Enlarge (credit: Westend61 | Getty Images) In 1987, when researchers first used the word genomics to describe the newly developing discipline of mapping DNA, Eric Green had just finished medical school. A few years later, he found himself working on the front lines of the young field’s marquee moon shot: the Human Genome Project. To […]
Enlarge / A reconstruction of the cosmic web— a vast network of filamentary structures of matter spanning the universe—modeled on the growth patterns of slime mold. (credit: Joseph N. Burchett et al./AJL) There’s rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we’re once again running a special […]
So long, annus horribilis. Farewell, O rotten plague year. Dominus vobiscum. But as we utter our long-practiced goodbyes to 2020, let us pause for a moment to reflect upon the glad tidings that lay hidden in its miasmic haze. Yes, surprising as it may seem, there were some things that turned out darn well in […]
Enlarge (credit: Wikimedia Commons) Most of the disposable batteries you’ll come across are technically termed alkaline batteries. They work at high pH and typically use zinc as the charge carrier. Zinc is great because it’s very cheap, can be used to make one of the two electrodes, and, in the right context, allows the use […]
Enlarge / Basking sharks in the aquarium, Loro Parque, Tenerife, Canary Islands, 2007. (credit: Heritage Images | Getty Images) Picture the scene. Swimming off Scotland’s west coast during a summer holiday you notice a large dark shark nearly 10 metres long headed towards you. A prominent triangular dorsal fin cuts the surface, the powerful rhythmically […]
Enlarge / In 1953, the eminent physicist and H-bomb advocate took an ill-fated overnight train from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, that would indirectly lead to the Robert Oppenheimer security hearing. (credit: Michail_Petrov-96/iStock/Getty Images) In the popular science world, physicist John Wheeler is probably best known for popularizing the term “black hole,” although his research spanned […]
Enlarge (credit: Bernal Saborio) Techniques to take atmospheric CO2 and turn it into a fuel provide a climate-friendly alternative to exploiting fossil fuels—they may releases CO2 back into the air when burned, but there’s no net change. This includes biofuels crops, but can extend to industrial processes that directly involve CO2. As processes that capture […]
Enlarge / UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses for a photograph with a vial of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 candidate vaccine. (credit: WPA Pool/Getty Images) This week, the UK released more data on the newly evolved strain of SARS-CoV-2, providing further evidence that it spreads more readily than previously circulating strains of the virus. Despite […]
Enlarge (credit: Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images) Despite over 82 million cases and over 1.75 million deaths due to COVID-19, many people are bound and determined to carry on with normal life. For some, that includes attending Saturday night ragers, just like they did in the Before Times. Reports of yet another secret party being […]
Humans can transmit many diseases to chimps, orangutans and their kin. People who study and care for the creatures are taking lockdown-style measures to limit the risk. (credit: UMN.edu) Wildlife veterinarian Stephen Ngulu starts his typical working day watching from a distance as the chimpanzees under his care eat their breakfast. He keeps an eye […]