Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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- Space
MESSENGER eases into Mercury’s orbit
After three flybys, a NASA spacecraft settles in for a closer look at the first planet.
- Tech
Chernobyl’s lessons for Japan
Radioactive iodine released by the Chernobyl nuclear accident has left a legacy of thyroid cancers among downwinders — one that shows no sign of diminishing. The new data also point to what could be in store if conditions at Japan’s troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex continue to sour.
- Tech
Radiation: Japan’s third crisis
As if the magnitude-9 earthquake on March 11 and killer tsunami weren’t enough, a new round of aftershocks — psychological ones over fear of radiation — are rocking Japan and its neighbors.
- Astronomy
New study gives dark energy a boost
Measurements provide further evidence for a cosmic push that is accelerating the expansion of the universe.
- Space
Meteorites may hold fossils from space — or not
Skepticism greets claim that three space rocks may contain microfossils of extraterrestrial bacteria.
- Space
Atom & Cosmos
Buckyballs may abound in space, plus the latest on planets and solar siblings in this week's news.
- Space
The best next space missions
The National Research Council issues recommendations for planetary science projects that NASA and NSF should fund starting in 2013.
- Space
Stellar wormholes may exist
Tunnels through spacetime would connect pairs of stars, new simulations suggest.
- Space
A bid to implode cosmic ray theory
Streams of fast-moving particles aren’t fueled just by supernovas, a new study suggests.
- Space
Sun’s doldrums likely to last
Despite a recent flare, solar physicists project low activity for up to a decade.
- Space
Atom & Cosmos
Scientists calculate the right mix of dark matter to build a galaxy, plus Kleopatra’s twins and an electric Encaledus in this week’s news.
