50 years ago, scientists warned of the ‘neglected dangers’ of heat islands
Neglected dangers of thermal pollution — Science News, October 20, 1973 Most urban dwellers have experienced the swelter of a…
A rare glimpse at a relatively nearby supernova offers clues to how stars die
In May, a star in the Pinwheel galaxy exploded in just the right place at nearly the right time for…
How sea anemones living on deep-sea hydrothermal vents avoid metal poisoning
Life near deep-sea hydrothermal vents can be pretty metal — literally. In addition to crushing pressures, total darkness and scorching…
Giant planet ‘destabilization’ may have coincided with the birth of Earth’s moon
A long-ago reshuffling of the giant planets in our solar system may have been instrumental in giving Earth its moon.…
Most of today’s gene therapies rely on viruses — and that’s a problem
Will Ungerer isn’t a typical fourth-grader. The 10-year-old from Midlothian, Va., plays tag with his friends and swims in the…
10 billion snow crabs have disappeared off the Alaskan coast. Here’s why
From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the eastern Bering Sea off the coast of…
Blocking an aging-related enzyme may restore muscle strength
As people age, their muscles tend to dwindle and weaken, especially with lack of use. With continued muscle loss, daily…
Here’s how citizen scientists can help during the 2024 solar eclipse
Last Saturday’s “ring of fire” eclipse, which blocked out 98 percent of the sun’s surface, was a rare and spectacular…
Tiny accelerators get electrons up to speed using lasers
One day, powerful particle accelerators might fit in your pocket. Two teams of physicists have built tiny structures that both…
Scientists debunked a long-standing cicada myth by analyzing their guts
There are at least three certainties in life: death, taxes and the periodic emergence of millions of cicadas. But one…
