News
- Planetary Science
Uranus may have looked weird when NASA’s Voyager 2 flew by
A solar wind event days before the NASA probe flyby in 1986 may have compressed the planet’s magnetosphere, making it look odder than it usually is.
- Genetics
A common drug may help treat a rare genetic disease
Ibuprofen counters problems caused by mutations in the MAN1B1 gene, fruit fly tests show. Early results in three children are ”fairly positive.”
- Environment
Fire-prone neighborhoods on the fringes of nature are rapidly expanding
The transition zone where unoccupied wildlands meet developed areas increased globally by about 35 percent from 2000 to 2020.
- Particle Physics
Antimatter could travel by truck, a test with protons shows
A special particle trap designed to fit in a truck let researchers haul 70 protons across the CERN campus. Antiprotons may be next.
- Astronomy
A cosmic census triples the known number of black holes in dwarf galaxies
The DESI survey reveals that active black holes in small galaxies are common. The findings may help reveal how the two cosmic bodies evolve together.
- Climate
Meet Chonkus, the mutant cyanobacteria that could help sink climate change
The mutant of the lab-studied Synechococcus elongatus has traits good for ocean carbon storage.
- Animals
Bees flying near cars are dying by the millions, a roadkill study suggests
Scientists in Utah put sticky traps on car bumpers to tally how many bees get hit on a typical trip. The broader toll is immense, they estimate.
- Astronomy
A star winked out of sight. Could it be a ‘failed supernova’?
The dramatic dimming of a star in the nearby Andromeda galaxy could mark the birth of a black hole.
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For deep-diving whales, plastic garbage may ‘sound’ like food
Experiments show that the acoustic signature of plastic and prey is similar. That may confuse whales that use echolocation to hunt.
- Archaeology
A digital exam reels in engraved scenes of Stone Age net fishing
Nearly 16,000-year-old portrayals of fish surrounded by nets had evaded detection until a new technique took magnification to a new level.
- Archaeology
A huge, ancient Maya city has been found in southern Mexico
Lasers revealed that the city spanned roughly the same area as Beijing and may have been among the most densely populated in the region.
- Agriculture
Exploiting a genetic quirk in potatoes may cut fertilizer needs
A gene controlling potato growth limits the plant’s fertilizer uptake. Tweaking related genes could lead to more sustainable potato varieties.
