Want a ‘Shrinky Dinks’ approach to nano-sized devices? Try hydrogels

High-tech shrink art may be the key to making tiny electronics, 3-D nanostructures or even holograms for hiding secret messages. A new approach to making tiny structures relies on shrinking…

Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only viruses

New Year, new viral diet — literally. Tiny, pond-dwelling Halteria ciliates are virovores, able to survive on a virus-only diet, researchers report December 27 in Proceedings of the National Academy…

Scientists have found the first known microbes that can eat only viruses

New Year, new viral diet — literally. Tiny, pond-dwelling Halteria ciliates are virovores, able to survive on a virus-only diet, researchers report December 27 in Proceedings of the National Academy…

These adorable Australian spike-balls beat the heat with snot bubbles

Animals cover themselves in all kinds of unsavory fluids to keep cool. Humans sweat, kangaroos spit and some birds will urinate on themselves to survive hot days. It turns out…

These chemists cracked the code to long-lasting Roman concrete

MIT chemist Admir Masic really hoped his experiment wouldn’t explode. Masic and his colleagues were trying to re-create an ancient Roman technique for making concrete, a mix of cement, gravel,…

Cyclones in the Arctic are becoming more intense and frequent

CHICAGO – In January 2022, a cyclone blitzed a large expanse of ice-covered ocean between Greenland and Russia. Frenzied gusts galvanized 8-meter-tall waves that pounded the region’s hapless flotillas of…

Here’s what you need to know about COVID’s XBB.1.5 ‘Kraken’ variant

The omicron variant’s family tree has grown substantially over the last year. The brood now encompasses a subvariant soup with alphanumeric names such as BA.2, BA.5 and BF.7. The U.S.…

Enceladus is blanketed in a thick layer of snow

Saturn’s moon Enceladus is shrouded in a thick layer of snow. In some places, the downy stuff is 700 meters deep, new research suggests. “It’s like Buffalo, but worse,” says…

Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’

How Far the Light ReachesSabrina ImblerLittle, Brown & Co., $27 In How Far the Light Reaches, Sabrina Imbler shows us that the ocean, in all its mystery and dazzling glory,…

Sea life offers a lens for self-exploration in ‘How Far the Light Reaches’

How Far the Light Reaches Sabrina Imbler Little, Brown & Co., $27 In How Far the Light Reaches, Sabrina Imbler shows us that the ocean, in all its mystery and…