A newfound quasicrystal formed in the first atomic bomb test
In an instant, the bomb obliterated everything. The tower it sat on and the copper wires strung around it: vaporized. The desert sand below:...
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
The Milky Way may have grown up faster than astronomers suspected
The Milky Way as we know it today was shaped by a collision with a dwarf galaxy about 10 billion years ago. But most...
MDMA, the key ingredient in Ecstasy, eases symptoms of severe PTSD
The key ingredient in the illicit drug known as Ecstasy or Molly may offer profound relief from post-traumatic stress disorder. When paired with intense...
The U.S.’s first open-air genetically modified mosquitoes have taken flight
The first genetically modified mosquitoes that will be allowed to fly free outdoors in the United States have started reaching the age for mating...
Elephants are dying in droves in Botswana. Scientists don’t know why
Die-offs of African elephants have once again erupted in Botswana. In just the first three months of 2021, 39 have succumbed. The mysterious deaths...
Rivers might not be as resilient to drought as once thought
Rivers ravaged by a lengthy drought may not be able to recover, even after the rains return. Seven years after the Millennium drought baked...
A study of Earth’s crust hints that supernovas aren’t gold mines
A smattering of plutonium atoms embedded in Earth’s crust are helping to resolve the origins of nature’s heaviest elements. Scientists had long suspected that...
Brain implants turn imagined handwriting into text on a screen
Electrodes in a paralyzed man’s brain turned his imagined handwriting into words typed on a screen. The translation from brain to text may ultimately...
Small bribes may help people build healthy handwashing habits
Good habits are hard to adopt. But a little bribery can go a long way. That’s the finding from an experiment in India that...
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we answer 7 lingering vaccine questions
It’s now open season for COVID-19 vaccines across the United States. After months of having to scramble to find a shot, the tables have...
A new treatment could restore some mobility in people paralyzed by strokes 
What has Perseverance found in two years on Mars? 
This robot automatically tucks its limbs to squeeze through spaces 
Greta Thunberg’s new book urges the world to take climate action now