Uncategorized
- Astronomy
Molecular oxygen has been spotted beyond the Milky Way for the first time
Astronomers have detected molecular oxygen in another galaxy for the first time. The discovery is only the third sighting beyond our solar system.
By Ken Croswell - Archaeology
New cave fossils have revived the debate over Neandertal burials
Part of a Neandertal’s skeleton was found in a hole dug in the same cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where the “flower burial” was found in 1960.
By Bruce Bower - Neuroscience
Living brain tissue experiments raise new kinds of ethical questions
An ethicist describes the quandaries raised by working with tissue involved in human awareness.
- Math
How a quantum technique highlights math’s mysterious link to physics
Verifying proofs to very hard math problems is possible with infinite quantum entanglement.
- Science & Society
Turning human bodies into compost works, a small trial suggests
Experiments test the effectiveness and safety of human composting, which may soon be an alternative to burial or cremation in Washington state.
- Artificial Intelligence
Linking sense of touch to facial movement inches robots toward ‘feeling’ pain
Artificial systems that allow a robot to “feel” pain might ultimately lead to empathy.
- Health & Medicine
Very few infants seem to be getting sick with the new coronavirus
Scientists tracking how the outbreak of a novel coronavirus is affecting young children and newborns haven’t seen many cases.
- Computing
AI can predict which criminals may break laws again better than humans
Computer algorithms are better than people at forecasting recidivism, at least in some situations, a new study finds.
- Life
Microbiologists took 12 years to grow a microbe tied to complex life’s origins
Years of lab work resulted in growing a type of archaea that might help scientists understand one of evolution’s giant leaps toward complexity.
- Environment
50 years ago, protests and promises launched the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
50 years ago, the upcoming Trans-Alaska Pipeline prompted an economic boom amid outrage from environmental and Native American groups.
By Mike Denison - Health & Medicine
Coronavirus’s genetic fingerprints are used to rapidly map its spread
Fast and widespread scientific data sharing and genetic testing have created a picture of how the new coronavirus spreads.
- Animals
Snakes suffered after a frog-killing fungus wiped out their food
A frog-killing fungus that swept through Panama had a hidden effect. A new study finds that snake diversity declined post-fungus at one field station.