Uncategorized
- Climate
Thousands of birds perished in the Bering Sea. Arctic warming may be to blame
A mass die-off of puffins and other seabirds in the Bering Sea is probably linked to climate change, scientists say.
- Archaeology
Cave debris may be the oldest known example of people eating starch
Charred material found in South Africa puts energy-rich roots and tubers on Stone Age menus, long before farming began.
- Paleontology
Fossils reveal saber-toothed cats may have pierced rivals’ skulls
Two Smilodon fossil skulls from Argentina have puncture holes likely left by the teeth of rival cats.
- Astronomy
Watch the oldest surviving film of a total solar eclipse
A short film of the 1900 total solar eclipse was restored by conservation experts and is now available to view online.
- Anthropology
Africa’s first herders spread pastoralism by mating with foragers
DNA unveils long-ago hookups between early pastoralists and native hunter-gatherers in Africa.
- Health & Medicine
A fungus weaponized with a spider toxin can kill malaria mosquitoes
In controlled field experiments in Burkina Faso, a genetically engineered fungus reduced numbers of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes that can carry malaria.
- Chemistry
Vaping the sweetener sucralose may produce toxic chemicals
Sucralose in e-liquids can break down, increasing toxic aldehydes in vapors and producing harmful organochlorines, including a potential carcinogen.
- Astronomy
Questions about solar storms, slingshot spiders and more reader feedback
Readers had questions about solar storms, a robotic gripper, slingshot spiders and more.
- Health & Medicine
Resurgence of measles is a tale as old as human history
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the recent global measles outbreak and the history of the spread of pathogens.
- Planetary Science
Icy volcanoes on Pluto may have spewed organic-rich water
Planetary scientists found ammonia-rich ice near cracks on Pluto, suggesting the dwarf planet had recent icy volcanoes.
- Climate
Himalayan glacier melting threatens water security for millions of people
Asia’s glaciers are melting faster than they are accumulating new stores of snow and ice.
- Physics
In a first, scientists took the temperature of a sonic black hole
A lab-made black hole that traps sound, not light, emits radiation at a certain temperature, as Stephen Hawking first predicted.
