News in Brief
- Astronomy
Astronomers may have found an exomoon, and Hubble is going to check
A distant object may be the first exomoon detected.
- Agriculture
GM moth trial gets a green light from USDA
GM diamondback moths will take wing in a New York field trial.
- Archaeology
Copper in Ötzi the Iceman’s ax came from surprisingly far away
Copper for the ancient Iceman’s blade traveled about 500 kilometers to his northern Italian home region.
- Climate
Rising temperatures may mean fewer passengers on airplane flights
Global warming could force airplanes to carry a lighter load — and fewer passengers —on each flight.
- Astronomy
Teensy star vies for title of smallest known
A Saturn-sized star is one of the smallest yet discovered.
- Astronomy
Astronomers get glimpse of star 9 billion light-years away
A bright blue star sends its light from two-thirds of the way across the universe, thanks to a chance alignment with a galaxy cluster.
- Genetics
How a crop-destroying fungus mutated to infect wheat
Study details how wheat got a new pathogen called blast fungus.
- Anthropology
Fossil tooth pushes back record of mysterious Neandertal relative
A Denisovan child’s fossil tooth dates to at least 100,000 years ago, researchers say.
- Particle Physics
Newfound particle relies on its charm(s)
First-of-its-kind subatomic particle is composed of two charm quarks and an up quark.
- Quantum Physics
China’s quantum satellite adds two new tricks to its repertoire
Satellite performs quantum teleportation and securely transmits encryption keys.
- Archaeology
Pin-drop test pops Greek amphitheater’s acoustic claims
Analysis of an ancient Greek amphitheater’s ability to carry sounds reveals overblown tour guide claims.
- Anthropology
The southern drawl gets deconstructed
Analysis of the diversity of vowel sounds found in southern accents could help developers of speech recognition software.
