News
- Planetary Science
X-ray mystery shrouds Pluto
Chandra telescope detects seven X-ray photons coming from Pluto, suggesting that the solar wind runs into a tail of gas streaming from the dwarf planet.
- Particle Physics
Muon surplus leaves physicists searching for answers
A glut of muons shows up in particle showers in the atmosphere.
- Neuroscience
Shape-shifting molecule aids memory in fruit flies
A prionlike protein may store long-term memories in fruit flies, a new study suggests.
- Genetics
Cancer mutation patterns differ in smokers, nonsmokers
The DNA of smokers shows more damage than the DNA of nonsmokers who have the same kind of cancer.
- Climate
Human CO2 emissions put Arctic on track to be ice-free by 2050
Sea ice is shrinking by about three square meters for each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted, new research suggests.
- Archaeology
People settled Australia’s rugged interior surprisingly early
Ancient colonists Down Under crossed the continent not long after arriving around 50,000 years ago.
- Genetics
Gene gives mice and chipmunks their pinstripes
A recycled regulator paints on rodents’ light stripes.
- Neuroscience
Eyes offer window into brain’s timekeepers
In new experiments of time perception, when pupils were large, monkeys underestimated a second.
- Psychology
Learning curve not so smooth
Preschoolers tend to reach a milestone of social thinking after months of fits and starts.
- Paleontology
Early birds could achieve liftoff
Early birds and other flying dinosaurs had the strong legs and wing speed needed to launch into the air directly from the ground, researchers argue.
- Life
Scientists need to redraw picture of cell’s biggest organelle
A close-up view of the cell’s endoplasmic reticulum reveals a different structure.
- Climate
Climate change shifts how long ants hang on to coveted real estate
Simulated climate warming reveals a new pattern in turnover of ant nests.
