Uncategorized
- Earth
Coastal waters were an oxygen oasis 2.3 billion years ago
Coastal waters contained enough oxygen to support complex life-forms including some animals hundreds of millions of years before fossils of such life first appear.
- Climate
Petrified tree rings tell ancient tale of sun’s behavior
The 11-year cycle of solar activity may have been around for at least 290 million years, ancient tree rings suggest.
- Life
Here’s how earwax might clean ears
Science seeks inspiration in earwax for dreams of self-cleaning machinery.
- Materials Science
New ‘smart’ fibers curb fires in lithium-ion batteries
To stifle battery fires, scientists create component with heat-release flame retardant.
- Health & Medicine
Promise and perils of marijuana deserve more scientific scrutiny
Report outlines medical potential and health dangers of cannabis and its components.
- Chemistry
New molecular knot is most complex yet
The knot is woven from 192 atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen and forms a triple braid with eight crossing points.
- Neuroscience
How mice use their brain to hunt
Messages from the brain’s amygdala help mice chase and kill prey.
- Life
Shimmering soap bubbles have a dark side
Merging dark spots are indicators that a bubble is about to burst.
- Animals
It takes guts for a sea spider to pump blood
Most sea spiders have hearts, but what really gets their blood flowing are gut contractions.
- Neuroscience
Pain promoter also acts as pain reliever
A pain-sensing protein also regulates activity of pain-relieving opioids.
- Planetary Science
The moon is still old
New analysis of moon rocks points to our satellite forming about 4.51 billion years ago, roughly 60 million years after the start of the solar system.
- Earth
Mapping the future of continents and batteries
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses how science provides new perspectives on the past and the future.
