Space & PhysicsDecember 17, 2020
Jupiter and Saturn’s Great Conjunction Is the Best in 800 Years—Here’s How to See It
The giant planets will appear spectacularly close together in Earth’s sky during the solstice on December 21
The Sciences
NeuroscienceDecember 17, 2020
Brain Sides Are Both Busy in New Language Learning
A study of adults learning a new language found that speaking primarily activated regions in the left side of the brain, but reading and listening comprehension were much more variable
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PolicyDecember 16, 2020
Food-Industry-Backed Research Gives Results Funders Want, New Analysis Shows
More than half of these studies yielded outcomes favorable to company products, compared with less than 10 percent lacking such support
BiologyDecember 16, 2020
How the First Life on Earth Survived Its Biggest Threat—Water
Living things depend on water, but it breaks down DNA and other key molecules. So how did the earliest cells deal with the water paradox?
The SciencesDecember 16, 2020
Physicists Achieve Best Ever Measurement of Fine-Structure Constant
Three times more precise than the previous record-holding determination, the result closely agrees with theoretical predictions but could still reveal pathways to new physics
Space & PhysicsDecember 15, 2020
Asteroid Dust Recovered from Japan’s Daring Hayabusa2 Mission
Scientists hope the dark grains from asteroid Ryugu will improve their understanding of the solar system’s formation
OpinionDecember 15, 2020
Quantum Mechanics, the Mind-Body Problem and Negative Theology
Scientists and philosophers should keep trying to solve reality’s deepest riddles while accepting that they are unsolvable
NeuroscienceDecember 12, 2020
Eye Treatment Stretches Mouse Sight Beyond Visible Spectrum
Nanoparticles that attach to photoreceptors allowed mice to see infrared and near-infrared light for up to two months.
OpinionDecember 12, 2020
Endless Creation Out of Nothing
Could our universe have been an experiment by an ancient civilization?
BiologyDecember 12, 2020
This Bat Wears a Face Mask
The wrinkle-faced bat covers its face with a flap of skin, seemingly as part of its courtship rituals.
BiologyDecember 11, 2020
Itsy-Bitsy 3-D Spider Web Is as Strong as Human-Made Materials
Lobster pot spiders spin their webs with a superior thread
OpinionDecember 11, 2020
These Nine Women Should Have Key Roles in the New Administration
They’re extraordinarily accomplished, and they could form a powerful “Science Squad” to help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris repair the damage done over the past four years