Uncategorized
- Physics
Readers inquire about a Neptune-sized moon, nuclear pasta and more
Readers had questions about a Neptune-sized moon, nuclear pasta and the search for extraterrestrial life.
- Health & Medicine
In a first, a woman with a uterus transplanted from a deceased donor gives birth
After receiving a uterus from a deceased donor, a woman gave birth to a healthy girl in December of 2017.
- Physics
Scientists’ collection of gravitational waves just got a lot bigger
The biggest black hole merger yet seen created one set of the spacetime ripples.
- Animals
Rebel honeybee workers lay eggs when their queen is away
A honeybee queen’s absence in the colony triggers some workers to turn queen-like and lay eggs, sometimes in other colonies.
- Life
How some sap-sucking insects fling their pee
Sharpshooters hurl their pee with structure called a stylus, which sends droplets flying at 20 times the acceleration of Earth’s gravity.
- Planetary Science
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has finally arrived at asteroid Bennu
Planetary scientists hope the probe will reveal if such carbon-rich asteroids helped kick-start life on Earth.
- Particle Physics
The Large Hadron Collider is shutting down for 2 years
The world’s largest particle accelerator will restart in 2021 at higher energy.
- Life
These new tweezers let scientists do biopsies on living cells
Nanotweezers that can pluck molecules from cells without killing them could enable real-time analysis of the insides of healthy and diseased cells.
- Life
Dads, not just moms, can pass along mitochondrial DNA
Data from three families suggest that in rare cases children can inherit mitochondria from their fathers.
- Climate
Half the world’s annual rain falls in just 12 days
Climate change could shorten the time it takes for the world to receive half its annual precipitation from 12 days to 11 by 2100.
- Archaeology
Stone Age people conquered the Tibetan Plateau’s thin air
Stone tools that are at least 30,000 years old suggest that people settled the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau earlier than scientists thought.
- Health & Medicine
Around the world, reported measles cases jumped 31 percent in 2017
While the number of reported measles cases has dropped 80 percent from 2000 to 2017, high profile outbreaks pushed the 2017 total up from 2016.
