Notebook
- Tech
Space tourism’s price tag rockets upward
The “high price” of space tourism proposed in the 1960s is nowhere close to the astronomical price tag of trips today.
By Nsikan Akpan - Earth
Death Valley’s sailing stones caught on the move
Mysterious sailing stones wandering around Death Valley are powered by ice and wind.
- Paleontology
World’s largest dinosaur discovered
A plant-eating dinosaur named Dreadnoughtus schrani has claimed the record for most massive land animal discovered to date.
By Meghan Rosen - Health & Medicine
Tiny mites are probably crawling all over your face
Two skin mites, relatives of spiders, might populate the faces of all adult humans, according to a DNA survey.
By Nsikan Akpan - Animals
Antarctic midge sports tiniest insect genome
Antarctic midge‘s genetic minimalism achieved by skipping a lot of repetitive stretches.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Bumphead parrot fish declare their arrival with a crunch
Months of swimming with the coral-biter bumpheads exposes the animal’s extreme digestion and also a conservation dilemma.
By Susan Milius - Life
New gut-dwelling virus is surprisingly common
It’s not clear yet whether the bacteriophage crAssphage, found in people’s intestines, has any health effects.
- Astronomy
Distance to quasars debated
Some astronomers thought quasars were buzzing around our galaxy; turns out these starlike objects live on the other side of the universe.
- Animals
New subspecies of Philippine tarsier discovered
Genetic tests settle a taxonomic debate surrounding Philippine tarsier, one of the world’s smallest primates.
By Nsikan Akpan - Materials Science
Nature-inspired camouflage changes its looks with light
Thin, flexible new material steals the color-shifting capabilities of cephalopod skin.
By Beth Mole - Planetary Science
To explain asteroid composition, scientists invoke nuts
Brazil nut effect may explain why only large boulders dot surfaces of asteroids.
- Health & Medicine
Survey catalogs what is stressing out Americans
Along with work and other responsibilities, health problems are prominent causes of stress.