News
- Tech
Chameleon-like robot can change hue
Dye-filled microchannels help machine blend in, or stick out.
- Space
Giant cluster phenomenally fertile
Stars form at an impressive rate thanks to a snoozing black hole at the center of the massive object.
- Health & Medicine
Brain’s hidden sewers revealed
Specialized cells host a hitherto unknown cleansing system.
- Planetary Science
Dawn mission to die another day
A glitch does not threaten the spacecraft’s survival, but it will delay an upcoming visit to the dwarf planet Ceres.
- Life
Mantis shrimp flub color vision test
Unexpectedly poor results on crustacean eye exams suggest there’s another way to perceive color.
- Earth
Antibacterial agent can weaken muscle
Triclosan impairs the power of the heart and other muscles in two species and at relatively low doses.
- Life
Smell deals with deprivation differently
One odor-related brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex keeps the sense primed for resumed input during a cold.
- Humans
Good times led to grisly custom
Ancient Chileans developed artificial mummification after an increase in the numbers of living and dead people made naturally preserved bodies hard to ignore.
- Physics
Molecules get a big chill
A new cooling method takes big groups of atoms closer to long-sought temperatures for exploring the nature of matter.
- Tech
Camera hack can spot cleaned-up crimes
Exploiting a standard tool of art conservation can help police find painted-over bloodstains.
- Chemistry
Method puts wrinkles in neat little rows
MIT researchers have discovered how to create perfect patterns of microscopic wrinkles.
- Earth
Global groundwater use outpaces supply
Footprint measure reveals unsustainable use of the world’s aquifers.
