News
- Earth
Speed bumps under Thwaites Glacier could help slow its flow to the sea
A seismic survey of Thwaites’ icy underbelly shows the Antarctica glacier may be snagging on tall rises in land. That could help slow global sea level rise.
- Physics
Invisible comet tails of mucus slow sinking flakes of ‘marine snow’
New measurements reveal the gunk that surrounds the particles, an important factor in understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon.
- Climate
3 Antarctic glaciers show rapidly accelerated ice loss from ocean warming
Destabilized by ocean waves and vanishing sea ice, Antarctica’s Hektoria glacier lost 25 kilometers of ice in 16 months — a possible hint of what’s to come.
- Animals
Here are 5 questions about the mystery dog illness making news
Experts suspect a perfect storm of conditions, rather than a new bug, is what’s driving “atypical kennel cough” cases in dogs across the United States.
- Climate
COP28 nations agreed to ‘transition’ from fossil fuels. That’s too slow, experts say
COP28 ended with a historic climate agreement to begin moving away from fossil fuels, but stopped short of mandating phasing them out.
- Oceans
Ocean heat waves often lurk out of sight
About 1 in 3 marine heat waves occur below the surface, a new study reports, suggesting these harmful events are more common than previously thought.
- Animals
When do cats play fetch? When they feel like it
Most cats that play fetch picked it up on their own, a study of cat owners suggests. The felines tend to dictate when a fetching session begins and ends.
- Astronomy
A bar of stars at the center of the Milky Way looks surprisingly young
The ages and locations of metal-rich stars in the galaxy suggest the Milky Way’s central bar finished forming just a few billion years ago.
- Animals
A new species of hedgehog stands out for its short spikes
At first, the eastern forest hedgehog was mistaken for its cousin. Dental and DNA analyses eventually confirmed the critter is a species new to science.
- Animals
Why do some lizards and snakes have horns?
These reptiles’ horns can be an asset or a liability. A new study looks at the evolutionary roots of this wild headgear.
- Health & Medicine
A gene editing technique shows promise for lowering LDL cholesterol
In a trial of 10 people with familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic medicine reduced levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood by up to 55 percent.
- Astronomy
How tiny red stars can test ideas about the origin of life
A survey of ultracool dwarf stars finds they don’t emit enough UV light to kick-start life, but they could reveal other ways for life to get going.
