The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. The tree also has a unique relationship with a wasp that has coevolved with it and is the only insect that can pollinate it. In a new study, researchersContinue Reading
A new CDC report finds that 25% of people don’t remember to wash their hands at important times, such as after blowing their nose. More Americans are washing their hands amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but 1 in 4 don’t lather up when they need to, such as after blowing theirContinue Reading
Another study shows that masks and other mitigation efforts not only work, but work well. Mask mandates, closures of certain businesses and other COVID-19 mitigation strategies implemented over the summer led to a 75% drop in new coronavirus cases in Arizona, according to a new report from the Centers forContinue Reading
The annual Draconid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday, Oct. 7, but don’t get your hopes up for a spectacular sky show. Even at their peak — which, this year, occurs just after nightfall on Wednesday evening — the Draconids are usually modest, generating just a few meteors per hour. TheContinue Reading
Black holes are perhaps the strangest, least-understood objects in our universe. With so much potential — being linked to everything from wormholes to new baby universes — they have sucked in physicists for decades. But as strange as these known objects are, even stranger types of black holes could beContinue Reading
Long-term memory controlled by protein synthesis in inhibitory cells A McGill-led multi-institutional research team has discovered that during memory consolidation, there are at least two distinct processes taking place in two different brain networks — the excitatory and inhibitory networks. The excitatory neurons are involved in creating a memory trace,Continue Reading
Ultraviolet light from giant stellar flares can destroy a planet’s habitability. New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will help astrobiologists understand how much radiation planets experience during super flares and whether life could exist on worlds beyond our solar system. Super flares are bursts ofContinue Reading
University of East Anglia Rising nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are jeopardizing the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a major new study by an international team of scientists. The growing use of nitrogen fertilizers in the production of food worldwide is increasing atmospheric concentrations of N2O — aContinue Reading
Scientists have finally recreated the initial steps of HIV infection in a test tube, offering an incredibly zoomed-in view of the virus in action. The amazing images show a cone-shaped shell of geometric tiles, called the capsid, that sits at the virus’s center and contains its genetic material, known asContinue Reading
A giant star died, blasting its guts out into space. But before the star detonated, some stellar thief had already stolen the giant’s skin. Now, astrophysicists think they’ve identified the culprit: another star blasting its own guts out nearby. Supernovas are fairly common in space. Most very large stars endContinue Reading
