Science

Illustration: Niklas Elmehed/Nobel Media

Gene-Editing CRISPR Pioneers Get a Well-Deserved Nobel Prize

On Wednesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna for their pivotal roles in discovering CRISPR/Cas9, an ancient bacterial defense system that’s been adapted into a cheap and revolutionary gene-editing technology. This is the first Nobel in Chemistry to be shared exclusively by two…

Biology Ed Cara

Image: Rafael Fernández/International Working Group of Atlantic Orcas

Wounded Orcas Off Spanish Coast Could Be Attacking Boats in Retaliation

Scientists are struggling to explain why orcas swimming off the Iberian Peninsula have started to attack sailing vessels. New research suggests these animals were likely wounded during previous encounters with boats and may be acting vengefully. It’s 2020, so of course orcas are attacking boats. Since July, scientists have recorded 33 distinct interactions involving sailing…

Biology George Dvorsky

Beirut Blast Ranks Among History’s Most Powerful Accidental Explosions

By analyzing videos uploaded to social media, scientists have calculated the strength of the blast that devastated the city of Beirut in August, finding it to be among the biggest non-nuclear explosions in human history. When a warehouse at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon exploded this past summer, it released the equivalent of 500…

Tech News George Dvorsky

CDC Finally Acknowledges That Covid-19 Can Be Airborne

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its covid-19 guidance to say that the coronavirus can spread through aerosols, not just large droplets. This is an important distinction because it means that maintaining 6 feet of distance indoors is not always enough to prevent transmission. Virus-containing aerosols can linger in the air…

Health Rose Pastore

Trump Returning to White House to Possibly Infect Remaining Allies

Donald Trump, who disclosed last Friday that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus, announced his intent to leave Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday and return to the White House. Trump checked into Walter Reed on Friday evening, meaning his stay will have totaled just three days. The…

Politics Tom McKay

Trump’s Flunkies Told CDC to Alter Report on Covid-19 Risk to Children: Report

The novel coronavirus is estimated to have infected at least 7.43 million people in the U.S. and killed nearly 210,000 of them—and the Trump administration has mostly treated it as a political problem rather than one of the most serious health crises to strike the country in decades. The White House in turn has sought…

Health Tom McKay

Early Humans Were Using Fire 300,000 Years Ago to Forge Superior Stone Tools

The prehistoric practice of using controlled fires to produce customized stone tools dates back 300,000 years, according to new research. The discovery affirms the cognitive and cultural sophistication of human species living at this time. The baked flint tools, found at Qesem Cave in central Israel, are evidence that early hominins were capable of controlling…

Human History George Dvorsky

Scientists Have Created a Laser Scanner That Can See Through Fog

Even with sophisticated cameras and laser scanners that can see all the way around a vehicle, autonomous vehicles have just as much trouble driving in thick fog as humans do. They could soon have an advantage, however, as researchers have created a new imaging system that can see through obstructions like fog, or at least…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Tasmanian Devils Are Back in Australia for the First Time in 3,000 Years

On Monday, wildlife managers announced that they had brought Tasmanian devils back into the (relative) wilds of the Australian mainland, the first time these creatures will be living there in 3,000 years. It’s an attempt at a two-for-one bank shot to save the ferocious marsupials as well as creatures under assault from feral cats. The…

Earther Brian Kahn

Discoverers of Hepatitis C Awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice for their discovery of hepatitis C—a pathogen responsible for chronic liver diseases. “This year’s Nobel Prize is awarded to three scientists who have made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem…

Health George Dvorsky

Preserved Brain Tissue Found in Victim of Ancient Vesuvius Eruption, Scientists Report

The catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago is famous for preserving its many victims in volcanic ash. New research suggests this preservation extends to the cellular level, owing to the apparent discovery of neurons in a victim whose brain was turned to glass during the eruption. New research published today in PLOS…

Human History George Dvorsky

Many Big-Brained Birds Have Human-Like Lifespans—but Why?

