Space
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin revealed stars’ composition and broke gender barriers
The book ‘What Stars Are Made Of’ celebrates the life of astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin.
Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Climate models agree things will get bad. Capturing just how bad is tricky
Climate models are better than ever at simulating complex interactions between ocean, air, ice and land. But scientists still aren’t really sure what the worst-case scenario might be for Earth’s future climate.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Space
As NASA’s Spitzer telescope’s mission ends, here’s a look back at its discoveries
For more than 16 years, the Spitzer Space Telescope has witnessed the births and deaths of stars, charted the Milky Way, found faraway worlds and more.
Notebook
Animals
Texas has its own rodeo ant queens
New species of rodeo ants, riding on the backs of bigger ants, turned up in Austin, Texas.
Features
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How scientists wrestle with grief over climate change
With climate change altering our world at an increasing pace, scientists who monitor and study nature are frustrated and grieving.
More Stories from the February 29, 2020 issue
- Health & Medicine
The first case of coronavirus being spread by a person with no symptoms has been found
Coronavirus cases among coworkers in Germany suggest that the virus can spread from person to person before symptoms appear, similar to the flu.
- Particle Physics
Misbehaving kaons could hint at the existence of new particles
Certain extremely rare decays seem to be happening more often than expected, and scientists don’t know why.
- Space
These are the most detailed images of the sun ever taken
First images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope reveal details on the surface of the sun three times as small as ever seen.
- Archaeology
Ancient ‘megasites’ may reshape the history of the first cities
At least two ancient paths to urban development existed, some archaeologists argue.
- Life
Engineered honeybee gut bacteria trick attackers into self-destructing
Tailored microbes defend bees with a gene-silencing process called RNA interference that takes on viruses or mites.
- Paleontology
A squid fossil offers a rare record of pterosaur feeding behavior
150 million years ago, a pterosaur attempted to snatch a squid from the ocean surface and lost a tooth in the process.
- Space
This is the first fast radio burst known to have a steady beat
Brief blasts of radio energy from other galaxies keep stumping astronomers, but one seems to be on a 16-day cycle, a new clue in an ongoing puzzle.
- Health & Medicine
Levels of certain proteins in the blood may act as concussion biomarkers
College athletes who suffered concussions had elevated blood levels of three proteins, a potential chemical sign that one day may aid diagnosis.
- Neuroscience
Brain cells called microglia eat away mice’s memories
Immune cells that eliminate connections between nerve cells may be one way that the brain forgets.
- Physics
Scientists cooled a nanoparticle to the quantum limit
Physicists decreased a nanoparticle’s motion to the lowest level allowed by quantum mechanics.
- Health & Medicine
The FDA has approved the first drug to treat peanut allergies
The drug, called Palforzia, may reduce the dangers of unintentional exposure to peanuts for allergic children.
- Neuroscience
Injecting nanoparticles in the blood curbed brain swelling in mice
Nanoparticles divert inflammation-causing cells away from the brain after a head injury, a mouse study shows.
- Ecosystems
Fewer worms live in mud littered with lots of microplastics
The environmental effects of microplastic pollution are still hazy, but new long-term, outdoor experiments could help clear matters up.
- Archaeology
Mount Vesuvius may have suffocated, not vaporized, some victims
A new study suggests people living near Pompeii who hid in stone boathouses died a slower death when the volcano erupted in A.D. 79.
- Chemistry
How to brew a better espresso, according to science
To make more consistent and affordable espresso shots, use fewer beans and grind them more coarsely, a new study says.
- Humans
Stress turns hair gray by triggering the body’s fight-or-flight response
A study in mice finds stress responses deplete cells that give hair its pigment, making the strand white.
- Space
50 years ago, scientists were studying why the sun’s corona is so hot
In 1970, scientists were hoping to learn why the sun’s corona is so hot during an eclipse. Fifty years later, the corona’s magnetic field may hold some answers.
