Science Visualized
- Chemistry
Here’s how long the periodic table’s unstable elements last
Most elements on the periodic table have at least one stable form. But some don’t. Here’s how long those unstable members endure.
- Life
Physics explains how pollen gets its stunning diversity of shapes
These pollen patterns can all be explained by one simple trick of physics: phase separation.
- Plants
How light-farming chloroplasts morph into defensive warriors
Researchers now know which protein triggers light-harvesting plant chloroplasts to turn into cell defenders when a pathogen attacks.
- Animals
This honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker
Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.
- Paleontology
Pterosaurs may have been covered in fur and primitive feathers
A new study provides evidence of plumelike structures in ancient flying reptiles.
- Earth
Erosion has erased most of Earth’s impact craters. Here are the survivors
Earth’s largest known impact crater measures 160 kilometers in diameter. The newest, yet to be confirmed, stretches a still-whopping 31 kilometers.
- Planetary Science
Saturn’s moon Dione has stripes like no others in the solar system
Icy moon Dione has long, thin, bright lines at its equator that run surprisingly parallel to each other for tens to hundreds of kilometers.
- Life
Dandelion seeds create a bizarre whirlpool in the air to fly
Researchers have deciphered the physics underlying dandelion flight.
- Life
See these dazzling images of a growing mouse embryo
A new microscope creates intimate home movies of mice embryos taking shape, and could shed light on the mysterious process of mammalian development.
- Animals
How math helps explain the delicate patterns of dragonfly wings
Scientists have found a mathematical explanation for the complex patterns on the wings of dragonflies and other insects.
- Planetary Science
The ghosts of nearly two dozen icy volcanoes haunt dwarf planet Ceres
The slumped remains of 21 ice volcanoes suggest that the dwarf planet Ceres has been volcanically active for billions of years.
- Chemistry
See the ‘periodic table’ of molecular knots
A new table of knots points the way to twisting molecules in increasingly complex pretzels.
