News
- Life
Cracking the body clock code wins trio a Nobel Prize
Circadian clock researchers take home the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum video chat links scientists on two different continents
A Sept. 29 ultrasecure quantum video chat demonstrates the potential for quantum communications across the globe.
- Astronomy
Ice in space might flow like honey and bubble like champagne
Zapping simulated space ice with imitation starlight makes the ice act more like a liquid than a solid, meaning similar ices in space might be good places for organic chemistry.
- Genetics
Ancient boy’s DNA pushes back date of earliest humans
Genes from South African fossils suggest humans emerged close to 300,000 years ago.
- Genetics
A mutation may explain the sudden rise in birth defects from Zika
A mutation in a protein that helps Zika exit cells may play a big role in microcephaly.
- Climate
Tropical forests have flipped from sponges to sources of carbon dioxide
Analyses of satellite images suggest that degraded forests now release more carbon than they store.
- Physics
Trio of detectors tracks gravitational waves to their home
LIGO and Virgo spot spacetime ripples in their first joint detection.
- Tech
Origami outfits help these bots change tasks swiftly
These robots change shape by slipping into different origami exoskeletons.
- Animals
To test sleep, researchers don’t let sleeping jellyfish lie
Upside-down jellyfish are the first known animals without a brain to enter a sleeplike state.
- Physics
Turning up the heat on electrons reveals an elusive physics phenomenon
Heating a strip of platinum creates a “spin current” in the material’s electrons due to the spin Nernst effect.
- Anthropology
Neandertal kids were a lot like kids today — at least in how they grew
Ancient youngster’s spine and brain grew at relatively slow pace.
- Health & Medicine
From day one, a frog’s developing brain is calling the shots
Frog brains help organize muscle and nerve patterns early in development.
