News
- Astronomy
New ideas about how stars die help solve a decades-old mystery
New ideas about stellar evolution help explain why astronomers see so many bright planetary nebulae where they ought not be.
- Tech
This self-driving car could one day take you on a real road trip
Most autonomous cars are city drivers. This one’s made for cross-country road trips.
- Health & Medicine
An enzyme involved in cancer and aging gets a close-up
The structure of telomerase, described with the greatest detail yet, may give researchers clues to cancer treatments and other telomerase-related illnesses.
- Genetics
Adapting to life in the north may have been a real headache
A cold-sensing protein has adapted to different local climates, also affecting risk of migraine.
- Planetary Science
NASA gets ready to launch the first lander to investigate Mars’ insides
The InSight lander is launching to Mars on May 5 and is expected to be in position to sense seismic activity by early 2019.
- Health & Medicine
FDA approves the first smallpox treatment
Concerns about bioterrorism fueled the development of the first treatment for smallpox.
- Animals
This ancient fowl bit like a dinosaur and pecked like a bird
A new fossil of Ichthyornis dispar helped scientists create a 3-D reconstruction of the ancient bird’s skull, shedding light on early bird evolution.
- Climate
Bull sharks and bottlenose dolphins are moving north as the ocean warms
Rising temperatures are making ocean waters farther north more hospitable for a variety of marine species.
- Physics
Neutron stars shed neutrinos to cool down quickly
Scientists find the first clear evidence of rapid cooling of a neutron star by neutrino emission.
- Genetics
New genetic sleuthing tools helped track down the Golden State Killer suspect
DNA sleuths may have adapted new techniques for identifying John and Jane Does to track down a serial killer suspect.
- Physics
A DIY take on the early universe may reveal cosmic secrets
A conglomerate of ultracold atoms reproduces some of the physics of the early universe.
- Earth
Pumping water underground for power may have triggered South Korean quake
A 2017 South Korean earthquake may have been caused by human activities, two new studies suggest.
