Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Microbes
Prairie microbes could aid region’s restoration
Surveying the bacteria living in the soils of grassland ecosystems may help revive the habitats.
- Quantum Physics
Electron makes ultracold atoms move as one
Harnessing the strong particle-gas interaction is early step toward quantum optics applications.
- Physics
Laser tripod may lift mirror
The levitated reflector could be stable enough to track subtle gravitational forces.
- Paleontology
Fossils suggest ancient sharks survived extinction event
Diving down deep in the ocean may have helped the fish live through the Great Dying 350 million years ago.
- Earth
Pressure patterns could portend heat waves
High-pressure systems may help scientists forecast temperature hikes 15 to 20 days out.
- Environment
Polluted water interferes with drug that combats parasitic scourge
Arsenic contamination fuels resistance to one treatment for leishmaniasis.
- Astronomy
Solar system with seven planets discovered
Kepler data has identified a star with a seven-planet system structured similarly to the sun’s clutch of planets.
- Chemistry
Oxygen shapes growth of graphene
The number of atoms on a copper surface changes the size and rate of the material's crystal development.
- Physics
Four atoms make a material
A new experiment gives physicists clues about when to describe atoms as individuals and when to describe them as acting as a group.
- Health & Medicine
Inactive HIV poses even greater barrier to cure
The reservoir of dormant virus strains is larger than scientists estimated, a finding that could make the virus harder to combat.
- Astronomy
Most distant galaxy discovered
Astronomers have observed a galaxy as it existed 700 million years after Big Bang.
- Science & Society
NIH struggles to rebound from shutdown
Researchers fear delayed grant funding from missed review meetings.
