News

Health & Medicine

Manipulating nerve cells makes mice ‘see’ something that’s not there

Using optogenetics to stimulate about 20 nerve cells causes mice to perceive nonexistent vertical or horizontal lines.

Materials Science

Permanent liquid magnets have now been created in the lab

Magnets that generate persistent magnetic fields are usually solid. But new little bar magnets have the mechanical properties of liquids.

Paleontology

A flexible bone that helps mammals chew dates back to the Jurassic Period

A flexible bone that helps with chewing may have helped give rise to the Age of Mammals, a new fossil shows.

Genetics

This gene may help worms live longer, but not healthier

Antiaging therapies may have trade-offs, research on worms suggests.

Cosmology

Scientists still can’t agree on the universe’s expansion rate

A mismatch in measurements of how fast the universe is expanding might not be real, a study hints.

Astronomy

Gaps in gas disks around stars may not always mark newborn planets

New research has prompted a rethink of the theory that gaps in planet-forming disks around young stars mark spaces where planets are being created.

Climate

‘Sunny day’ high tide floods are on the rise along U.S. coasts

Sea level rise led to record-breaking tidal flooding in cities along the U.S. East Coast, a NOAA report found.

Life

Spraying bats with ‘good’ bacteria may combat deadly white nose syndrome

Nearly half of bats infected with white nose syndrome survived through winter after being spritzed with antifungal bacteria, a small study finds.

Tech

This solar-powered device produces energy and cleans water at the same time

Someday, the two-for-one machine could help curb electricity and freshwater shortages.

Earth

3 questions seismologists are asking after the California earthquakes

After back-to-back quakes, scientists are scrambling to figure out which faults ruptured and what it means for future California quake activity.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has now pretty much conquered poker

A new artificial intelligence called Pluribus is a real card shark at six-player no-limit Texas Hold’em.

Planetary Science

Hayabusa2 may have just snagged bits of asteroid Ryugu’s insides

In its second sampling attempt, Hayabusa2 became the first spacecraft to try to pick up some of an asteroid’s guts.