News
- Astronomy
Signs of a hidden Planet Nine in the solar system may not hold up
Hints of a remote planet relied on clumped up orbits of bodies beyond Neptune. A new study suggests that clumping is an illusion.
- Earth
A magnetic field reversal 42,000 years ago may have contributed to mass extinctions
The weakening of Earth's magnetic field beginning around 42,000 years ago correlates with a cascade of environmental crises, scientists say.
- Astronomy
The first black hole ever discovered is more massive than previously thought
New observations of Cygnus X-1 are leading astronomers to rethink what they know about stars that turn into black holes.
- Health & Medicine
The U.K. approved the world’s first COVID-19 human challenge trial
Dozens of young, healthy volunteers will be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus to find out how much virus it takes to get someone sick.
- Health & Medicine
The COVID-19 death toll sent U.S. life expectancy plunging in 2020
Estimates show that American’s overall life expectancy declined by a year, but for Black Americans, the drop was almost three years.
- Health & Medicine
Some Neandertal genes in people today may protect against severe COVID-19
Neandertal DNA on chromosome 12 may affect genes involved in a biochemical chain reaction that ends with the destruction of viral RNA.
- Genetics
The oldest animal DNA ever recovered reveals mammoths’ evolution
Mammoths evolved to handle the cold over hundreds of thousands of years and North America may been home to a hybrid species, a new study finds.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance rover has touched down on Mars
The spacecraft will arrive at Mars on February 18, joining missions from China and the United Arab Emirates.
- Animals
A rare bird sighting doesn’t lead to seeing more kinds of rare birds
The idea that more kinds of rare birds are seen when birders flock to where one has been seen, the so-called Patagonia Picnic Table Effect, is a myth.
- Anthropology
A body burned inside a hut 20,000 years ago signaled shifting views of death
Ancient hunter-gatherers burned a hut in which they had placed a dead woman, suggesting a change in how death was viewed.
- Plants
Modified genes can distort wild cotton’s interactions with insects
In a Yucatan nature park, engineered genes influence nectar production, affecting ants’ and maybe pollinators’ attraction to the wild cotton plants.
- Psychology
In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat
Boredom contributes to pandemic fatigue and may account for why some people don’t follow social distancing rules.
