A supersensitive dark matter search found no signs of the substance — yet

The next generation of dark matter detectors has arrived. A massive new effort to detect the elusive substance has reported its first results. Following a time-honored tradition of dark matter…

New Gaia data paint the most detailed picture yet of the Milky Way

1.6 billion stars. 11.4 million galaxies. 158,000 asteroids. One spacecraft. The European Space Agency’s Gaia space observatory, which launched in 2013, has long surpassed its goal of charting more than…

A newfound dinosaur had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool

Tyrannosaurus rex’s tiny arms have launched a thousand sarcastic memes: I love you this much; can you pass the salt?; row, row, row your … oh. But back off, snarky…

College COVID-19 testing can reduce coronavirus deaths in local communities

Getting a COVID-19 test has become a regular part of many college students’ lives. That ritual may protect not just those students’ classmates and professors but also their municipal bus…

The idea that many people grow following trauma may be a myth

“What does not kill me, makes me stronger,” 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote. Variations of that aphorism abound in literary, spiritual and, more recently, psychological texts. That…

How to build better ice towers for drinking water and irrigation

There’s a better way to build a glacier. During winter in India’s mountainous Ladakh region, some farmers use pipes and sprinklers to construct building-sized cones of ice. These towering, humanmade…

How to build better ice towers for drinking water and irrigation

There’s a better way to build a glacier. During winter in India’s mountainous Ladakh region, some farmers use pipes and sprinklers to construct building-sized cones of ice. These towering, humanmade…

Ed Yong’s ‘An Immense World’ reveals how animals perceive the world

An Immense WorldEd YongRandom House, $30 Emerald jewel wasps know what cockroach brains feel like. This comes in handy when a female wasp needs to turn a cockroach into an…

The idea that many people grow following trauma may be a myth

“What does not kill me, makes me stronger,” 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote. Variations of that aphorism abound in literary, spiritual and, more recently, psychological texts. That…

Here’s how sea anemones launch their venomous stingers

A new look at the starlet sea anemone’s stinger gets right to the point.  Live-animal images and 3-D computer reconstructions have revealed the complex architecture of the tiny creature’s needlelike…