News
- Earth
Hurricane Dorian’s slow pace makes it dangerous and hard to predict
Hurricane Dorian is one of several recent hurricanes that moved extremely slowly. Whether that's due to climate change isn't yet clear.
- Space
Iron sulfide may be keeping Mercury’s core toasty and its magnetic field alive
New estimates of how much heat Mercury’s core loses could explain why the tiny world has a long-lived magnetic field.
- Earth
How ancient oceans of magma may have boosted Earth’s oxygen levels
Chemical reactions involving iron could have increased the amount of oxygen-rich compounds in the early Earth’s mantle, lab experiments suggest.
- Space
Overnight changes in Mars’ atmosphere could solve a methane mystery
Overnight atmospheric changes on Mars can explain why two spacecraft measure vastly different concentrations of methane.
- Life
Human meddling has manipulated the shapes of different dog breeds’ brains
By analyzing the shape of different dog breeds’ brains, researchers show how humans have manipulated the animals’ brain anatomy.
- Life
Fly fossils might challenge the idea of ancient trilobites’ crystal eyes
Fossilized crane flies from 54 million years ago probably got their crystal lenses after death.
- Physics
A predicted superconductor might work at a record-breaking 200° Celsius
A material made of hydrogen, lithium and magnesium and squeezed to high pressures may be a superconductor even at especially high temperatures.
- Humans
Stone tools may place some of the first Americans in Idaho 16,500 years ago
Newly discovered stone artifacts support the idea that North America’s first settlers traveled down the Pacific coast and then turned eastward.
- Genetics
There’s no evidence that a single ‘gay gene’ exists
Many genetic factors with small effects combine with one’s environment to influence sexual behavior, researchers say.
- Neuroscience
Clumps of cells in the lab spontaneously formed brain waves
Nerve cells fired coordinated signals in brain organoids, 3-D clusters of cells that mimic some aspects of early brain development.
- Humans
A 3.8-million-year-old skull reveals the face of Lucy’s possible ancestors
A fossilized hominid skull found in an Ethiopian desert illuminates the earliest-known Australopithecus species.
- Tech
A chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone
Silicon’s reign in cutting-edge electronics may soon over. The carbon nanotube could be its successor.
