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‘Radical Change’ Needed After Latest Neutron Star Collision

A recent neutron star merger has defied astronomers’ expectations, leading them to question longstanding ideas about neutron stars and the supernovas that create them. “We have to go back to the drawing board.”

February 24, 2020

Why Doesn’t Everybody Have Dark Skin Today?

Questions and answers about the science of skin color.

February 19, 2020

What Really Inflamed the Coronavirus Epidemic

Censorship didn’t worsen the deadly virus outbreak. Incompetence did.

February 19, 2020

There’s No Homunculus In Our Brain Who Guides Us

Why the cognitive-map theory is misguided.

February 18, 2020

New Clues About ‘Ambigram’ Viruses With Strange Reversible Genes

For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.

February 14, 2020

Color-Changing Material Unites the Math and Physics of Knots

Mathematicians have studied knots for centuries, but a new material is showing why some knots are better than others.

February 14, 2020

The Future of Food Looks Small, Dense, and Very Bushy

Vertical farming could make agriculture more robust and sustainable. To unlock that potential, scientists are redesigning crops for urban life.

February 13, 2020

How Geology Can Ease Your Mind

Take comfort that we live on a very old, durable planet.

February 12, 2020