Uncategorized
- Paleontology
New fossils may capture the minutes after the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact
North Dakota fossils may depict the aftermath of the dinosaur-killing asteroid, but controversial claims about the breadth of the find are unproven.
- Materials Science
Bacteria can be coaxed into making the toughest kind of spider silk
Lab-altered bacteria have made a copy of a spider’s strongest silk strands, which could one day be used to make more sturdy materials.
By Jeremy Rehm - Anthropology
Foreigners may have conquered ancient Egypt without invading it
Dental evidence suggests female Hyksos immigrants married into power.
By Bruce Bower - Genetics
A Nobel Prize winner argues banning CRISPR babies won’t work
Human gene editing needs responsible regulation, but a ban isn’t the way to go, says Nobel laureate David Baltimore.
- Physics
The LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave detectors are back on
Souped-up instruments could spot never-before-seen sources of gravitational waves.
- Health & Medicine
In ‘The Perfect Predator,’ viruses vanquish a deadly superbug
In ‘The Perfect Predator,’ an epidemiologist recounts the battle to save her husband from an antibiotic-resistant infection.
- Quantum Physics
A new quantum engine packs more power than its standard counterparts
A new type of tiny machine harnesses quantum physics to produce more power than a normal engine, under certain conditions.
- Health & Medicine
A single-dose antidote may help prevent fentanyl overdoses
Packing overdose medication into nanoparticles could help it better counteract dangerous synthetic opioids.
- Animals
Watch a desert kangaroo rat drop-kick a rattlesnake
Desert kangaroo rats have a wide arsenal for dodging rattlesnake ambushes. But the most dramatic might be their powerful midair kick.
By Mike Denison - Anthropology
The first known fossil of a Denisovan skull has been found in a Siberian cave
A new fossil and evidence that the hominids interbred with humans as recently as 15,000 years ago only add to Denisovans’ mystery.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
4 things we’ll learn from the first closeup image of a black hole
Scientists are gearing up to release the first image of the black hole at the center of the galaxy. Here’s what they hope to find out.
- Climate
One Antarctic ice shelf gets half its annual snowfall in just 10 days
Antarctica’s coasts get most of their snow from just a few big storms each year.