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MicrobesDormant microbes from Ötzi the Iceman’s body can grow in the lab
These cold-loving yeasts may be thousands of years old. They also suggest the mummy’s remains may not be completely frozen in time.
By Tom Metcalfe - Climate
A ‘super’ El Niño appears to be emerging. What’s the big deal?
The climate pattern could bring “shockingly high” temps this winter, plus extreme weather. Some scientists are looking into an engineering “fix.”
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AnimalsKing cobras may be riding trains across India [COMIC]
The snakes may be tempted onboard by tasty rodents — but train rides can carry cobras far from their forest habitats.
By Maria Temming and JoAnna Wendel -
EarthScientists Say: Subsidence
This word describes land that sinks after water, minerals, oil or other materials are removed below ground.
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AnimalsChatty cats and talking dogs could one day ‘speak’ in our language
Scientists are making advances in decoding animal sounds. That might someday make animal translators a possibility.
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ArchaeologyThe mystery of the ‘Plain of Jars’ in Laos may now be solved
The remains of at least 37 people sit in an ancient stone “jar.” They suggest thousands of such jars in Laos are burial vaults.
By Tom Metcalfe -
OceansBig waves shape this surfer-scientist’s research and life
Professor and pro surfer Cliff Kapono studies human-ocean interactions through the lens of a surfer, from molecular to macro scales.
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PhysicsPhysics explains why gold doesn’t ‘rust’
Metals like copper tarnish when they react with oxygen in the air. Gold doesn’t, thanks to a quick rearrangement of atoms on its surface.
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SpaceScientists Say: Event horizon
Past this boundary, nothing that enters a black hole can ever leave — not even light.
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MicrobesFuzzy microbes may fuel cows’ methane burps
Production of this potent greenhouse gas is triggered by a newfound feature of these microbes — one with a funny name: hydrogenobody.
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PhysicsTrying to break a photon would create a quantum mess
Attempting to cut a light particle in half would spawn up to infinite new photons, a new model shows.
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AnimalsHere’s how ‘singing’ mice belt out their tiny tunes
Balloon-like air sacs in the mice's throats create whistling songs. No other animal is known to make calls in this way.
By Jake Buehler