Some mosquito-borne viruses turn mice into alluring mosquito bait. Mice infected with dengue or Zika viruses — and people infected with dengue — emit a flowery, orange-smelling chemical that tempts…
Author: ID
Sand clouds are common in atmospheres of brown dwarfs
Clouds of sand can condense, grow and disappear in some extraterrestrial atmospheres. A new look at old data shows that clouds made of hot silicate minerals are common in celestial…
This pitcher plant species sets its deathtraps underground
Biologist Martin Dančák didn’t set out to find a plant species new to science. But on a hike through a rainforest in Borneo, he and colleagues stumbled on a subterranean…
A new look at the ‘mineral kingdom’ may transform how we search for life
If every mineral tells a story, then geologists now have their equivalent of The Arabian Nights. For the first time, scientists have cataloged every different way that every known mineral…
50 years ago, a new theory of Earth’s core began solidifying
How the Earth got its core – Science News, July 1, 1972 In the beginning, scientists believe there was an interstellar gas cloud of all the elements comprising the Earth.…
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…
