News
- Space
A black hole eruption marks the most powerful explosion ever spotted
Hundreds of millions of years ago, a black hole blasted out roughly 100 billion times as much energy as the sun is expected to emit in its lifetime.
- Animals
Glowing frogs and salamanders may be surprisingly common
A widespread ability to glow in striking greens, yellows and oranges could make amphibians easier to track down in the wild.
- Planetary Science
An ancient magma ocean may have once driven Earth’s magnetic field
Computer simulations of molten silicate under extreme temperatures and pressures may have just filled in a gap in the history of Earth’s magnetism.
- Planetary Science
China’s moon rover revealed what lies beneath the lunar farside
China’s Yutu-2 rover found layers of fine sand and coarse gravel under the surface of the moon’s farside.
- Humans
Evolving an arch across the foot’s width helped hominids walk upright
The arch across the foot evolved at least 3.4 million years ago, possibly before the lengthwise arch. Both arches help humans to walk and run.
- Climate
Ordering from a local store can curb online shopping’s CO₂ emissions
Online shopping isn’t necessarily better for the environment than going to the store in person, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Coronavirus’ spread in the U.S. may be a question of when, not if
The virus that causes COVID-19 is likely to gain a foothold in U.S. communities, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Health & Medicine
We may be on the brink of a coronavirus pandemic. Here’s what that means
The coronavirus behind COVID-19 has not yet reached pandemic status, according the WHO, but we could be close.
- Archaeology
South Asian toolmaking withstood the biggest volcanic blast in 2 million years
Toolmakers continued to strike sharp-edged flakes as usual after a volcano’s colossal eruption around 74,000 years ago on what’s now Sumatra Island.
- Space
NASA icon Katherine Johnson has died at the age of 101
The “Hidden Figure” captured the public’s admiration after the story of her career was publicized in a 2016 book and film.
- Space
What NASA’s InSight lander has learned about Mars’ magnetism and quakes
In its first 10 months, the InSight lander detected Marsquakes and an unexpectedly strong magnetic field at its landing site on the Red Planet.
- Physics
This fundamental constant of nature remains the same even near a black hole
A number that sets the strength of electromagnetic interactions isn’t altered by the extreme gravity around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole.
