7,733 results
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A place removed from ‘the pressure of received ideas’
Murray Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on elementary particles (see Page 24 in this issue), was one of the originators of the Santa Fe Institute, an interdisciplinary research center in New Mexico that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Gell-Mann recently addressed a group of about 150 […]
- Astronomy
A damp moon: Water found inside and out
The moon isn’t bone-dry: Its surface and interior contain an abundance of water, new studies reveal.
- Life
Portuguese trove of trilobite fossils
Fossils include largest known trilobite specimen and groups of the ancient arthropods caught in the act of molting and spawning.
- Ecosystems
Too much intermingling puts native trout in trouble
Even a small amount of hybridizing may cause problems for the native westslope cutthroat trout.
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Dressing up dinos
Adding soft tissue to bone helps scientists, paleoartists bring ancient creatures to life.
- Space
2009 Science News of the Year: Atom & Cosmos
A post-crash plume kicked up from the moon contained vapor and ice. NASA crashed an unmanned spacecraft into the lunar surface on October 9 in order to analyze the resulting debris for signs of water. Image Credit: NASA Water on the moonThe moon isn’t bone dry: Although planetary scientists had suspected as much for years, […]
- Climate
Carbon dioxide not to blame in ice age mystery
Scientists look at seafloor sediments to determine that a long-term decline in carbon dioxide is not the reason for less frequent ice ages.
- Climate
Giant snakes warming to U.S. climes
Some were pets whose bodies and appetites apparently got too big for their owners to support. Most are probably descendants of released pets. Today, thousands of really big non-native snakes — we’re talking boa constrictors, anacondas and pythons — slither wild in southern Florida. And there’s nothing holding them in the Sunshine State. Which is why a report that was released today contends they pose moderate to high ecological threats to states on three U.S. coasts. Indeed, the homelands of these snakes share climatic features with large portions of the United States — territory currently inhabited by some 120 million Americans. Based on comparisons of the temperatures, rainfall and land cover found in the snakes’ native range, it’s possible that these slithering behemoths could stake claims to territory as far north as coastal Delaware and Oregon.
- Tech
Watching Earth for 25 years
The Landsat 5 satellite launched in 1984 with a mission to orbit and image Earth's surface for three years. Still in orbit, the satellite has continuously documented changes in landscape.
- Earth
Naked planet
Scientists officially launch OneGeology, a project that will produce a single digital map of the planet’s geological formations.
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Pearls Unstrung
For a while, the Great Lakes weren’t connected by rivers and Niagara Falls was just a trickle.
- Life
Early land arthropods sported shells
Ancient ocean-dwelling arthropods may have worn shells to enable their transition to land.
