Feature
- Astronomy
A Dark View of the Universe
Two new studies suggest that galaxies may be surrounded by vast halos of dark matter extending at least 1.5 million light-years from each galaxy's center.
- Physics
Catch a Wave
Detection of gravitational waves predicted by Einstein's 1916 general theory of relativity may finally occur, thanks to a new generation of laser-based observatories.
- Anthropology
Ishi’s Long Road Home
The reappearance of a California Indian's preserved brain, held at the Smithsonian Institution since 1917, triggers debate over the ethics of anthropological research and the repatriation process.
- Astronomy
Cosmic Dawn
New computer simulations suggest that the first stars in the universe were extremely massive and left behind gamma-ray bursts that may already have been detected by telescopes orbiting Earth.
- Health & Medicine
What Activates AIDS?
New studies suggest that a natural process called immune activation—the signaling that alerts immune cells of foreign invaders—plays a key role in explaining why infection with the human immunodeficiency virus progresses to AIDS more quickly in some people than in others.
- Chemistry
The World of Wine
Improved analytical instruments and powerful computers are now enabling scientists to better determine a chemical fingerprint for products from different wine-producing regions.
- Humans
An Artist’s Timely Riddles
A team of researchers demonstrates that there may be much more to the art of Marcel Duchamp than meets the casual, or even critical, eye.
- Earth
The Air That’s Up There
Researchers are exploring how trees affect the chemistry of the atmosphere.
- Tech
Deep Vision
Increasingly available virtual-reality gear gives scientists, engineers, and planetarium visitors new perspectives.
- Tech
Bugs on Mars
Undaunted by the hurdles on flight posed by thin air and a lack of oxygen, aerospace engineers are devising extraordinary flying machines resembling giant insects and windmills to make the exploration of Mars more rapid and effective.
- Anthropology
Searching for the Tree of Babel
Researchers are using new methods of comparing languages to reveal information about the ancestry of different cultural groups and answer questions about human history.
- Archaeology
Openings to the Underworld
Archaeological finds indicate that ancient groups in Mexico and Central America, including the Maya, held beliefs about a sacred landscape that focused on natural and human-made caves as sites of important ritual activities and burials.
