All Stories
- Environment
4 ways to tackle ocean trash besides Ocean Cleanup’s broken system
Here are three approaches to reducing ocean pollution that might be more effective than a controversial plan to fish trash out of the Pacific.
- Physics
High-speed video reveals physics tricks for shooting a rubber band
To fire a rubber band flawlessly, use a wide band and don’t pull too hard, physicists suggest.
- Environment
Satellites make mapping hot spots of ammonia pollution easier
There’s a more accurate way to estimate ammonia emissions.
- Health & Medicine
DNA tests of Lassa virus mid-outbreak helped Nigeria target its response
New technology for analyzing genetic data quickly in the field guided how Nigeria dealt with an outbreak of Lassa fever in 2018.
- Physics
The physics of fluids explains how crowds of marathon runners move
A new liquid-inspired theory can predict the movements of marathoners lining up for a race.
- Agriculture
A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth
A new chemical road map for a process called photorespiration in plant cells could reduce energy waste to increase plant productivity.
- Planetary Science
China just landed the first spacecraft on the moon’s farside
China’s Chang’e-4 lander and rover just became the first spacecraft to land on the farside of the moon.
- Health & Medicine
Probiotics don’t help puking kids, two large trials suggest
Parents might want to spend their money on ginger ale and Jell-O instead.
- Planetary Science
New Horizons shows Ultima Thule looks like a snowman, or maybe BB-8
Ultima Thule’s snowmanlike shape shows the New Horizons target was probably two space rocks that got stuck together.
- Health & Medicine
A new implant uses light to control overactive bladders
Experiments in rats show that a new soft device could help alleviate frequent, sudden urges to urinate.
- Animals
Poop provides a link in determining penguin diet from space
Scientists have figured out what foods dominate an Adélie penguin colony’s diet by looking at Landsat imagery. But to do so, they had to start with penguin guano.
- Anthropology
This scientist watches meat rot to decipher the Neandertal diet
This scientist is studying how meat changes as it rots to figure out what Neandertals might have eaten.
