News
- Animals
Bloodthirsty vampire bats like to drink with friends over strangers
Cooperation among vampire bats extends beyond the roost. New research suggests that bonded bats often drink blood from animals together.
- Genetics
DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled
Modern genetic evidence suggests that statue builders on islands such as Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, had a shared ancestry.
- Physics
Whirling maple seeds inspired these tiny flying sensors
Scientists envision that small objects modeled after maple tree whirligigs could be used to monitor the environment.
- Health & Medicine
Why only some people will get COVID-19 booster shots at first
In the United States, boosters may next go to people 65 and older, those at high risk for severe disease and people whose jobs put them at high exposure risk.
- Quantum Physics
One of nature’s key constants is much larger in a quantum material
The fine-structure constant is 10 times its normal value in the material, giving a peek into what physics in an alternate universe could look like.
- Health & Medicine
Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and works well for kids ages 5–11
A lower dose of the vaccine produced as many antibodies in elementary school–age kids as a full-dose shot did in teens and young adults.
- Astronomy
Satellite swarms may outshine the night sky’s natural constellations
Simulations suggest that satellite “mega-constellations” will be visible to the naked eye all night long in some locations.
- Paleontology
Fossil tracks may reveal an ancient elephant nursery
Fossilized footprints at a site in Spain include those of an extinct elephant’s newborns, suggesting the animals may have used the area as a nursery.
- Archaeology
Stone Age people used bone scrapers to make leather and pelts
African cave finds include remains of skinned creatures and hide scrapers made from animal ribs.
- Climate
Australian fires in 2019–2020 had even more global reach than previously thought
Recent devastating wildfires in Australia added vast amounts of carbon dioxide to the air and triggered blooms of marine algae in the Southern Ocean.
- Agriculture
Potty-trained cattle could help reduce pollution
About a dozen calves have been trained to pee in a stall. Toilet training cows on a large scale could cut down on pollution, researchers say.
- Earth
How AI can help forecast how much Arctic sea ice will shrink
Trained on sea ice observations and climate simulations, IceNet is 95 percent accurate in forecasting sea ice extent two months in advance.
