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Astronomy

A 3-D model of the Cat’s Eye nebula shows rings sculpted by jets

The Cat’s Eye is one of the most complex nebulae known. A 3-D reconstruction reveals the source of some of that complexity.

Life

This ancient worm might be an important evolutionary missing link

A roughly 520-million-year-old fossil may be the common ancestor of a diverse collection of marine invertebrates.

Archaeology

Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands

Urban growth around 4,600 years ago, near what is now southern Iraq, occurred on marshy outposts that lacked a city center.

Paleontology

Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be rare flukes after all

Bite marks on a fossilized dinosaur upend the idea that exquisite skin preservation must result from a carcass's immediate smothering under sediment.

Neuroscience

Clumps of human nerve cells thrived in rat brains

New results suggest that environment matters for the development of brain organoids, 3-D nerve cell clusters that grow and mimic the human brain.

Planetary Science

NASA’s DART mission successfully shoved an asteroid

Data obtained since the spacecraft intentionally crashed into an asteroid show that the impact altered the space rock’s orbit even more than intended.

Astronomy

The James Webb Space Telescope spied the earliest born stars yet seen

The stars, found in the first released science image from the James Webb Space Telescope, probably winked into existence about 13 billion years ago.

Life

A glimpse inside a gecko’s hand won the 2022 Nikon Small World photo contest

The annual competition highlights microscopic images that bring the smallest details from science and nature to life.

Health & Medicine

Cooperative sperm outrun loners in the mating race

Sperm that swim in clusters travel more directly toward the uterus, while overcoming fluid currents in the reproductive tract.

Neuroscience

Why traumatic brain injuries raise the risk of a second, worse hit

Recent hits to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa have reignited discussions of brain safety for professional football players. Brain experts weigh in.

Animals

Tree-climbing carnivores called fishers are back in Washington’s forests

Thanks to a 14-year reintroduction effort, fishers, or “tree wolverines,” are once again climbing and hunting in Washington’s forests after fur trapping and habitat loss wiped them out.

Planetary Science

Mars’ buried ‘lake’ might just be layers of ice and rock

Evidence grows that possible detections of liquid water buried near Mars’ south pole might not hold water.