News
- Animals
One blind, aquatic salamander may have sat mostly still for seven years
Olms may live for about century and appear to spend their time moving sparingly.
- Astronomy
Molecular oxygen has been spotted beyond the Milky Way for the first time
Astronomers have detected molecular oxygen in another galaxy for the first time. The discovery is only the third sighting beyond our solar system.
- Archaeology
New cave fossils have revived the debate over Neandertal burials
Part of a Neandertal’s skeleton was found in a hole dug in the same cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where the “flower burial” was found in 1960.
- Neuroscience
Living brain tissue experiments raise new kinds of ethical questions
An ethicist describes the quandaries raised by working with tissue involved in human awareness.
- Science & Society
Turning human bodies into compost works, a small trial suggests
Experiments test the effectiveness and safety of human composting, which may soon be an alternative to burial or cremation in Washington state.
- Artificial Intelligence
Linking sense of touch to facial movement inches robots toward ‘feeling’ pain
Artificial systems that allow a robot to “feel” pain might ultimately lead to empathy.
- Health & Medicine
Very few infants seem to be getting sick with the new coronavirus
Scientists tracking how the outbreak of a novel coronavirus is affecting young children and newborns haven’t seen many cases.
- Computing
AI can predict which criminals may break laws again better than humans
Computer algorithms are better than people at forecasting recidivism, at least in some situations, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Coronavirus’s genetic fingerprints are used to rapidly map its spread
Fast and widespread scientific data sharing and genetic testing have created a picture of how the new coronavirus spreads.
- Animals
Snakes suffered after a frog-killing fungus wiped out their food
A frog-killing fungus that swept through Panama had a hidden effect. A new study finds that snake diversity declined post-fungus at one field station.
- Physics
The fastest way to heat certain materials may be to cool them first
A theoretical study reveals that, in certain situations, some materials might heat up more quickly after first being cooled.
- Animals
Jellyfish snot can sting swimmers who never touch the animal
Researchers have found mobile cellular blobs coated with stinging cells in mucus from a jellyfish that sits upside-down on the seafloor.
