All Stories
- Planetary Science
This is the most comprehensive map of the moon’s geology yet
Cartographers merged Apollo-era maps and modern lunar observations to into a new geologic map of the moon.
- Animals
Earthy funk lures tiny creatures to eat and spread bacterial spores
Genes that cue spore growth also kick up a scent that draws in springtails.
- Astronomy
A century ago, astronomy’s Great Debate foreshadowed today’s view of the universe
The argument between Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis 100 years ago was ultimately settled by Edwin Hubble.
- Health & Medicine
Drugs for high blood pressure don’t appear to make COVID-19 worse
Drugs commonly used to treat hypertension did not lead to more severe cases of the coronavirus infection or higher mortality in hospitalized patients.
- Animals
The ‘insect apocalypse’ is more complicated than it sounds
Freshwater arthropods trended upward, while terrestrial ones declined. But the study’s decades of data are spotty.
- Earth
Did heavy rain trigger Kilauea’s eruption? It’s complicated
A study suggests the Hawaiian volcano’s outpouring of lava was triggered by heavy rainfall in the months preceding. But some scientists are skeptical.
- Paleontology
The first frog fossil from Antarctica has been found
An ancient amphibian from Antarctica gives new insight into when the continent got so cold.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 kills more men than women. The immune system may be why
Countries with sex-specific data report more men than women are dying of the coronavirus. Women’s stronger immune response may give them a leg up.
- Animals
Insects’ extreme farming methods offer us lessons to learn and oddities to avoid
Insects invented agriculture long before humans did. Can we learn anything from them?
- Climate
A U.S. oil-producing region is leaking twice as much methane as once thought
Satellite measurements identify the Permian Basin, a massive U.S. oil- and gas-producing area, as a large source of leaked methane to the atmosphere.
- Earth
Plate tectonics may have started 400 million years earlier than we thought
Magnetic minerals in ancient rocks suggest that plate tectonics may have been under way as early as 3.2 billion years ago.
- Health & Medicine
COVID-19 is hitting some patients with obesity particularly hard
Doctors say some of their sickest COVID-19 patients are young and obese. One study shows they have higher rates of hospital admission and death.
