Uncategorized
- Archaeology
Two stones fuel debate over when America’s first settlers arrived
Stones possibly used to break mastodon bones 130,000 years ago in what is now California get fresh scrutiny.
By Bruce Bower - Quantum Physics
The new light-based quantum computer Jiuzhang has achieved quantum supremacy
A second type of quantum computer has now performed a calculation impossible for a traditional computer.
- Humans
Ancient humans may have deliberately voyaged to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands
Satellite-tracked buoys suggest that long ago, a remote Japanese archipelago was reached by explorers on purpose, not accidentally.
- Health & Medicine
The ‘last mile’ for COVID-19 vaccines could be the biggest challenge yet
The need for cold storage and booster shots could create problems for distributing coronavirus vaccines to nearly everyone in the world.
- Health & Medicine
The U.K. is the first country to authorize a fully tested COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer will deliver the first of 40 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine promised to the United Kingdom in the coming days.
- Science & Society
A COVID-19 time capsule captures pandemic moments for future researchers
Social scientists chose photos, charts and even a tweet to help future researchers understand the pandemic.
By Sujata Gupta - Space
December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid
Most meteor showers arise from comets, but the robust Geminid shower comes from an asteroid, Phaethon, which scientists are still trying to figure out.
By Ken Croswell - Health & Medicine
Health care workers and long-term care residents should get COVID-19 vaccines first
With an initial 40 million doses of the vaccines, enough for 20 million people, anticipated by year-end, health officials are setting priorities.
- Planetary Science
China is about to collect the first moon rocks since the 1970s
The robotic Chang’e-5 mission, which landed on an unexplored region of the moon December 1, aims to gather samples and return them to Earth.
- Space
Astronomers spotted colliding neutron stars that may have formed a magnetar
Astronomers may have witnessed the formation of a kind of rapidly spinning, extremely magnetized stellar corpse for the first time.
- Health & Medicine
Long-lasting shots work better than daily pills to prevent HIV in at-risk women
A more discreet HIV prevention method — a shot once every eight weeks —could help to boost use in women at risk.
- Space
Runaway stars may create the mysterious ultraviolet glow around some galaxies
Hot blue stars kicked out of their birthplace can travel thousands of light-years to their galaxies’ hinterlands, new computer simulations show.
By Ken Croswell