News
- Space
Six months in space leads to a decade’s worth of long-term bone loss
Even after a year of recovery in Earth’s gravity, astronauts who’d been in space six months or more still had bone loss equal to a decade of aging.
- Health & Medicine
New COVID-19 boosters could contain bits of the omicron variant
The omicron variant is different enough from the original version to require an update to COVID-19 vaccines, experts say.
- Paleontology
Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever
Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.
- Tech
A neck patch for athletes could help detect concussions early
The small sensor is sleeker and cheaper than other devices used to monitor neck strain in athletes.
- Archaeology
Britons’ tools from 560,000 years ago have emerged from gravel pits
A new study confirms that an archaeological site in southeastern England called Fordwich is one of the oldest hominid sites in the country.
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- Health & Medicine
Monkeypox is not a global health emergency for now, WHO says
The decision comes as the outbreak of the disease related to smallpox continues to spread, affecting at least 4,100 people in 46 countries as of June 24.
- Health & Medicine
5 misunderstandings of pregnancy biology that cloud the abortion debate
The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Roe v. Wade shifts decisions about related health care to states. Accurate science is often missing in those talks.
- Environment
Earth’s oldest known wildfires raged 430 million years ago
430-million-year-old fossilized charcoal suggests atmospheric oxygen levels of at least 16 percent, the amount needed for fire to take hold and spread.
- Microbes
This giant bacterium is the largest one found yet
On average, Thiomargarita magnifica measures 1 centimeter long and maxes out at 2 centimeters. It is 50 times larger than other giant bacteria.
- Paleontology
Vampire squid are gentle blobs. But this ancestor was a fierce hunter
New fossil analyses of 164-million-year-old ancestors of today’s vampire squid show the ancient cephalopods had muscular bodies and powerful suckers.
- Chemistry
Cats chewing on catnip boosts the plant’s insect-repelling powers
When cats tear up catnip, it increases the amount of insect-repelling chemicals released by the plants.
