Uncategorized
- Animals
Naked mole-rats eat the poop of their queen for parenting cues
Hormones in the naked mole-rat queen’s poop turn subordinate nest-mates into surrogate parents.
- Chemistry
See the ‘periodic table’ of molecular knots
A new table of knots points the way to twisting molecules in increasingly complex pretzels.
- Astronomy
Strange gamma rays from the sun may help decipher its magnetic fields
The sun spits out more and weirder gamma rays than anyone expected, which could give a new view of the sun’s magnetic fields.
- Animals
There’s method in a firefly’s flashes
Fireflies use their flashing lights for mating and maybe even to ward away predators.
- Chemistry
Lithium-oxygen batteries are getting an energy boost
A new version of the lithium-oxygen battery could pack more energy and last longer than its predecessors.
- Life
We may now know when hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks will occur
Birthrates and immunity rates predict the spread of viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease.
- Neuroscience
How antibodies attack the brain and muddle memory
Human antibodies that target key brain proteins cause memory trouble when delivered into mice’s brains.
- Quantum Physics
A new quantum device defies the concepts of ‘before’ and ‘after’
Two events can happen in different orders at the same time, thanks to quantum physics.
- Climate
Chances of an Atlantic hurricane season busier than 2005’s are slim — for now
The 28 named tropical storms that swirled through the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 is about as many as the region can produce in a year.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution is shaving a year off our average life expectancy
The first country-by-country look at how dirty air affects when we die shows it can have more impact on mortality than breast or lung cancer.
- Humans
Meet the first known child of a Neandertal and a Denisovan
DNA analysis of a bone fragment reveals Neandertal movements between Siberia and western Europe.
- Earth
Scientists create a mineral in the lab that captures carbon dioxide
Magnesite takes a long time to form in nature. Now, a team has found a way to speed up the making of the mineral, which can store carbon dioxide.
