Uncategorized
- Life
New gut-dwelling virus is surprisingly common
It’s not clear yet whether the bacteriophage crAssphage, found in people’s intestines, has any health effects.
- Science & Society
‘Enlightening Symbols’ shows how math’s language arose
From numerals to infinity, symbols have advanced mathematical thinking.
- Health & Medicine
‘NOVA’ takes science’s side in vaccine debate
A TV documentary dissects concerns about vaccinations and spells out the science supporting their use.
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- Earth
Sometimes value lies deep below the surface
Stories on jellyfish, Ebola, carbon capture's future and heart disease's past reveal how crises old and new often lead to science's healthiest advances.
- Environment
Carbon capture and storage finally approaching debut
Carbon capture and storage offers a way to rein in global carbon emissions. But financial and regulatory obstacles, as well as public fears, are delaying the technology’s long-awaited implementation.
- Animals
Seeing past the jellyfish sting
Jellies don’t get nearly as much love as their cousins, the corals, but they deserve credit for providing homes to some creatures, dinner to others and more. They’re an integral part of the oceans.
- Materials Science
Magnets get flipped by light
Controlling magnetism with lasers could lead to faster computer hard drives.
- Climate
Multiple oceans may help stall global warming
The Atlantic and Southern oceans, not the Pacific, may be largely to blame for the recent pause in rising global temperatures.
- Animals
Hummingbirds evolved a strange taste for sugar
While other birds seem to lack the ability to taste sugar, hummingbirds detect sweetness using a repurposed sensor that normally responds to savory flavors.
- Astronomy
Distance to quasars debated
Some astronomers thought quasars were buzzing around our galaxy; turns out these starlike objects live on the other side of the universe.
- Ecosystems
Lake under Antarctic ice bursts with life
Abundant microbes thrive in subglacial lakes deep under the Antarctic ice sheet.
