News
-
Quantum Physics
New quantum computers can operate at higher temperatures
Silicon chips operate at higher temperatures than many others, raising hopes for building quantum integrated circuits.
-
Physics
Here’s how the periodic table gets new elements
Today’s scientists keep adding to the periodic table. But an element has to earn its spot.
-
Animals
Cold War nuclear test residue offers a clue to whale sharks’ ages
One unexpected legacy of the Cold War: Chemical traces of atomic bomb tests are helping scientists figure out whale shark ages.
-
Astronomy
‘Oumuamua might be a shard of a broken planet
A new origin story for the solar system’s first known interstellar visitor suggests it may have been part of a world that got shredded by its star.
-
Math
To cook a perfect steak, use math
As a steak cooks in an oven, movement of liquid within the meat causes it to become extra juicy in the center in a way that can be predicted by mathematics.
-
Animals
Seabirds may find food at sea by flying in a massive, kilometers-wide arc
Radar shows that seabird groups can fly together in giant “rake” formations. If they are cooperating to find food, it’s on a scale not yet seen in the birds.
By Jake Buehler -
Health & Medicine
Why African-Americans may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19
African-Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans, data show. Experts blame long-standing health disparities.
By Sujata Gupta -
Health & Medicine
Meet Sophia Upshaw, a volunteer in a coronavirus vaccine trial
In Seattle and Atlanta, scientists have started testing the safety of a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
-
Physics
A year after the first black hole image, the EHT has been stymied by the coronavirus
With this year’s observing run canceled due to the coronavirus, the Event Horizon Telescope team is analyzing data from 2017 and 2018.
-
Health & Medicine
Can fabric masks stem the coronavirus’ spread?
It’s unclear whether homemade masks made from fabric will prevent an infected person from spreading the virus to others, experts say.
-
Paleontology
Two primate lineages crossed the Atlantic millions of years ago
Peruvian primate fossils point to a second ocean crossing by a now-extinct group roughly 35 million to 32 million years ago.
By Bruce Bower -
Physics
Collisions reveal new evidence of ‘anyon’ quasiparticles’ existence
Scientists report evidence that a class of particle called an anyon appears in two-dimensional materials.