science and technology

Meet <i>Cambroraster falcatus</i>, the sediment-sifting ‘Roomba’ of the Cambrian

This crustacean-like critter stalked the seas half a billion years ago.




science and technology

A new trio of exoplanets could offer clues to how midsized planets form

The trifecta, discovered by NASA’s TESS, includes a “super-Earth” and two “sub-Neptunes” in a system called TOI-270.




science and technology

A new 3D map of the Milky Way flaunts our galaxy’s warped shape

Using data from an especially bright population of stars, astronomers have reconstructed the Milky Way’s peaks and valleys like never before.




science and technology

The little bicycle that could, thanks to artificial intelligence

An AI chip designed to mimic certain aspects of the human brain has given a bicycle an unprecedented level of autonomy.




science and technology

How kiwi plants’ Shy Girls and Friendly Boys helped them evolve separate sexes

These two genes are all it takes to determine the sex of a kiwifruit.




science and technology

Science As Told by Teens: Reflecting on the Pilot of NOVA Science Studio

With a goal to empower youth to tell stories about the world in new ways, NOVA Science Studio was able to give students exposure to a wide range of careers in STEM, journalism, and media production.




science and technology

There will be blood, and physics, too: The messy science of bloodstain pattern analysis

Researchers are using fluid dynamics to try to improve the study of crime scene blood spatter.




science and technology

Total warfare among the Maya began earlier than once thought

The burnt ruins of a Maya city in what’s now Guatemala hold clues to its untimely demise at the turn of the 7th century.




science and technology

Super-shy catsharks have a weird way of lighting up

Two kinds of glow-in-the-dark catsharks convert blue light to green, and now we know how.




science and technology

Iron from ancient supernovae may still be raining down on Earth

A rare iron isotope produced by exploding stars has been found in Antarctic snow.




science and technology

Cone-shaped meteorites are ‘just right’ for plummeting to Earth

Researchers eroding clay in water may have uncovered secrets of meteorites’ aerodynamic stability.




science and technology

Two new Ebola drugs dramatically boost survival in a clinical trial

Both treatments rely on infusing patients with antibodies that latch onto the virus and block it from invading cells.




science and technology

Jupiter’s ravenous past might help explain its diffuse, hazy core

A computer simulation suggests that a massive collision may have caused Jupiter’s core to shatter into a gassy, borderless cloud.




science and technology

Deep-Earth diamonds may contain gassy relics from the early solar system

Scientists studying diamonds from deep within Earth’s mantle found evidence of a reservoir of rocks and gas that may be nearly as old as the planet itself.




science and technology

A new form of carbon is born—on a bed of salt

The long-sought molecule could one day power high-energy electronics.




science and technology

Hurricanes give aggressive spiders a leg up on their docile kin

For Anelosimus studiosus spiders, the storm survival checklist apparently includes a combative personality.




science and technology

The weird and wonderful world growing spuds (and other crops) in space

With the right kind of care, plenty of plants actually do just fine in microgravity.




science and technology

In a first, astronomers may have detected a black hole swallowing a neutron star

The LIGO and Virgo observatories appear to have picked up gravitational waves from a first-of-its-kind astronomical observation.




science and technology

On Mars, microbes could hitch a ride on wind-borne dust

Experiments in Chile’s Atacama Desert point to a potential method of transportation for microbes on Mars—whether they exist there already, or we introduce them.




science and technology

Climate change could mean more mercury in seafood

The threat of mercury in seafood was curbed with regulations, but climate change could drive levels back up.




science and technology

Researchers use viral genomes to uncover a Zika outbreak in Cuba

The virus simmered quietly in Cuba for about a year before infecting thousands.




science and technology

Cheeseburgers give urban crows higher cholesterol—just like us

But it’s not clear whether elevated cholesterol is bad for birds.




science and technology

These albino lizards are the first gene-edited non-avian reptiles

Scientists injected CRISPR gene-editing machinery into unfertilized eggs still developing in female lizards’ ovaries.




science and technology

In 17,000-year-old puma poop, a glimpse of Ice Age parasites

The feces contain the oldest example of parasite DNA ever recorded.




science and technology

First Americans arrived at least 16,000 years ago, and probably by boat

Artifacts unearthed in Idaho challenge the idea that the first people to populate the Americas made the journey on foot around the end of the Ice Age.




science and technology

A microprocessor made of carbon nanotubes says, “Hello, World!”

