Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
New camera on Palomar telescope will seek out supernovas, asteroids and more
The Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory in California will seek supernovas, black holes and asteroids.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum computers take a step forward with a 50-qubit prototype
Race to build ever-more-powerful processors edges the technology closer to being able to best traditional machines.
- Animals
EPA OKs first living pest-control mosquito for use in United States
Feds approve non-GM male tiger mosquitoes for sale as fake dads to suppress local pests.
- Astronomy
NASA wants your help naming New Horizons’ next destination
NASA’s New Horizons mission team is asking the public to vote on a nickname for the spacecraft’s next destination.
- Paleontology
What male bias in the mammoth fossil record says about the animal’s social groups
Male woolly mammoths were more often caught in natural traps that preserved their remains, DNA evidence suggests.
- Materials Science
Nobel Prize–winning technique illuminates the fibers that set off battery fires
Scientists get a closer look at the filaments that ruin lithium-ion batteries from the inside out.
- Astronomy
Dawn spacecraft will keep orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres indefinitely
NASA just gave the Dawn spacecraft a second mission extension to orbit Ceres indefinitely.
- Astronomy
Measured distance within the Milky Way gives clues to what our galaxy looks like
Astronomers used an old but challenging technique to directly measure the distance to a star on the opposite side of the galaxy for the first time.
- Animals
New deep-sea sponge could play a starring role in monitoring ocean health
A new species of sponge that dwells on metal-rich rocks could help scientists track the environmental impact of deep-sea mining.
- Animals
Ancient whale turns up on wrong side of the world
A Southern Hemisphere whale species was briefly a northern resident.
- Chemistry
Cool way to peer into molecules’ inner workings wins chemistry Nobel Prize
Three scientists will split the prize for their work developing cryo-electron microscopy.
- Paleontology
A baby ichthyosaur’s last meal revealed
A new look at an old fossil shows that some species of baby ichthyosaurs may have dined on squid.
