News
- Health & Medicine
What does COVID-19 vaccine efficacy mean?
The initial goal for a vaccine against COVID-19 is to reduce cases of the disease by at least 50 percent in those vaccinated versus those not.
- Health & Medicine
Neandertal genes in people today may raise risk of severe COVID-19
People in South Asia and Europe are more likely to carry a genetic heirloom from Neandertals linked to susceptibility to the coronavirus.
- Animals
This snake rips a hole in living toads’ stomachs to feast on their organs
A particularly gruesome way to kill may help small-banded kukri snakes avoid toxins secreted from the neck and backs of some toads.
- Tech
A new thermometer measures temperature with sound
An acoustic thermometer takes temperature by listening to the faint hum that objects give off when they get hot.
- Life
A new map shows where Asian giant hornets could thrive in the U.S.
Suitable habitat along the Pacific West Coast means so-called “murder hornets” could get a foothold in North America if they aren’t eradicated.
- Space
The first black hole image helped test general relativity in a new way
The Event Horizon Telescope’s iconic image of the black hole at the center of galaxy M87 once again shows Einstein was right.
- Life
Before migrating, some blue whales switch up the timing of their songs
Pacific blue whales change the daily timing of their songs ahead of migration, helping scientists better anticipate these massive animals’ movements.
- Climate
By 2100, Greenland will be losing ice at its fastest rate in 12,000 years
The rate of loss of Greenland’s ice will soar over the next century even with greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
- Astronomy
The Milky Way’s most massive star cluster may have eaten a smaller cluster
Observations of newfound stars suggest how the gathering of stars at the galaxy’s core grew so big.
- Environment
Invasive jumping worms damage U.S. soil and threaten forests
Also known as snake worms, these writhing wrigglers turn forest leaf litter into bare ground, changing soil composition and ecosystems as they go.
- Space
A ‘lake’ on Mars may be surrounded by more pools of water
Radar data hint at patches of liquid water beneath Martian polar ice, but some urge caution in interpreting results.
- Physics
A stop-motion experiment reveals supercooled water’s dual nature
Scientists found signs that water cooled well below freezing consists of two different arrangements of molecules.
