All Stories by Nikk Ogasa
- Astronomy
A rare collision of dead stars can bring a new one to life
These carbon- and oxygen-covered stars may have formed from an unusual merging of two white dwarfs.
- Planetary Science
These are the first visible-light images of Venus’ surface captured from space
Cameras aboard NASA’s Parker Solar Probe managed to peer through Venus’ thick clouds to photograph the planet’s surface.
- Animals
Vinegar eels can synchronize swim
Swarming, swimming nematodes can move together like fish and also synchronize their wiggling — an ability rare in the animal kingdom.
- Artificial Intelligence
How AI can identify people even in anonymized datasets
A neural network identified a majority of anonymous mobile phone service subscribers using details about their weekly social interactions.
- Earth
Volcanic avalanches of rock and gas may be more destructive than previously thought
Pressures within pyroclastic flows may be as much as three times as great as observations had suggested.
- Planetary Science
Organic molecules in an ancient Mars meteorite formed via geology, not alien life
Analysis of an ancient Martian meteorite reveals that organic molecules within it were formed by geologic processes rather than alien life.
- Climate
Rice feeds half the world. Climate change’s droughts and floods put it at risk
Rice provides sustenance for billions who have no alternative, and climate change threatens to slash production. Growers will need to innovate to provide an important crop as climate whiplash brings drought and floods to fields worldwide.
- Chemistry
A pinch of saturated fat could make tempering chocolate a breeze
Adding a small amount of fatty molecules to cocoa butter could simplify the labor-intensive tempering process to create melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.
- Animals
Some wasps’ nests glow green under ultraviolet light
Some Asian paper wasps’ nests fluoresce so brilliantly that the glow is visible from up to 20 meters away.
- Life
An incredibly resilient coral in the Great Barrier Reef offers hope for the future
At more than 400 years old, a massive coral off the coast of Australia has endured as many as 80 cyclones and 99 bleaching events.
- Paleontology
This big-headed pterosaur may have preferred walking over flying
The most intact fossil of a tapejarid pterosaur ever found yields new insight into how the ancient reptile lived.
- Psychology
‘Ghost games’ spotlight the psychological effect fans have on referees
Soccer teams won fewer games and received more fouls when playing at home during the 2019–2020 season, when many fans were absent, than before the pandemic.
