Chemistry
Scientists home in on alternatives to ‘forever chemicals’
Bulky molecules mimic some properties of PFAS without their long-lasting chemical bonds and could replace PFAS in some water-repelling applications.
All Topics
Chemistry
Earth
Oceans
Before altering the air, microbes oxygenated large swaths of the sea
Hundreds of millions of years before oxygen surged in the atmosphere 2.4 billion years ago, swaths of oxygen winked in and out of existence in the ocean.
Humans
Science & Society
$1.8 billion in NIH grant cuts hit minority health research the hardest
News of NIH funding cuts have trickled out in recent months. A new study tallies what’s been terminated.
Life
Plants
Putrid plants can reek of hot rotting flesh with one evolutionary trick
Some stinky plants independently evolved an enzyme to take the same molecule behind our bad breath and turn it into the smell of rotting flesh.
Math
Math
The einstein tile rocked mathematics. Meet its molecular cousin
Chemists identify a single molecule that naturally tiles in nonrepeating patterns, which could help build materials with novel electronic properties.
Physics
Health & Medicine
Lining medical stents with hairlike fuzz could fend off infections
Implanted tubes that transport bodily fluids can get gross. A lab prototype suggests a new vibration-based way to keep them clean and prevent infection.
Science & Society
Science & Society
$1.8 billion in NIH grant cuts hit minority health research the hardest
News of NIH funding cuts have trickled out in recent months. A new study tallies what’s been terminated.
Space
Space
A Soviet spacecraft will crash to Earth this month
Kosmos 482 launched for Venus in 1972 but never left Earth orbit. The spacecraft has now lost enough energy that it can’t fight gravity anymore.
Tech
Tech
A new 3-D display lets you reach in and touch virtual objects
These hands-on displays might be used to create more immersive video games, educational tools and museum exhibits.
