5,016 results
- Life
Michelle O’Malley seeks greener chemistry through elusive fungi
Michelle O’Malley studies anaerobic gut fungi, microbes that could help make chemicals and fuels from sustainable sources.
- Animals
How some superblack fish disappear into the darkness of the deep sea
Some fish that live in the ocean’s depths are superblack as a result of a special layer of light-absorbing structures in the skin.
- Physics
Scientists seek materials that defy friction at the atomic level
Scientists investigate superslippery materials and other unusual friction feats.
- Physics
Scientists ‘strummed’ a molecule’s chemical bonds like guitar strings
Scientists dragged an atomic force microscope tip, with a single carbon monoxide molecule dangling from it, across a chemical bond.
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Other worlds
The past century of astronomy has been a series of revolutions, each one kicking Earth a bit farther to the margins of the universe.
- Climate
Malin Pinsky seeks to explain how climate change alters ocean life
As global temperatures rise, Malin Pinsky’s research attempts to understand how marine ecosystems are changing and why.
- Planetary Science
Planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres could harbor life
Lab experiments show yeast and E. coli survive and reproduce in hydrogen gas, suggesting new environments to seek alien life.
- Planetary Science
The Perseverance rover caps off a month of Mars launches
With the launch of NASA’s Perseverance rover, the rush to the Red Planet is under way.
- Science & Society
‘The Origins of You’ explores how kids develop into their adult selves
A new book describes the interplay of nature and nurture as children, at least in Western societies, grow up.
- Space
50 years ago, scientists didn’t know where heavy elements came from
Five decades ago, scientists suspected ordinary supernovas created heavy elements. Now we know they don’t, but merging neutron stars do.
- Space
Hope for life on Venus survives for centuries against all odds
Early scientists often assumed that Venus, though hotter than Earth, hosted life.
- Health & Medicine
Here’s why COVID-19 vaccines like Pfizer’s need to be kept so cold
Both Pfizer and Moderna built their vaccines on RNA. Freezing them keeps their fragile components from breaking down.
