All Stories
- Planetary Science
More hints of Martian hot springs may hold promise for Mars 2020 mission
An analysis of ridges in a crater of Margaritifer Terra on Mars offers evidence of ancient hot springs and also hints at the potential for finding signs of life.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum tunneling takes time, new study shows
A new measurement disfavors the idea that electrons can escape atoms instantaneously.
- Health & Medicine
Most football players who donated their brains to science had traumatic injury
A self-selected sample of 202 deceased football players, the largest to date, finds that the majority suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
- Health & Medicine
Add penis bacteria to the list of HIV risk factors
Certain bacteria found on the penis raise the risk of HIV infection, a new study finds.
- Earth
How earthquake scientists eavesdrop on North Korea’s nuclear blasts
Researchers monitor the power and location of underground nuclear weapons testing by North Korea.
- Neuroscience
There’s a long way to go in understanding the brain
Neuroscientists offer multiple “perspectives” on how to plug gaps in current knowledge of the brain’s inner workings.
- Astronomy
‘Making Contact’ chronicles an astronomer’s struggle to find E.T.
For decades, astronomer Jill Tarter led the hunt for extraterrestrial intelligence, as detailed in a new biography.
- Astronomy
Fewer big rogue planets roam the galaxy, recount shows
Jupiter-mass planets without parent solar systems are less common than astronomers thought, a new study suggests.
- Chemistry
Radioactive substances leave electron ‘fingerprints’ behind
A new method of nuclear forensics could make it harder to handle radioactive material in secret.
- Science & Society
This history book offers excellent images but skimps on modern science
For an accessible account of mostly pre-20th century science, check out The Oxford Illustrated History of Science.
- Animals
Fire ants build towers with three simple rules
Fire ants use the same set of simple rules to produce static rafts and perpetually moving towers.
- Planetary Science
Earth might once have resembled a hot, steamy doughnut
Newly proposed space objects called synestias are large, spinning hunks of mostly vaporized rock. They look like a jelly-filled doughnut.
