Uncategorized
- Earth
A 2011 earthquake bounced a seismic wave off Earth’s core, nudging Japan east
The wave's round trip to Earth's core set off a fault slip along Japan's plate boundaries, revealing a seismic hazard scientists hadn't recognized.
- Paleontology
A textbook assumption about early land vertebrates may be wrong
Three species that lived about 308 million years ago challenge the idea that the first land vertebrates underwent amphibian-like metamorphosis.
- Science & Society
The truth about brain rot, according to science
Emerging research suggests overusing digital devices can be harmful, especially to mental health. But does being overly online truly rot our brains?
- Health & Medicine
A deadly fungus that can infect cats and people is spreading
It’s just a matter of time before Sporothrix brasiliensis reaches the U.S. a CDC expert says.
- Climate
A ‘Super El Niño’ may be on the way. What does that mean?
Past super El Niños have brought bad flooding, deadly fires and disease outbreaks. Climate experts already expect “shockingly high” temps this winter.
- Archaeology
The oldest known plague outbreak struck hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago
Plague DNA in ancient graves near Siberia's Lake Baikal suggests the disease threatened people long before farming and crowded settlements.
- Science & Society
How real is the Cyclops in The Odyssey?
The iconic one-eyed monster coming to movie screens in July in The Odyssey might have more in common with tiny water critters than with humans.
- Plants
Chinese money plant leaves hide a mathematical pattern
Tiny water-secreting pores appear to organize the major veins of the plant leaves into an arrangement known as a Voronoi diagram.
- Health & Medicine
A blood test for dementia may tell you if you have more than one type
AI helped researchers develop an experimental blood test that might let doctors diagnose overlapping dementias.
- Planetary Science
NASA seems to be backing away from hunting for life on Mars
Viking 1 kicked off the search for Martian life 50 years ago. Now NASA’s shifting priorities are putting the quest in limbo.
- Climate
The North Atlantic’s ‘cold blob’ may signal a major current’s decline
A cold blob of water in the North Atlantic points to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, researchers report.
- Health & Medicine
Why more male than female newborns may get the crucial vitamin K shot
Vitamin K lowers the risk of bleeding, including in a circumcision. That procedure may explain a disparity in which infants are more likely to get the shot.
