News in Brief
- Particle Physics
One particle’s trek suggests that ‘spacetime foam’ doesn’t slow neutrinos
Neutrinos and light travel at essentially the same speed, as predicted.
- Paleontology
This amber nugget from Myanmar holds the first known baby snake fossil
Amber preserves the delicate bone structure of a 99 million year old baby snake.
- Astronomy
Move over, Hubble. This sharp pic of Neptune was taken from Earth
A new strategy at the Very Large Telescope lets astronomers take space telescope–quality pictures from the ground.
- Computing
Solving problems by computer just got a lot faster
A new computer program sifts through all possible solutions to find the best answer to a given problem far faster than other algorithms.
- Planetary Science
First global maps of Pluto and Charon show the worlds’ highs and lows
New charts of Pluto and its moon Charon, compiled using New Horizons’ data, reveal high peaks, deep depressions and strange ridges.
- Archaeology
Texas toolmakers add to the debate over who the first Americans were
Stone toolmakers inhabited Texas more than 16,000 years ago, before Clovis hunters arrived.
- Climate
Bloodflowers’ risk to monarchs could multiply as climate changes
High atmospheric carbon dioxide levels can weaken the medicinal value of a milkweed that caterpillars eat, and high temperatures may make the plant toxic.
- Life
Bobtail squid coat their eggs in antifungal goo
Hawaiian bobtail squid keep their eggs fungus-free with the help of bacteria.
- Neuroscience
Vaginal microbes in mice transfer stress to their pups
During birth, microbes from a stressed mouse mother can carry some aspects of stress to her offspring.
- Astronomy
Astronomers snap the first baby pictures of a planet
New telescope images give the clearest view of an exoplanet embryo yet.
- Archaeology
Mongolians practiced horse dentistry as early as 3,200 years ago
Horse dentistry got an early start among Bronze Age Mongolian herders.
- Life
Zika gets the most extreme close-up of any flavivirus
The closest look yet at Zika virus may reveal some vulnerabilities.
