News
- Physics
The first room-temperature superconductor has finally been found
A compound of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur conducts electricity without resistance up to 15° C, but there’s a catch: It works only under high pressure.
- Plants
How Venus flytraps store short-term ‘memories’ of prey
Glowing Venus flytraps reveal how calcium buildup in the cells of leaves acts as a short-term “memory” that helps the plants identify prey.
- Animals
Glowing blue helps shield this tardigrade from harmful ultraviolet light
Tardigrades have a newly discovered trick up their sleeve: fluorescence.
- Animals
Pufferfish may be carving mysterious ‘crop circles’ near Australia
In 2011, scientists discovered that tiny pufferfish were sculpting Japan’s underwater “mystery circles.” Now, more circles have emerged in Australia.
- Physics
Fundamental constants place a new speed limit on sound
Physicists propose a new maximum rate that sound waves can travel under conditions normally found on Earth — 36 kilometers per second.
- Science & Society
Easy interventions like revamping forms help people show up to court
A new study shows that simple behavioral interventions called nudges can help people avoid a missed court appearance and resulting arrest warrant.
- Space
The asteroid Bennu’s brittle boulders may make grabbing a sample easier
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is about to collect a bit of asteroid Bennu. Here’s why it’s good that new research suggests its boulders are brittle.
- Oceans
Large-scale changes in Earth’s climate may originate in the Pacific
A new study suggests that the melting of Alaska’s glaciers into the North Pacific could have far-ranging effects on ocean circulation and the climate.
- Anthropology
Neandertal babies had stocky chests like their parents
Our evolutionary relatives may have inherited short, deep rib cages from their ancient ancestors.
- Genetics
Gene-editing tool CRISPR wins the chemistry Nobel
A gene-editing tool developed just eight years ago that has “revolutionized the life sciences” nabbed the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
- Archaeology
Bones from an Iron Age massacre paint a violent picture of prehistoric Europe
Bones left unburied, and in one case still wearing jewelry, after a massacre add to evidence that prehistoric Europe was a violent place.
- Physics
Black hole revelations win the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics
The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to a trio of scientists for their work on the most mysterious objects in the universe: black holes.
