Quantum Physics
Sean Carroll’s new book argues quantum physics leads to many worlds
‘Something Deeply Hidden’ offers a defense of The Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics.
-
Cover Story
How an astrophysicist chased a star from the Halo games to real life
Julián Alvarado Gómez has devoted his career to a star called Iota Horologii. His former life as a Halo video gamer helps fuel that devotion.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Science & Society
How circling the globe has evolved in the 500 years since Magellan’s famous trip
Humankind has found new and improved ways to circle the globe in the five centuries since Magellan set sail.
Notebook
Animals
There’s more to pufferfish than that goofy spiked balloon
Three odd things about pufferfishes: how they mate, how they bite and what’s up with no fish scales?
Features
-
3-D printed ‘ghost guns’ pose new challenges for crime-scene investigators
Researchers are analyzing the ballistics of 3-D printed guns and the plastic they leave behind to help forensic scientists track these DIY weapons.
More Stories from the September 28, 2019 issue
-
Space5 of Jupiter’s newly discovered moons received names in a public contest
Astronomers first announced the discovery of the worlds in July 2018, and have now named them for goddesses and spirits of Greek and Roman mythology.
-
Health & MedicineMarijuana and meth are getting more popular in America, but cocaine has declined
In 2006, drug users spent more on cocaine than on heroin, marijuana or methamphetamine. By 2016, marijuana expenditures had exceeded the other drugs.
-
TechA chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone
Silicon’s reign in cutting-edge electronics may soon over. The carbon nanotube could be its successor.
-
SpaceIron sulfide may be keeping Mercury’s core toasty and its magnetic field alive
New estimates of how much heat Mercury’s core loses could explain why the tiny world has a long-lived magnetic field.
-
Health & MedicineLiquid mouth drops could one day protect people from peanut allergies
An immune treatment given as liquid mouth drops helped allergic children eat the equivalent of a few peanuts without having a reaction.
-
Health & MedicinePancreatic cancer tumors attack the blood vessels that deliver chemo drugs
Pancreatic cancer is nearly impossible to treat, but now we may know why. New research shows that the tumors destroy nearby blood vessels, making it harder for drugs to reach them.
-
EarthAncient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world
The Pliocene era cave formations on the Spanish coast of Mallorca offer hints about how oceans could respond to human-driven climate change.
-
HumansVaping is suspected in a fifth death and hundreds of injuries
U.S. health officials can’t yet point to a substance or device that’s behind a rising number of severe lung injuries and deaths tied to e-cigarettes.
-
PhysicsA new magnetic swirl, or skyrmion, could upgrade data storage
Magnetic whorls in a new type of material could be easier to control than their predecessors.
-
SpaceEinstein’s general relativity reveals new features of a pulsar
Measurements that rely on the physicist’s theory of gravity are letting astronomers view a pulsar in ‘a whole new way.’
-
LifeFecal transplants might help make koalas less picky eaters
Poop-transplant pills changed the microbial makeup of koalas’ guts. That could allow the animals to adapt when a favorite type of eucalyptus runs low.
-
NeuroscienceClumps of cells in the lab spontaneously formed brain waves
Nerve cells fired coordinated signals in brain organoids, 3-D clusters of cells that mimic some aspects of early brain development.
-
HumansStone tools may place some of the first Americans in Idaho 16,500 years ago
Newly discovered stone artifacts support the idea that North America’s first settlers traveled down the Pacific coast and then turned eastward.
-
AnthropologyThis ancient Denisovan finger bone is surprisingly humanlike
Despite Neandertal ties, extinct hominids called Denisovans had a touching link to humans, a new study finds.
-
PhysicsA predicted superconductor might work at a record-breaking 200° Celsius
A material made of hydrogen, lithium and magnesium and squeezed to high pressures may be a superconductor even at especially high temperatures.
-
LifeHuman meddling has manipulated the shapes of different dog breeds’ brains
By analyzing the shape of different dog breeds’ brains, researchers show how humans have manipulated the animals’ brain anatomy.
-
PhysicsQuantum physicists have teleported ‘qutrits’ for the first time
The technique could be useful for creating a future quantum internet.
-
Health & Medicine50 years ago, scientists warned of marijuana’s effects on the unborn
In 1969, scientists warned about prenatal marijuana exposure. Researchers today are still untangling drug’s effect on fetuses.