News
- Astronomy
White dwarf’s inner makeup is mapped for the first time
The first map of the internal composition of a white dwarf star shows these stellar corpses contain more oxygen than expected, challenging stellar evolution theories.
- Animals
Blowflies use drool to keep their cool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then reswallow.
- Life
A key virus fighter is implicated in pregnancy woes
In mice, activating a key component of the body’s antiviral machinery in response to a Zika infection can cause harm to developing fetuses.
- Anthropology
‘Laid-back’ bonobos take a shine to belligerents
Unlike people, these apes gravitate toward those who are unhelpful.
- Microbes
These disease-fighting bacteria produce echoes detectable by ultrasound
Ultrasound can help keep tabs on genetically modified bacteria to better fight disease inside the body.
- Earth
A sinking, melting ancient tectonic plate may fuel Yellowstone’s supervolcano
The subduction of an ancient tectonic plate may be the driving force behind Yellowstone’s volcanic eruptions.
- Life
A deadly fungus is infecting snake species seemingly at random
A fungal disease doesn’t appear to discriminate among snake species, suggesting many of the reptiles may be at risk.
- Neuroscience
Specks in the brain attract Alzheimer’s plaque-forming protein
Globs of an inflammatory protein can spur the formation of amyloid-beta clumps, a study in mice shows.
- Astronomy
Smothered jet may explain weird light from neutron star crash
The neutron star collision whose gravitational waves were detected is still glowing in radio waves. The source of those waves might be a new phenomenon.
- Astronomy
The sun’s outer atmosphere is far more complex than previously thought
The outer corona of the sun was thought to be smooth and uniform. New observations show it’s anything but.
- Animals
Specialized protein helps these ground squirrels resist the cold
A less active cold-sensing protein explains, in part, why some hibernating ground squirrels are more tolerant of chilly conditions than the animals’ nonhibernating kin.
- Physics
A new kind of spiral wave embraces disorder
Newly discovered spiral wave chimera is disordered in its center.
