Controlling sound has long been a staple of science fiction and fantasy. In Dune, the cone of silence allows characters to converse privately, even in open spaces. The eerie billboards …
The collision of two lightning-bolts-in-the-making spawned an exceedingly brief but extremely energetic flash of gamma rays. This first-of-its-kind observation may help explain an origin of some of the most energetic …
On some Martian nights, a subtle, green glow hangs low in the sky, wreathing the horizon in every direction. A visible Martian aurora has finally been observed for the first …
An apple may not fall far from the tree, but for a leaf, it depends on its shape. Elm or apple leaves — oval and symmetrical, with few protruding lobes …
Weather forecasting is getting cheaper and more accurate. An AI model named Aurora used machine learning to outperform current weather prediction systems, researchers report May 21 in Nature. Aurora could …
A Soviet space probe stuck in orbit since a failed 1972 launch has finally crashed to Earth. At 9:24 a.m. Moscow time (2:24 a.m. EDT) on May 10, the spacecraft, …
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating FrogCarly Anne YorkBasic Books, $30 What’s the purpose of your study? It’s the question many basic-science researchers dread. And it’s the question that Carly …
For wounded chimpanzees, help sometimes comes in the form of first aid — care rendered not by humans but by other chimps. New research reveals the nature and prevalence of …
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 is perhaps most famous for entombing the Roman city of Pompeii. But in nearby Herculaneum, also buried in the eruption, the preserved …
Add a little-known species of assassin bugs to the list of animals that can fashion and wield tools. And true to their name, the insects use that tool to draw …