidence for a new class of gravitational waves, likely created by merging supermassive black holes.
- Life
Young squash bugs seek out adults’ poop for an essential microbe
Squash bug nymphs don’t rely on their parents to pick up a bacterium they’d die without. They find it on their own.
- Astronomy
200 years ago, the Milky Way’s central black hole briefly awoke
The black hole is thought to be mostly quiet and dim. Now, glowing cosmic clouds have revealed the behemoth’s last flare.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum computers could break the internet. Here’s how to save it
Today's encryption schemes will be vulnerable to future quantum computers, but new algorithms and a quantum internet could help.
- Life
Flowers pollinated by honeybees make lower-quality seeds
Honeybees are one of the most common pollinators. But their flower-visiting habits make it harder for some plants to produce good seeds.
- Paleontology
Megalodon sharks may have become megapredators by running hot
O. megalodon sharks were warm-blooded megapredators. But colder-blooded great white sharks may have had an evolutionary edge when food sources dwindled.
- Animals
A grisly trick helps snow flies survive freezing: self-amputation
When a snow fly’s leg begins to freeze, a quick amputation can prevent ice from spreading, keeping the cold-hardy insect alive.
- Physics
Julian Muñoz has a ‘ruler’ that could size up the early universe
The measurement tool could lay out a distance scale for cosmic dawn —and offer clues to the nature of dark matter.
- Animals
Bottlenose dolphin moms use baby talk with their calves
When their babies are near, bottlenose dolphin moms modify their signature whistles, similar to human parents speaking in baby talk.
- Anthropology
Fossil marks suggest hominids butchered one another around 1.45 million years ago
Researchers disagree whether new evidence of stone tool marks on a hominid leg bone reflects ancient cannibalism or perhaps some other, undetected behavior.
