Video
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Astronomy
The first picture of a black hole opens a new era of astrophysics
Astronomers used a network of telescopes around the world to take a picture of the supermassive black hole in the galaxy M87.
- Animals
Tiny pumpkin toadlets have glowing bony plates on their backs
Pumpkin toadlets are the first frogs found to have fluorescent bony plates that are visible through their skin under ultraviolet light.
- Astronomy
4 things we’ll learn from the first closeup image of a black hole
Scientists are gearing up to release the first image of the black hole at the center of the galaxy. Here’s what they hope to find out.
- Neuroscience
People can sense Earth’s magnetic field, brain waves suggest
An analysis of brain waves offers new evidence that people subconsciously process information about the planet’s magnetism.
- Life
Some shrimp make plasma with their claws. Now a 3-D printed claw can too
Scientists used a replica of a shrimp claw to re-create the extreme pressures and temperatures that the animals produce underwater.
- Tech
An origami design helps this robot lift delicate and heavy cargo
Fragile items, such as soft fruits, as well as heavier goods are in safe hands with a new robotic gripper.
- Physics
How droplets of oil or water can glow vibrant colors
Viewed from various angles, tiny droplets of water or oil glow different colors under white light.
- Physics
Microwaved grapes make fireballs, and scientists now know why
Electromagnetic waves bounce back and forth inside a grape, creating plasma.
- Astronomy
Merging magnetic blobs fuel the sun’s huge plasma eruptions
Solar eruptions called coronal mass ejections grow from a series of smaller events, observations show.
- Life
Human encroachment threatens chimpanzee culture
Human activity is affecting chimps’ behavioral repertoire, a new study suggests. Creating chimp cultural heritage sites might save unique behaviors.
- Neuroscience
How singing mice belt out duets
A precise timing system in the brain helps musical rodents from the cloud forests of Costa Rica sing to one another.
- Animals
What spiders eating weird stuff tell us about complex Amazon food webs
By documenting rare events of invertebrates eating small vertebrates, scientists are shedding new light on the Amazon rainforest’s intricate ecosystem.
