The first glimpse of starlight from a galaxy hosting one of the most distant quasars known has revealed an astronomical wonder. Quasars – extremely bright galactic nuclei – owe their brightness to the intense heat that results when gas swirls […]
The occasional sweet treat probably won’t ruin your health. But too much added sugar at a young age can increase the risk of health complications later in life. Limiting added sugars during the first 1,000 days after conception — that […]
The whales changed the course of Asha de Vos’ career. Sri Lanka’s marine biologist was on board a research vessel near her island in 2003 when she spotted six blue whales congregating. A bright red plume of whale debris was […]
The texture of mayonnaise inspires love and hate. Either way, it’s perfect for physics experiments. The classic seasoning is useful for understanding how materials behave, not only when spread on sandwiches or spread on potato salads, but also when used […]
Scientific watchmakers have created a prototype of a nuclear clock, hinting at future possibilities for using atomic nuclei to make precise time measurements and make new tests of fundamental theories of physics. While the definition of “watch” is scientifically nebulous, […]
For the first time, scientists have measured a long-sought global electric field in Earth’s atmosphere. This field, called the ambipolar electric field, was predicted to exist decades ago but was never discovered until now. his animation shows how the ambipolar […]
One of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world is Peru’s Madre de Dios, a region of the Amazon located at the base of the Andes Mountains. When biogeochemist Jacqueline Gerson first traveled there in 2017, she found herself on […]
Flicking the dimmer switch can help some indoor farmers curb one of their biggest challenges: rising electricity costs. Growing crops in stacked rows indoors under fixed-intensity artificial lights can produce more food per square foot using less land and water […]
The opposing fountains of plasma and particles spanning 23 million light-years are the longest pair of black hole jets ever seen. That’s far enough away to affect the evolution of the universe on a cosmic scale, astronomers report Sept. 18. […]
Quantum entanglement has made its way to the top. Scientists have measured the strange quantum phenomenon of entanglement in top quarks, the heaviest fundamental subatomic particles known. It is the first detection of entanglement between pairs of quarks – a […]