A CDC panel recommends mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over J&J’s, citing fewer risks
An advisory committee for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously December 16 to recommend mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over Johnson &...
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
A terrifying robot can thwart invasive mosquito fish
Invasive mosquito fish are often fearless. Free from the predators of their native range, these mosquito fish run rampant, throwing naive ecosystems from Europe...
Why it matters that health agencies finally said the coronavirus is airborne
This year, health experts around the world revised their views about how the coronavirus spreads. Aerosol scientists, virologists and other researchers had determined in...
How a warming climate may make winter tornadoes stronger
NEW ORLEANS — Warmer winters could make twisters more powerful. Though tornadoes can occur in any season, the United States logs the greatest number...
Why the coronavirus’s delta variant dominated 2021
2021 was a year of coronavirus variants. Alpha and beta kicked off the year, and several worrisome variants later, omicron is closing it out....
The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to visit the sun’s atmosphere
For the first time, a spacecraft has made contact with the sun. During a recent flyby, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe entered the sun’s atmosphere....
Neandertals were the first hominids to turn forest into grassland 125,000 years ago
Neandertals took Stone Age landscaping to a previously unrecognized level. Around 125,000 years ago, these close human relatives transformed a largely forested area bordering...
Quantum physics requires imaginary numbers to explain reality
Imaginary numbers might seem like unicorns and goblins — interesting but irrelevant to reality. But for describing matter at its roots, imaginary numbers turn...
In 2021, COVID-19 vaccines were put to the test. Here’s what we learned
2021 was the year the COVID-19 vaccines had to prove their mettle. We started the year full of hope: With vaccines in hand in...
How sleep may boost creativity
The twilight time between fully awake and sound asleep may be packed with creative potential. People who recently drifted off into a light sleep...
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