Called RBC EXT8, the cluster challenges some theories of how galaxies form and evolve A strange, newly measured clump of stars orbiting the nearby Andromeda galaxy has the lowest level of heavy chemical elements ever seen in one of these mysterious star clusters. Named RBC EXT8, this globular cluster isContinue Reading
Research shows it’s the influencers, not the networks themselves, that amplify differences between us Every time I log onto Facebook, I brace myself. My newsfeed—like everyone else’s I know—is filled with friends, relatives and acquaintances arguing about COVID-19, masks and Trump. Facebook has become a battleground among partisan “echo chambers.”Continue Reading
The study is a blueprint for capitalizing on this habitat’s capacity to store carbon In the world’s largest seagrass restoration project, scientists have observed an ecosystem from birth to full flowering. As part of a 20-plus-years project, researchers and volunteers spread more than 70 million eelgrass seeds over plots coveringContinue Reading
New compounds with potentially harmful effects on the lungs can form from the mixture of flavours and solvents – even at room temperature Studies on the chemical composition of e-cigarette liquids are raising concern that regulation is lagging behind the data. The Yale Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science is aContinue Reading
It is not often that a comedian gives an astrophysicist goose bumps when discussing the laws of physics. But comic Chuck Nice managed to do just that in a recent episode of the podcast StarTalk. The show’s host Neil deGrasse Tyson had just explained the simulation argument—the idea that weContinue Reading
Nature documentaries showcase the most exciting moments of daily life in the natural world, and a new series reveals that survival for some of the tiniest creatures can be as harrowing, suspenseful and dramatic as it is for big animals. Apple TV+’s “Tiny World” introduces a fresh look at howContinue Reading
US researchers develop a two-step test for the novel coronavirus that doesn’t requires the use of scarce reagents A shortage of key chemicals needed for tests to diagnose Covid-19 has hampered screening efforts, but now researchers in the US have developed a new test that doesn’t rely on these scarceContinue Reading
Sometime in the late 1600s, in the lush forests of Mauritius, the very last dodo took its last breath. After centuries of untroubled ferreting in the tropical undergrowth, this species met its untimely end at the hands of humans, who had arrived on the island less than 100 years before.Continue Reading
Picturing how our species might appear in the far future often invites wild speculation over stand-out features such as height, brain size, and skin complexion. Yet subtle shifts in our anatomy today demonstrate how unpredictable evolution can be. Take something as mundane as an extra blood vessel in our arms,Continue Reading
At least two dozen planets outside the solar system might be better for life than Earth. These planets are just a little older, a little wetter, a little warmer and a little larger than Earth is, researchers wrote Sept. 18 in the journal Astrobiology. All of these factors could meanContinue Reading