Uncategorized
- Physics
Rubidium atoms used to record coldest temperature — ever
A swarm of rubidium atoms has been cooled to about 50 trillionths of a kelvin, making it the coldest substance ever measured.
- Astronomy
Source of puzzling cosmic signals found — in the kitchen
One type of radio burst has a pretty mundane origin: prematurely opened microwave ovens.
- Environment
Oil from BP spill probably sprayed out in tiny drops
Oil that gushed from the well in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill may have shattered into tiny droplets, with high pressures doing the work of dispersants.
- Paleontology
Fossil reveals terror bird’s power
Bones of a new terror bird confirm the creatures used their beaks to hatchet their prey but also raise questions about what drove the birds extinct.
- Earth
Meeting of the Americas came early, study suggests
Volcanic crystals thought to have formed in Panama and found in an ancient Colombian streambed hint that North and South America may have met up roughly 10 million years earlier than once thought.
- Genetics
Contagious cancer found in clams
A soft-shell clam disease is just the third example of a contagious cancer.
- Planetary Science
A modest Plutonian proposal
Flagstaff, Echidna, Spock. Naming conventions for the landscapes of Pluto and its moons are proposed ahead of the arrival of the New Horizons probe.
- Anthropology
Beads suggest culture blocked farming in Northern Europe
Baltic hunter-gatherers blocked farming’s spread from south.
- Astronomy
Cyanides around young star signal complex organic chemistry
Abundances of cyanide compounds around a young star match those found in comets in our solar system.
- Animals
Dealing with droughts, museums going digital and more reader feedback
Readers share their experiences with dry weather in the U.S., discuss how humans mentally sort quantities and more.
- Science & Society
One anniversary to celebrate, one to contemplate
In this issue, both feature articles focus on anniversaries, though of two very different kinds.
- Life
It’s true: Butterfly spots can mimic scary eyes
Contrary to recent studies, the old notion that butterfly wing eyespots evoke predator eyes may not be so old-fashioned after all.
