News
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s rings explained
A huge shattered moon could have sprayed ice particles around the newborn planet.
- Life
Rooting for swarm intelligence in plants
Researchers argue for a type of vegetative group decision making usually associated with humans and social animals, and go out on a limb by also proposing that information may be transmitted electrically.
- Chemistry
Locks to learn
A new way to probe interactions between pairs of hairs could offer insights into fly-aways and other tonsorial woes.
- Psychology
Face memory peaks late, after age 30
Striking an unanticipated blow for mature thinkers, 30- to 34-year-olds have the best face memory.
- Health & Medicine
A protein’s ebb and flow
Buildup in the brain of a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease may be due to reduced clearance rather than overproduction of the protein.
- Space
Collider in the sky
Protons buffeted by stellar winds in the Eta Carinae star system are accelerated to energies comparable to the maximum power of the world’s biggest particle smasher.
- Earth
Clouds warm things up
Satellite data from the last decade put hard numbers on a key and little-understood climate player.
- Space
Planet in the sky with diamonds
Scientists have discovered a Jupiter-sized orb with a mostly carbon atmosphere 1,200 light-years distant, the first time astronomers have detected such a world.
- Life
Jigsaw genetics
Fragments of a fetus's genome can be pieced together from the mother's blood to allow prenatal diagnosis of genetic diseases.
- Health & Medicine
New blood test may predict some heart risk
People carrying high levels of a protein called cardiac troponin T are more likely to have heart failure or die from cardiovascular problems, two studies show.
- Space
Crab nebula outbursts shock astronomers
Short-lived gamma-ray flares recently recorded from the Crab nebula supernova remnant, known for its steady emissions, are perplexing researchers and forcing them to consider new models for particle acceleration.
- Space
Beast at galaxy core sits, lacking spin
New observations suggest that the Milky Way's central black hole rotates slowly or not at all, reinforcing its image as a gentle gravitational giant.
