Uncategorized
- Brain
Our eyes can see single specks of light
The human eye can detect a single photon. This discovery answers questions about how sensitive our eyes are. It hints at the possibility of using our eyes to study issues of quantum-scale physics.
- Animals
Beetles offer people lessons in moisture control
Taking tricks from a beetle, researchers are designing surfaces that collect water from the air or resist frost buildup.
- Space
Sun’s nearest stellar neighbor may have Earth-like planet
A planet roughly the size of Earth orbits within the “Goldilocks” zone of the Proxima Centauri. Only 4.2 light-years away, this star is the one closest to our sun.
- Ecosystems
Algae embedded in sea ice drive the Arctic food web
Scientists traced where zooplankton in the Arctic get their energy from. Many open ocean species rely on algae found in sea ice, which is disappearing.
- Microbes
Staph infections? The nose knows how to fight them
Bacteria living in some people’s noses make a compound that could help fight a nasty type of infection that laughs at other antibiotics.
- Planets
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is really, really hot
The Great Red Spot, a storm churning on Jupiter for at least 150 years, may be helping to keep the planet warm, a new study finds.
- Ecosystems
Will chicken cologne guard you from malaria?
Mosquitoes that carry malaria are repelled by the smell of chickens. In malaria country, that could make these birds a human’s best friend.
- Climate
Scientists Say: Albedo
To measure how much light reflects off an object, scientists measure its albedo.
- Chemistry
Oxygen-rich air emerged super early, new data show
Scientists had thought animals were slow to emerge because they would have needed oxygen-rich air to breathe. A new study finds that plentiful oxygen may have developed early. So animals may have been late on the scene for another reason.
- Brain
Zika can damage the brains of even adults
The Zika virus can damage a developing baby’s brain. The infection can also kill off an important type of cells in adult brains, a new mouse study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Nano medicines take aim at big diseases
Nanomedicines are new treatments and tools that are taking aim at disease from the cellular level. Medicine’s next big thing could be very teeny tiny.
- Animals
Got milk? Roach milk could be a new superfood
Scientists have just figured out the recipe for cockroach milk. And that could be a first step toward making it part of the human diet. Yum!
