News
- Astronomy
A supermassive black hole orbiting a bigger one revealed itself with a flash
A supermassive black hole binary system has puzzled astronomers for decades. Now they’ve finally seen direct signals from the smaller of the two.
- Chemistry
One photon is all it takes to kick off photosynthesis
A single particle of light is the spark that begins the process of turning light to chemical energy in photosynthetic bacteria, a new study confirms.
- Astronomy
Jupiter-sized planets are very rare around the least massive stars
A six-year search of 200 nearby low-mass red dwarf stars found no Jupiter-like planets, boosting the standard theory for how such planets form.
- Animals
Camouflaging wheat with a wheat smell could be a new approach to pest control
Wheat fields coated in wheat germ oil confuse the noses of mice, reducing seed loss by more than 60 percent, a new study finds.
- Animals
Bowhead whales may have a cancer-defying superpower: DNA repair
Bowhead whale cells repair damaged DNA exceptionally well, an ability that could prevent cancer and help the marine mammals live for centuries
- Space
A cyclone has been spotted swirling over Uranus’ north pole for the first time
Voyager 2 hinted at a cyclone at Uranus’ south pole. Now Earth-based observations give the first direct evidence of a storm at the ice giant’s north pole.
- Archaeology
An old perfume bottle reveals what some ancient Romans smelled like
Chemical analyses reveal that an unopened flask of perfume from 2,000 years ago contained patchouli, a common ingredient in modern perfumes.
- Climate
Wildfire smoke is blanketing the U.S. East Coast. It won’t be the last time
Climate change will continue to exacerbate fire risk across the world’s boreal forests, making events like the dangerous smoke over the U.S. East Coast more common.
- Environment
Rising groundwater threatens to spread toxic pollution on U.S. coastlines
Sea level rise is pushing groundwater into shallower layers of earth, threatening to spread hazardous chemicals from contaminated soils.
- Environment
Surviving a drought may help forests weather future dry spells
Climate change is making droughts more intense and frequent, but conifer forests have a trick up their sleeve, airplane and satellite data show.
- Planetary Science
JWST captured Enceladus’ plume spraying water nearly 10,000 kilometers into space
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals the rate at which Saturn’s moon Enceladus spews water and where that water ends up.
- Anthropology
These ancient flutes may have been used to lure falcons
Seven bird-bone flutes unearthed from a site in northern Israel are about 12,000 years old and may have been used as bird calls.
