Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Psychology
People find the skin of others’ softer than their own
Humans perceive other peoples’ skin as softer and smoother than their own because touch is important in social bonding, researchers suggest.
- Archaeology
‘Superhenge’ once lined Stonehenge neighborhood
A row of massive, now-buried stones once bordered a site near Stonehenge.
- Climate
Burning remaining fossil fuels would eradicate Antarctic ice
Finishing off Earth’s available carbon resources would nearly eliminate the Antarctic ice sheet and raise sea levels by more than 50 meters, new research calculates.
- Planetary Science
The first spacecraft buzzed a comet today in 1985
Thirty years ago, a spacecraft became the first to fly past a comet.
- Planetary Science
New Pluto photos show unprecedented detail
New images from the New Horizons spacecraft show off Pluto and Charon in unprecedented detail.
- Planetary Science
Ceres’ mysterious bright spots come into focus
The Dawn spacecraft gets its best look yet at bright spots on Ceres.
- Health & Medicine
Plant spills crucial details for making cancer drug
By injuring the Himalayan mayapple, researchers worked out how the plant makes an important ingredient in a common cancer drug.
- Animals
Invading Argentine ant hordes carry a virus that attacks bees
Invasive Argentine ants may be reservoirs for a virus menacing honeybees — and for previously unknown virus.
- Planetary Science
The wait for more Pluto data is almost over
As New Horizons prepares to tell us everything it learned about Pluto, fans of the dwarf planet take a crack at imagining what the spacecraft saw.
- Paleontology
New dolphin fossil makes a splash
A newly discovered dolphin fossil provides clues to the evolution of river dolphins in the Americas.
- Life
New microscope techniques give deepest view yet of living cells
Two new microscopy techniques are helping scientists see smaller structures in living cells than ever glimpsed before.
- Planetary Science
Life after Pluto: New Horizons to head for Kuiper belt boulder
The New Horizons spacecraft has a second target in the Kuiper belt: an icy boulder dubbed 2014 MU69.
