All Stories
- Planetary Science
Marsquakes reveal the Red Planet boasts a liquid core half its diameter
Analyses of seismic waves picked up by NASA’s InSight lander shed new light on the planet’s core and give clues to the thickness of the crust.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have been able to fly as soon as they hatched
A fossil analysis shows the flying reptile hatchlings had a stronger bone crucial for lift-off that adults and shorter, broader wings for agility.
- Health & Medicine
The coronavirus cuts cells’ hairlike cilia, which may help it invade the lungs
Images show that the coronavirus clears the respiratory tract of hairlike structures called cilia, which keep foreign objects out of the lungs.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has begun its first science campaign
Now about 1 kilometer south of its landing spot, the rover has spotted several promising spots in its search for hints of ancient life.
- Animals
How intricate Venus’s-flower-baskets manipulate the flow of seawater
Simulations show that a deep-sea glass sponge’s intricate skeleton creates particle-trapping vortices and reduces the stress of rushing water.
- Planetary Science
A century of astronomy revealed Earth’s place in the universe
The past century of astronomy has been a series of revolutions, each one kicking Earth a bit farther to the margins.
- Animals
This butterfly is the first U.S. insect known to go extinct because of people
A 93-year-old Xerces blue specimen’s DNA shows that the butterfly is a distinct species, making it the first U.S. insect humans drove to extinction.
- Microbes
Missing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens
Scientists couldn’t find microbial life in soils from Antarctica, hinting at a limit for habitability on Earth and other worlds.
- Life
Pikas survive winter using a slower metabolism and, at times, yak poop
Pikas endure bone-chilling temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by reducing their metabolism, and when possible, eating yak poop.
- Astronomy
The latest picture of a black hole captures Centaurus A’s massive jets
Data from the Event Horizon Telescope reveal new details of jets spewing from the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Centaurus A.
- Animals
Climate change may be leading to overcounts of endangered bonobos
A changing climate in Congo is affecting how scientists count bonobos’ nests, possibly skewing estimates of the great ape population, a study suggests.
- Humans
Only a tiny fraction of our DNA is uniquely human
Some of the exclusively human tweaks to DNA may have played a role in brain evolution.
