News
- Oceans
A massive net is being deployed to pick up plastic in the Pacific
As the Ocean Cleanup project embarks, critics remain unconvinced that scooping up debris is the best way to solve the ocean’s plastic problem.
- Health & Medicine
Teens born from assisted pregnancies may have higher blood pressure
Kids born from reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization are susceptible to high blood pressure as adolescents, a small study finds.
- Psychology
Huge ‘word gap’ holding back low-income children may not exist after all
The claim that poor children hear fewer words than kids from higher-income families faces a challenge.
- Climate
As temperatures rise, so do insects’ appetites for corn, rice and wheat
Hotter, hungrier pests likely to do 10 percent to 25 percent more damage to grains for each warmer degree.
- Physics
The strength of gravity has been measured to new precision
Researchers have measured Newton’s gravitational constant, known as Big G, with the greatest precision yet.
- Particle Physics
Electrons surf protons’ waves in a new kind of particle accelerator
For the first time, scientists accelerated electrons using plasma waves from proton beams.
- Earth
Artificial intelligence could improve predictions for where quake aftershocks will hit
Scientists trained an artificial intelligence system to figure out where aftershocks are likely to occur.
- Health & Medicine
The United States and Brazil top the list of nations with the most gun deaths
Globally, the estimated number of gun deaths due to homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries went up from 1990 to 2016.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum computer simulates two types of bizarre materials
In calculations involving about 2,000 quantum bits, a D-Wave machine reproduced the behavior of exotic substances.
- Health & Medicine
As algae blooms increase, scientists seek better ways to predict these toxic tides
Scientists around the United States are developing programs that can predict harmful algal blooms in advance.
- Astronomy
Strange gamma rays from the sun may help decipher its magnetic fields
The sun spits out more and weirder gamma rays than anyone expected, which could give a new view of the sun’s magnetic fields.
- Chemistry
Lithium-oxygen batteries are getting an energy boost
A new version of the lithium-oxygen battery could pack more energy and last longer than its predecessors.
