Physics
Pickles glow when you plug them in. Science explains why
A scientist, a jar of pickles and a power strip walk into a room. The punchline involves physics, glowing condiments and a scientific party trick.
All Topics
Chemistry
Earth
Climate
Can geoengineering blunt El Niño’s fury?
Marine cloud brightening could cool part of the Pacific and weaken extreme El Niños, simulations suggest. But the approach could have risks.
Humans
Health & Medicine
Support goes a long way to boost birth control effectiveness
The HER Salt Lake Contraceptive Initiative’s approach, which centered the user and made refills easy, meant all types of methods worked well.
Life
Animals
Summit living isn’t a problem for this tiny mouse
A boost to heat production and drawing in more oxygen may help Andean leaf-eared mice thrive at altitude.
Math
Plants
Chinese money plant leaves hide a mathematical pattern
Tiny water-secreting pores appear to organize the major veins of the plant leaves into an arrangement known as a Voronoi diagram.
Physics
Space
A shoebox-sized satellite could expose hidden nuclear weapons in space
There’s never been a good method to check for violations of the Outer Space Treaty’s prohibition of nuclear weapons in space.
Science & Society
Science & Society
Here’s what happens when you put politicians in charge of science
Proposed federal rules would rely on political appointees to decide how a lot of U.S. science gets done. History shows the consequences of such actions.
Space
Space
Pluto has landslides
New Horizons data reveal Pluto’s first six confirmed landslides along steep crater rims.
Tech
Artificial Intelligence
AI tools meant to vet science are surprisingly easy to fool
The gold standard of scientific review, peer review by researchers’ colleagues, is in crisis. AI might offer a solution but has problems of its own.