Some birds are gifted with shockingly long lives. In captivity, crows can live into their 50s. Certain parrot species can live nearly a century. Curiously, these birds also have proportionately massive brains, which power considerable (and sometimes unnerving) intelligence. According to new research, it turns out that this longevity and brain size are closely linked:…

Biology Jake Buehler

Melting Antarctic Ice Exposes 800-Year-Old Penguins That Still Look Fresh

A biologist working off the Ross Sea in Antarctica has stumbled upon an assortment of Adélie penguin remains, some of which appeared to have died only recently. Turns out these dead penguins are actually quite ancient, having been newly exposed by the effects of global warming. Four years ago, biologist Steven Emslie was perusing the…

Earther George Dvorsky

Black Hole From the Beginning of Time Has Galaxies Caught in Its ‘Spider Web’

A remote structure consisting of a supermassive black hole, several primordial galaxies, and copious amounts of gas finally explains how some of the earliest black holes were able to grow so quickly. The deeper we look into space, the further we look back into time. In this case, astronomers have caught a glimpse of the…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Woman With Rare Skull Condition Leaked Spinal Fluid After Covid-19 Nasal Swab, Doctors Say

A Iowa woman’s nasal swab test for covid-19 caused her to leak spinal fluid, her doctors report, in what seems to be the first recorded injury of its kind related to the novel coronavirus. But don’t worry too much about something similar happening to you during a swab test—the unfortunate accident was likely only possible…

Health Ed Cara

No Evidence That Hydroxychloroquine Can Prevent Covid-19, Concludes New Study

A new study is the latest to suggest that hydroxychloroquine isn’t an effective weapon against covid-19, even when taken as a preventative drug. The randomized, double-blinded trial found no difference in the risk of catching covid-19 among health care workers who either took the malaria drug or a placebo before they were potentially exposed to…

Health Ed Cara

The First Dinosaur Feather Ever Found Is Still Controversial

A fossilized feather found 159 years ago in Germany has returned to the paleontological spotlight, with new research declaring the feather as having come from the bird-like Archaeopteryx, much to the chagrin of dissenting scientists. When found out of context, an isolated feather fossil presents a serious headache for paleontologists. Such is the case for…

Biology George Dvorsky

Vexing Space Station Air Leak Traced to Russian Module After False Alarm

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station sprung to action late Monday night following concerns that a persistent air leak had grown in size. It turned out to be a false alarm, but during the event, the crew managed to trace the source of the leak to a Russian service module. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky

Screenshot: Fugazza et al/Animal Cognition

Extremely Good Cat Learns to Copy Human Movements

Feline intelligence may be more impressive than we’ve appreciated, at least according to a new study. The research claims to present the first evidence that cats can recognize and then mimic human behavior on command—a feat that only a few other animals, including dogs, are known to do. The paper, published earlier this month in the…

Biology Ed Cara

Scientists Reveal More About Volcanic Eruption That Rocked the Ancient Maya

Using a combination of archaeological and geological evidence, scientists have finally pinpointed the date of the infamous Tierra Blanca Joven eruption, which likely devastated Maya communities in what is now El Salvador. Ilopango volcano blew its stack 1,589 years ago—give or take a year or two—according to new research published this week in Proceedings of…

Human History George Dvorsky

Gene-Editing CRISPR Pioneers Get a Well-Deserved Nobel Prize

Wounded Orcas Off Spanish Coast Could Be Attacking Boats in Retaliation

Beirut Blast Ranks Among History’s Most Powerful Accidental Explosions

CDC Finally Acknowledges That Covid-19 Can Be Airborne

Trump Returning to White House to Possibly Infect Remaining Allies

Trump’s Flunkies Told CDC to Alter Report on Covid-19 Risk to Children: Report

Early Humans Were Using Fire 300,000 Years Ago to Forge Superior Stone Tools

Scientists Have Created a Laser Scanner That Can See Through Fog

Tasmanian Devils Are Back in Australia for the First Time in 3,000 Years

Discoverers of Hepatitis C Awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Preserved Brain Tissue Found in Victim of Ancient Vesuvius Eruption, Scientists Report

Many Big-Brained Birds Have Human-Like Lifespans—but Why?

Melting Antarctic Ice Exposes 800-Year-Old Penguins That Still Look Fresh

Black Hole From the Beginning of Time Has Galaxies Caught in Its ‘Spider Web’

Woman With Rare Skull Condition Leaked Spinal Fluid After Covid-19 Nasal Swab, Doctors Say

No Evidence That Hydroxychloroquine Can Prevent Covid-19, Concludes New Study

The First Dinosaur Feather Ever Found Is Still Controversial

Vexing Space Station Air Leak Traced to Russian Module After False Alarm

Extremely Good Cat Learns to Copy Human Movements

Scientists Reveal More About Volcanic Eruption That Rocked the Ancient Maya

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Countdown to the Moon 🔴

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Of Course, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Post Credit Scene Is Another Big Cameo

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America’s Latest Unfounded Health Panic: ‘Vaccinated’ Blood Donations

SpaceX Files Confidentially for IPO, Reports Say

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