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Summary Dark Nebula is a Cauldron of Star Birth You should know where you come from, but understanding the birth of our Sun and family of planets is largely sketchy because it happened 4.6 billion years ago. Trying to imagine far back in time, what were the initial conditions for the genesis of our solar … Read more
The idea of journeying inside the human body to solve health problems has been around at least since science fiction popularizations, but the approach to medicine has yet to become real. Now, researchers at Caltech have developed what they describe as GPS for smart pills, small enough to travel through the human body and help … Read more
Scientists have discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs in the Galápagos Marine Reserve — the first of their kind to be documented inside the marine protected area since it was established in 1998. The reefs, found at a depth of 400-600 meters (1,310-1,970 feet), are at the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the … Read more
There is much more to avian biodiversity in the United States than the number of different species living in a region or community, but birds’ ecosystem contributions — assessed through measures of their diet, body structure and foraging methods — are much tougher to study. With hundreds of species migrating south for the winter and … Read more
Summary A Huge City of Myriad Stars Turns Out to be Potato-Shaped Though it’s estimated that the universe contains 1 trillion galaxies, they come in just a few basic shapes. American astronomer Edwin Hubble realized this in the early 20th century when he used the most powerful telescope on Earth at the time to peer … Read more
A wildfire can pump smoke up into the stratosphere, where the particles drift for over a year. A new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study has found that while suspended these particles can trigger chemical reactions that erode the protective ozone layer shielding the Earth from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet radiation. The study, published in Nature, … Read more
Picture a school of fish swimming in unison or the synchronized flashing of fireflies — examples of collective behavior in nature. When similar collective behavior happens in the quantum world, it leads to processes such as superconductivity, superfluidity and superfluorescence. In all these processes, a group of quantum particles forms a coherent system that acts … Read more
Sea-level rise this century may disproportionately affect certain Asian megacities as well as western tropical Pacific islands and the western Indian Ocean, according to new research that looks at the effects of natural sea-level fluctuations on the projected rise due to climate change. The study, co-authored by a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric … Read more
Summary A Rain of Icy Particles Is Affecting the Giant Planet’s Weather The planet Saturn is easily recognizable for its opulent ring system that can easily be seen through a small telescope. Astronomers have now found that the rings are not as placid as they look. The icy rings particles are raining down onto Saturn’s … Read more
Climate change isn’t the only threat facing California’s birds. Over the course of the 20th century, urban sprawl and agricultural development have dramatically changed the landscape of the state, forcing many native species to adapt to new and unfamiliar habitats. In a U.S. National Science Foundation-supported study, biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, used … Read more