The technology is still in its infancy, but could someday aid the development of faster, more energy-efficient electronics.




science and technology

Moonlight turns white barn owls into terrifying ‘ghosts’

The feathery glint startles their rodent prey, making them easier to catch.




science and technology

Squirrels eavesdrop on bird chatter to tell when a threat has passed

These nosy rodents may not speak bird-ese, per se, but they can still use avian chatter as a safety cue.




science and technology

Hurricane Dorian crawls up the coast from Florida to Virginia

Some of the storm’s features hint at troubling trends in recent hurricanes.




science and technology

Fossil finger points to a surprising link between humans and Denisovans

New findings suggest Neanderthals evolved their unusually broad fingers after they split from Denisovans, just 400,000 years ago.




science and technology

How Kīlauea’s lava birthed an algal bloom visible from space

Lava descending into Hawai‘i’s ocean drove an upward surge of deep sea nutrients, cultivating life at the surface.




science and technology

Supercooling preserves donor livers for more than a day

The breakthrough could mean that fewer organs go to waste before they make it into a transplant recipient.




science and technology

Newly described species of electric eel serves up shocks of 860 volts

That earns this fish, Electrophorus voltai, the title of the strongest known living source of electricity.




science and technology

Intricate ‘toe maps’ exist in the brains of artists who paint with their feet

Two men born without arms showcase the brain’s extraordinary flexibility.




science and technology

Water vapor found on an ‘Earth-sized’ exoplanet 110 light-years from home

Scientists say the planet, called K2-18b, is “the best candidate for habitability” beyond our solar system.




science and technology

Popular pesticide throws off birds’ feeding and migration schedules

Delays during migration can imperil birds’ chances of a successful breeding season.




science and technology

Astronomers discover two giant, high-energy ‘bubbles’ at the center of the Milky Way

The gargantuan structures hint at a massive explosion in our galaxy’s past.




science and technology

Astronomers may have just detected the most massive neutron star yet

It’s almost too dense to exist. Almost.




science and technology

Soot from polluted air can reach the fetal side of the placenta

A new study hints at the ways in which air pollution may directly impact a fetus.




science and technology

Scientists are about to lock themselves into an Arctic ice floe for a year

In the largest Arctic expedition yet, researchers will gather as much data as they can on the fading ice—and climate change.




science and technology

An ancient asteroid collision fostered life on Earth

A new study suggests a plume of dust once blocked the sun’s rays from Earth, triggering an ice age some 466 million years ago.




science and technology

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in farm animals are rising in low- and middle-income countries

That spells trouble for the entire planet.




science and technology

To save climate-sensitive pikas, conservation efforts need to get local

American pikas’ responses to climate are driven by location, location, location.




science and technology

Study finds kittens bond with their human caregivers like babies do

They’re not as aloof as some think.




science and technology

Cooking changed human history. Did it change our microbes too?

Gut microbes react differently to raw and cooked versions of the same foods.




science and technology

Rabbit study hints at the origins of the female orgasm

Researchers used rabbits and antidepressants to search for a link between orgasm and ovulation in female mammals.




science and technology

Planet Nine probably isn’t a black hole. But it might be worth checking

A pair of physicists think it’s possible that a tiny black hole left over from the universe’s early days lurks in the outer solar system.




science and technology

Wildlife trade may put nearly 9,000 land-based species at risk of extinction

A new analysis predicts that 3,196 animals will join the 5,579 already snared in the global wildlife market.




science and technology

Scientists just snapped the best image yet of the universe’s ‘cosmic web’

Light from nearby galaxies illuminated the web’s ‘threads,’ making them directly visible to telescopes on Earth.




science and technology

Scientists may now be able to predict forest die-off up to 19 months in advance

Even forests that look green from space can show symptoms of impending decline.