News
- Humans
Drones find signs of a Native American ‘Great Settlement’ beneath a Kansas pasture
An earthwork buried under a cattle ranch may be part of one of the largest Native American settlements ever established north of Mexico.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s what pausing the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial really means
A coronavirus vaccine trial was paused after a volunteer had a possible adverse reaction. Such routine measures help ensure new vaccines are safe.
- Health & Medicine
A sobering breakdown of severe COVID-19 cases shows young adults can’t dismiss it
Of about 3,200 people ages 18 to 34 hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly a quarter entered intensive care, and 10 percent were placed on ventilators.
- Climate
New maps show how warm water may reach Thwaites Glacier’s icy underbelly
New seafloor maps around Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica reveal how deep channels could help warm ocean water melt the glacier from below.
- Science & Society
How COVID-19 worsened gender inequality in the U.S. workforce
Compared with men, the pandemic disproportionately hurt working women, including mothers of young children.
- Animals
This hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing itself solid
To survive cold Andean nights, the black metaltail saves energy by cooling itself to record-low temperatures, entering a state of suspended animation.
- Anthropology
A stray molar is the oldest known fossil from an ancient gibbon
A newly described tooth puts ancestors of these small-bodied apes in India roughly 13 million years ago.
- Animals
Sea butterflies’ shells determine how the snails swim
New aquarium videos show that sea butterflies of various shapes and sizes flutter through water differently.
- Science & Society
Creative school plans could counter inequities exposed by COVID-19
Many K–12 schools this fall are virtual, which could widen the nation’s already large opportunity gaps. What are schools doing to reach all students?
- Life
This parasitic plant eavesdrops on its host to know when to flower
Dodder plants have no leaves to sense when to bloom, so the parasites rely on a chemical cue from their hosts instead.
- Genetics
Strict new guidelines lay out a path to heritable human gene editing
But scientists say making changes in DNA that can be passed on to future generations still isn’t safe and effective, yet.
- Space
A weirdly warped planet-forming disk circles a distant trio of stars
The bizarre geometry of a disk of gas and dust around three stars in the constellation Orion could be formed by “disk tearing” or a newborn planet.
