News

Space

Interstellar comet Borisov has an unexpected amount of carbon monoxide

The second known visitor from outside the solar system has three times as much CO relative to H2O than any comet seen in the inner solar system.

Planetary Science

Unlike Earth, the gases in Venus’ atmosphere aren’t uniformly mixed

Measurements of Venus’ atmospheric nitrogen show that a planet’s upper atmosphere doesn’t necessarily match the lower atmosphere.

Life

Toxin-producing bacteria can make this newt deadly

Bacteria living on the skin of some rough-skinned newts produce tetrodotoxin, a paralytic chemical also found in pufferfish.

Physics

Gravitational waves have revealed the first unevenly sized black hole pair

For the first time, LIGO and Virgo scientists spotted gravitational waves produced when one big black hole merged with a smaller one.

Humans

Here’s where things stand on COVID-19 tests in the U.S.

Government officials are weighing how to loosen social distancing measures across the United States, but that hinges on widespread COVID-19 testing.

Chemistry

Ancient recipes led scientists to a long-lost natural blue

Led by medieval texts, scientists hunted down a plant and extracted from its tiny fruits a blue watercolor whose origins had long been a mystery.

Space

A weird stellar explosion may have caused the brightest supernova yet seen

Astronomers may have spotted the first known example of a rare “pulsational pair-instability” supernova.

Health & Medicine

Why 6 feet may not be enough social distance to avoid COVID-19

Scientists who study airflow warn that virus-laden drops may travel farther than thought.

Climate

Climate change made a southwestern U.S. drought one of the worst in 1,200 years

Tree ring records show that the 2000–2018 drought in southwestern North America is among the most severe to strike the region in over a millennium.

Earth

Forecasters predict a very active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season

Warmer ocean temperatures could fuel a very active Atlantic hurricane season, with one forecast predicting 18 named storms, including nine hurricanes.

Physics

A star orbiting the Milky Way’s giant black hole confirms Einstein was right

An oddity previously seen in Mercury’s orbit has been spotted in a star circling the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center.

Health & Medicine

COVID-19 may be most contagious one to two days before symptoms appear

The coronavirus probably spreads the most before symptoms appear, making containing viral transmission harder.