Science
Discover facts about science. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Science
Cloning asks an adult cell to start over
A body-cell nucleus can be transferred into an egg whose own nucleus has been removed. The egg must then reprogram that DNA to direct early development rather…
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The universe's expansion is speeding up
On cosmic scales, distant galaxies are being carried apart as space expands, and that expansion is accelerating. Dark energy is the name for the unknown cause…
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Researchers revived activity in pig organs after death
After death, researchers circulated a specially designed fluid through pig organs. It helped some cells work again hours later, but it did not restart the…
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Alien microscopic world inside a single drop
A drop of pond water can host a whole food web: bacteria feed tiny organisms, and amoebas can grab and engulf some of them. It is less a glass of water than a…
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Scientists are making materials that bend light around objects
Arrange tiny structures just right and a metamaterial can bend light around an object, keeping some of it from reaching a viewer. Change the color or look…
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A fish can rebuild its stripes after losing pigment cells
Researchers removed a small patch of zebrafish pigment cells and watched the pattern regenerate. Neighboring cells influence where new cells develop and…
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The molecule that can make walls seem to breathe
The brain doesn’t simply record what the eyes see; it interprets the signals. When some psychedelics activate 5-HT2A receptors, that processing can shift,…
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Your DNA is written in a four-letter code
DNA uses four chemical “letters,” but the order is what carries the instructions. Cells read that sequence to make RNA and proteins; when DNA is copied, A…
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A liquid that carries oxygen better than blood
Some fluorocarbon liquids carry oxygen by letting the gas dissolve directly into the liquid, rather than attaching it to hemoglobin as it does in blood. They…
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Rogue asteroids cross our cosmic neighborhood
A planet can tug on an asteroid as it flies past, changing the asteroid’s path. That gravitational nudge may send it across Earth’s orbit, but a crossing on a…
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Fusion lasers created a reaction hotter than the Sun’s core
The lasers didn’t simply heat the fuel; they crushed it inward so hydrogen nuclei could fuse. That created a brief reaction hotter than the Sun’s core. But…
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Quasars Can Shine Like Trillions of Suns
A quasar’s black hole stays dark; the blazing light comes from gas spiraling toward it. As gravity pulls the gas inward, it heats up and can shine with the…
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Your heartbeat is supposed to be a little irregular
Even at rest, the gaps between normal beats are not identical. Breathing and the nervous system keep adjusting the timing as your body responds to changing…
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In debates about climate change and record heat waves, which greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels is the main driver of the long-term warming trend we are now measuring?
In debates about climate change and record heat waves, which greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels is the main driver of the long-term warming trend…
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Physics memes love the double-slit experiment; what mind-bending idea about tiny particles like electrons did this experiment famously reveal when nobody was watching the slits?
Physics memes love the double-slit experiment; what mind-bending idea about tiny particles like electrons did this experiment famously reveal when nobody was…
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Quantum computers keep trending in tech news; which key feature of quantum bits (qubits) most clearly separates them from ordinary classical bits in laptops and phones?
Quantum computers keep trending in tech news; which key feature of quantum bits (qubits) most clearly separates them from ordinary classical bits in laptops…
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News about record heat keeps coming; which simple physical mechanism makes greenhouse gases like CO2 warm Earth’s surface more than it would otherwise be?
News about record heat keeps coming; which simple physical mechanism makes greenhouse gases like CO2 warm Earth’s surface more than it would otherwise be?
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Imagine two twins: one orbits close to a massive black hole while the other stays on Earth watching via livestream. After many Earth years, who will actually have aged less?
Imagine two twins: one orbits close to a massive black hole while the other stays on Earth watching via livestream. After many Earth years, who will actually…
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Our planet is constantly humming with tiny vibrations, and buried in that noise might be early whispers of future quakes.
Our planet is constantly humming with tiny vibrations, and buried in that noise might be early whispers of future quakes. The hard part is that the ground is…
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A radio antenna picked up the universe's ancient afterglow.
A radio antenna picked up the universe's ancient afterglow. Penzias and Wilson found an unexplained background signal while working with a microwave antenna…
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Scientists are teaching mosquitoes how not to spread one of humanity's deadliest diseases.
Scientists are teaching mosquitoes how not to spread one of humanity's deadliest diseases. A resistant mosquito may be unable to host the malaria parasite; a…
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Weather forecasts fail after about 10 days not because we are stupid, but because the universe itself is touchy.
Weather forecasts fail after about 10 days not because we are stupid, but because the universe itself is touchy. The atmosphere is a moving system: a tiny…
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Your brain is constantly time‑traveling without telling you.
Your brain is constantly time‑traveling without telling you. Light from a moving object takes time to reach your eyes, and your brain needs time to process…
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In 2022, a volcano hidden mostly underwater punched a hole into the sky so violently it sent ripples around the planet.
In 2022, a volcano hidden mostly underwater punched a hole into the sky so violently it sent ripples around the planet. The Hunga Tonga eruption lofted ash…
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