News
- 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.
- Astronomy
Our first interstellar visitor may be a camouflaged comet
Originally thought to be a rocky asteroid, an interstellar traveler may have a comet’s icy heart.
- Astronomy
AI has found an 8-planet system like ours in Kepler data
An AI spotted an eighth planet circling a distant star, unseating the solar system as the sole record-holder for most known planets.
- Climate
These weather events turned extreme thanks to human-driven climate change
Ruling out natural variability, scientists say several of 2016’s extreme weather events wouldn’t have happened without human-caused climate change.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s rings are surprisingly young and may be from shredded moons
Final data from the Cassini spacecraft put a date and a mass on the gas giant’s iconic rings.
- Science & Society
U.S. religion is increasingly polarized
Organized religion in the United States increasingly belongs to fervent believers, a new study finds.
