Science & Society
A COVID-19 time capsule captures pandemic moments for future researchers
Social scientists chose photos, charts and even a tweet to help future researchers understand the pandemic.
-
Cover Story
December’s stunning Geminid meteor shower is born from a humble asteroid
Most meteor showers arise from comets, but the robust Geminid shower comes from an asteroid, Phaethon, which scientists are still trying to figure out.
Reviews & Previews
Science Visualized
Animals
Hundreds of new genomes help fill the bird ‘tree of life’
More than 10,000 bird species live on Earth. Now, researchers are one step closer to understanding the evolution of all of this feathered diversity.
Notebook
Animals
How frigid lizards falling from trees revealed the reptiles’ growing cold tolerance
Some Florida lizards’ ability to handle temperatures down to 5.5° C may provide clues to how they might deal with the extremes of climate change.
Features
-
Betelgeuse went dark, but didn’t go supernova. What happened?
Astronomers are anxious to learn why Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky, dimmed dramatically, but didn’t explode, in 2019.
More Stories from the December 5, 2020 issue
- Planetary Science
50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space
In 1970, scientists detected amino acids in a meteorite. Fifty years later, a variety of chemical ingredients for life have been found in other space rocks.
- Chemistry
A new portable device can reveal a chili pepper’s heat
The “Chilica-pod” measures levels of the fiery capsaicin compound in peppers.
- Physics
A photon’s journey through a hydrogen molecule is the shortest event ever timed
The shortest duration ever measured is 247 zeptoseconds, or trillionths of a billionth of a second.
- Animals
A surprisingly tiny ancient sea monster lurked in shallow waters
Scientists have found a new species of marine reptiles called nothosaurs from around 240 million years ago.
- Anthropology
Female big-game hunters may have been surprisingly common in the ancient Americas
A Peruvian burial that indicates that women speared large prey as early as 9,000 years ago sheds new light on gender roles of ancient hunter-gatherers.
- Anthropology
Bolivia’s Tsimane people’s average body temperature fell half a degree in 16 years
A new study echoes other research suggesting that people’s average body temperature is lower today than it used to be.
- Health & Medicine
Protecting the brain from infection may start with a gut reaction
In mice, immune cells in the meninges are trained to battle infections in the gut before migrating to the brain.
- Genetics
A key to the mystery of fast-evolving genes was found in ‘junk DNA’
A new study challenges a long-held belief that essential genes change little over time.
- Earth
STEVE may be even less like typical auroras than scientists thought
The purple-and-green, atmospheric light show nicknamed STEVE just got even stranger.
- Animals
A blue-green glow adds to platypuses’ long list of bizarre features
The discovery of platypuses’ fluorescent fur has researchers wondering if the trait is more widespread among mammals than anyone has realized.
- Life
Ogre-faced spiders catch insects out of the air using sound instead of sight
A new study finds that ogre-faced spiders can hear a surprisingly wide range of sounds.
- Space
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may glow in the dark
Europa’s potential “ice glow” could help scientists map the chemical composition of its surface — and the ocean underneath.
- Climate
Once hurricanes make landfall, they’re lingering longer and staying stronger
Warmer ocean waters due to human-caused climate change can help power hurricanes’ fury even after they roar ashore.
- Life
An ancient amphibian is the oldest known animal with a slingshot tongue
A tiny amphibian that lived 99 million years ago waited for invertebrate prey before snatching them with a swift, shooting tongue.
- Planetary Science
Chemical reactions high in Mars’ atmosphere rip apart water molecules
Mars is so dry because its water constant escapes into space. A new study suggests this process occurs in the ionosphere and faster than thought.
- Genetics
Penicillin allergies may be linked to one immune system gene
Researchers have located a shared hot spot — on the HLA-B gene — in the immune system in people who say they have penicillin allergies.
- Sponsored Content
Conversations with Maya: Dianne K. Newman
