News
- Earth
More details about the Myanmar earthquake are emerging
A phenomenon called liquefaction, which causes the ground to slump like quicksand, led to significant damage after the Myanmar earthquake. The risk of aftershock remains high.
- Plants
Watch live plant cells build their cell walls
Imaging wall-less plant cells every six minutes for 24 hours revealed how the cells build their protective barriers.
- Particle Physics
Physicists have confirmed a new mismatch between matter and antimatter
Charge-parity violation is thought to explain why there’s more matter than antimatter in the universe. Scientists just spotted it in a new place.
- Health & Medicine
A new antifungal drug works in a surprising way
Mandimycin, which targets a different essential fungi cell resource than other antifungal drugs, should harm other cell types as collateral — but doesn’t.
- Archaeology
Neandertal-like tools found in China present a mystery
A style of primitive stone tools named for the French site where they were first discovered have shown up half a world away.
By Bruce Bower - Climate
Splitting seawater offers a path to sustainable cement production
Cement manufacture is a huge carbon emitter. A by-product of splitting seawater might make the process more environmentally friendly.
- Astronomy
A nebula’s X-ray glow may come from a destroyed giant planet
Decades of constant X-ray emission from the Helix Nebula’s white dwarf suggest debris from a Jupiter-sized planet steadily rains upon the star.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI is helping scientists decode previously inscrutable proteins
A new set of artificial intelligence models could make protein sequencing even more powerful for better understanding cell biology and diseases.
- Earth
3 things to know about the deadly Myanmar earthquake
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake was powerful, shallow and in a heavily populated region with vulnerable buildings.
- Genetics
‘Woolly mice’ were just a start. De-extinction still faces many hurdles
Scientists created transgenic mice with woolly mammoth–like traits. But does it really bring us closer to bringing back woolly mammoths?
By Jason Bittel - Quantum Physics
Physicists are mostly unconvinced by Microsoft’s new topological quantum chip
Majorana qubits could be error resistant. But after a contentious talk at the Global Physics Summit, scientists aren’t convinced Microsoft has them.
- Microbes
Elite athletes’ poop may hold clues to boosting metabolism
In a small study, mice given fecal transplants from elite cyclists and soccer players had higher levels of glycogen, a key energy source.
By Alex Viveros