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Health & Medicine

False teeth could double as hearing aids

Dental implants can conduct sound through jawbone, making them candidates for discreet, high-quality hearing aids, researchers say.

Ecosystems

‘Fen, Bog & Swamp’ reminds readers why peatlands matter

In her latest book, author Annie Proulx chronicles people’s long history with peatlands and examines the ecological value of these overlooked places.

Ecosystems

A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

Scientists on Saba are introducing island residents to conservation of Caribbean orchids, red-billed tropicbirds and urchins.

Planetary Science

NASA’s DART spacecraft just smashed into an asteroid — on purpose

If the first-ever attempt to knock a space rock off course works, it could provide a blueprint to protect Earth from a killer asteroid.

Anthropology

In Maya society, cacao use was for everyone, not just royals

Previously considered a preserve of Maya elites, cacao was consumed across all social strata, a new study finds.

Environment

Mangrove forests expand and contract with a lunar cycle

The carbon-sequestering trees grow in a roughly 18-year cycle according to tides influenced by the moon’s orbit, a study in Australia finds.

Earth

Here’s how olivine may trigger deep earthquakes

Olivine’s transformation into another mineral can destabilize rocks and set off quakes more than 300 kilometers down, experiments suggest.

Planetary Science

Here is the first direct look at Neptune’s rings in more than 30 years

In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft took the first pics of Neptune’s rings. Now, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing a more detailed look.

Life

Has AlphaFold actually solved biology’s protein-folding problem?

An AI called AlphaFold predicted structures for nearly every protein known to science. Those predictions aren’t without limits, some researchers say.

Particle Physics

How ghostly neutrinos could explain the universe’s matter mystery

If neutrinos behave differently from their antimatter counterparts, it could help explain why our cosmos is full of stuff.

Health & Medicine

This face mask can sense the presence of an airborne virus

Within minutes of exposure, a sensor in a mask prototype can detect proteins from viruses that cause COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Animals

After eons of isolation, these desert fish flub social cues

Pahrump poolfish flunked a fear test, but maybe they’re scared of other things.