Video
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Life
Why otters ‘juggle’ rocks is still a mystery
Shuffling pebbles really fast looks as if it should boost otters’ dexterity, but a new study didn’t find a link.
- Planetary Science
This is the most comprehensive map of the moon’s geology yet
Cartographers merged Apollo-era maps and modern lunar observations to into a new geologic map of the moon.
- Health & Medicine
Why 6 feet may not be enough social distance to avoid COVID-19
Scientists who study airflow warn that virus-laden drops may travel farther than thought.
- Physics
Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements
Today’s scientists keep adding to the periodic table. But an element has to earn its spot.
- Climate
The largest Arctic ozone hole ever measured is hovering over the North Pole
A strong polar vortex in early 2020 led to what may be a record-breaking hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic.
- Life
Algae use flagella to trot, gallop and move with gaits all their own
Single-celled microalgae, with no brains, can coordinate their “limbs” into a trot or fancier gait.
- Health & Medicine
You can help fight the coronavirus. All you need is a computer
With Folding@home, people can donate computing time on their home computers to the search for a chemical Achilles’ heel in the coronavirus.
- Chemistry
Evaporating mixtures of two liquids create hypnotic designs
Through the magic of surface tension, mixtures of two liquids form fingerlike protrusions and other patterns as droplets evaporate.
- Life
A new lizard parasite is the first known to move from mom to baby
Nematodes were found living in a lizard’s ovaries and the braincase of her embryos — the first evidence of a reptile parasite that jumps generations.
- Physics
How to make the best fried rice, according to physics
Researchers show exactly how rocking and sliding a wok can launch fried rice into the air, letting it cook at a high temperature without burning.
- Life
Wolves regurgitate blueberries for their pups to eat
The behavior, documented for the first time, suggests that fruit may be more important to wolves than previously thought.
- Life
How thin, delicate butterfly wings keep from overheating
Structures in butterfly wings help living tissues such as veins release more heat than the rest of the wing.
