News
- Space
A comet doubleheader
Astronomers have discovered the first comet that appears to be a contact binary — two chunks somehow held together by a narrow neck of material.
- Space
Askew in the outer solar system
A chunk of ice orbiting backwards around the sun could offer hints about the mysterious origin of some comets.
- Space
Sniping at Jupiter
Giant Jupiter, often thought to protect the inner planets from space debris, may sometimes acts as a sniper, hurling material toward Earth.
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- Earth
Salinity sensors
Trace elements in the carbonate shells of freshwater mussels could serve as an archive of road salt pollution.
- Health & Medicine
Bad air for growing brains and minds
Preliminary evidence suggests that children’s regular exposure to heavy air pollution can be accompanied by brain inflammation and lowered scores on intelligence tests.
- Math
An infinite beautiful mind
Theorem identifies cases in which infinite-choice games will have at least one Nash equilibrium.
- Math
Numbers don’t add up for U.S. girls
Culture may turn potentially high achievers away from math, new study suggests.
- Life
Parenthood: Male sharks need not apply
A second case of a virgin shark birth suggests some female sharks may be able to reproduce without males.
- Life
Climate warms, creatures head for the hills
Unusual data let scientists test predictions that global warming drives species up slopes.
- Life
Community of one
Scientists have discovered how a single bacterial species living in a gold mine in South Africa survives on its own. Its genome contains everything it needs to live independently.
- Paleontology
New arthropod species really stuck together
Recent fossil discovery shows that new species of arthropod formed chains, raising the possibility of communal behavior.
