Hubble finds far-away planet vanishing at record speed
The speed and distance at which planets orbit their respective blazing stars can determine each planet's fate—whether the planet remains a longstanding part of...
Scientists design custom nanoparticles with new ‘stencil’ method
Nano-sized particles already make bicycles and tennis rackets lighter and stronger, protect eyeglasses from scratches, and help direct chemotherapy drugs to cancer cells. But...
‘Dropout’ rate for academic scientists has risen sharply in past 50 years, study finds
Half of the people pursuing careers as scientists at higher education institutions will drop out of the field after five years, according to a...
Topological matters: Toward a new kind of transistor
Billions of tiny transistors supply the processing power in modern smartphones, controlling the flow of electrons with rapid on-and-off switching.
But continual progress in packing...
How catnip makes the chemical that causes cats to go crazy
Researchers at John Innes Centre have shed light on how catnip—also known as catmint—produces the chemical that sends cats into a state of wanton...
Neandertal genes shed light on unique aspects of the modern human brain
A characteristic feature of modern humans is the unusually round skull and brain, in contrast to the elongated shape seen in other human species....
Ingestible capsule can be controlled wirelessly
Researchers at MIT, Draper, and Brigham and Women's Hospital have designed an ingestible capsule that can be controlled using Bluetooth wireless technology. The capsule,...
First-ever look at complete skeleton of Thylacoleo, Australia’s extinct ‘marsupial lion’
Thyalacoleo carnifex, the "marsupial lion" of Pleistocene Australia, was an adept hunter that got around with the help of a strong tail, according to...
Where did the hot Neptunes go? A shrinking planet holds the answer
"But where did the hot Neptunes go?" This is the question astronomers have been asking for a long time, faced with the mysterious absence...
The epoch of planet formation, times twenty
Astronomers have cataloged nearly 4,000 exoplanets in orbit around distant stars. Though the discovery of these newfound worlds has taught us much, there is...
Stretched quantum magnetism uncovered by quantum simulation
By studying ultracold atoms trapped in artificial crystals of light, Guillaume Salomon, a postdoc at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics and a team of...
