News in Brief
- Earth
Volcanic lightning forges tiny glass balls from airborne ash
The lightning that crackles through volcanic plumes can melt ash into tiny glass beads.
- Astronomy
Hundreds of galaxies seen in a new 3-D view of the universe
A new instrument lets astronomers measure the distances to hundreds of galaxies at once, looking back across the age of the universe.
- Health & Medicine
Secondhand smoke exposure in womb linked to eczema in childhood
Secondhand smoke exposure in the womb may heighten risk of eczema and other dermatitis in children, a study finds.
- Chemistry
Iron nanoparticles snatch uranium
With a dash of iron nanoparticles and a magnet, researchers can quickly harvest radioactive fuel.
- Humans
Breast-feeding newborns might limit their allergy to pets later
Breast-feeding newborns might limit their allergy to pets later by inducing a protective mix of gut microbes in the baby.
- Climate
Coastal Los Angeles losing fog to urban sprawl
Fog in parts of Southern California has become significantly less frequent due to urban warming.
- Anthropology
Wheat reached England before farming
European hunter-gatherers may have traded for agricultural products 8,000 years ago.
- Plants
Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
- Climate
Scientists confirm amassing CO2 heats Earth’s surface
Rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase the amount of thermal radiation striking Earth’s surface.
- Paleontology
Hippo history extracted from fossil teeth found in Kenya
Fossilized teeth from the newly identified Epirigenys lokonensis, an ancestor of the hippopotamus, are filling in some of the mammoth mammal’s history.
- Life
Gene study digs into partnership between fungi and plants
Fungal genes for symbiotic relationship with plants evolved a few times, and relatively recently, a study suggests.
- Animals
Ocean animals have bulked up since ancient eras
Marine animals today are much larger on average than they were in the Cambrian Period.
