Science
Discover facts about science. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Science
An axolotl rebuilds a missing limb instead of just closing the wound.
An axolotl rebuilds a missing limb instead of just closing the wound. Cells beneath the wound covering form a structure called a blastema, which supplies…
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Earth could orbit a Sun-mass black hole much as it orbits the Sun.
Earth could orbit a Sun-mass black hole much as it orbits the Sun. At Earth's distance, gravity depends on that central mass, not on whether the object…
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Earth keeps a solid iron center at roughly 6,000°C.
Earth keeps a solid iron center at roughly 6,000°C. Enormous pressure allows the inner core to remain solid despite temperatures comparable to the Sun's…
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Pluto has not completed a single orbit around the sun since its discovery in 1930, and it will not complete its first observed revolution until the year 2178.
Pluto has not completed a single orbit around the sun since its discovery in 1930, and it will not complete its first observed revolution until the year 2178.…
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Female ferrets can die if they go into heat and do not mate, a bizarre biological condition known as aplastic anemia caused by prolonged estrogen toxicity.
Female ferrets can die if they go into heat and do not mate, a bizarre biological condition known as aplastic anemia caused by prolonged estrogen toxicity.…
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Saturn's average density is lower than water's.
Saturn's average density is lower than water's. The planet contains so much lightweight hydrogen and helium across its enormous volume that a cubic meter of…
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An echidna has four penile tips but uses two at a time.
An echidna has four penile tips but uses two at a time. Researchers found an arrangement of blood vessels and erectile tissue that allows one side to operate…
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Liquid oxygen is blue—and a magnet can attract it.
Liquid oxygen is blue—and a magnet can attract it. Oxygen molecules have unpaired electrons, which give them a magnetic response. In liquid form, that…
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Early chain saws were surgical tools before they became logging machines.
Early chain saws were surgical tools before they became logging machines. Eighteenth-century surgeons developed a flexible chain of cutting teeth for bone…
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A polar bear looks white without white pigment in its hair.
A polar bear looks white without white pigment in its hair. Its unpigmented hairs scatter light, creating the pale appearance of the coat, while the skin…
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Old window glass preserves manufacturing unevenness, not centuries of slow flow.
Old window glass preserves manufacturing unevenness, not centuries of slow flow. Traditional methods produced panes of varying thickness. Glass at room…
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Unrelated cheetahs accepted one another's skin grafts.
Unrelated cheetahs accepted one another's skin grafts. A 1985 study reported acceptance of 14 reciprocal grafts, an unusual result for animals that were not…
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Making a nonstick pan means making nonstick material stick.
Making a nonstick pan means making nonstick material stick. A coating system uses a prepared metal surface and a bonding primer beneath the slippery top…
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Gallium can turn a metal spoon into liquid in warm water.
Gallium can turn a metal spoon into liquid in warm water. It melts at about 30°C, just above a warm room's temperature. Heating a gallium object changes its…
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Yellowstone's underground heat powers a landscape of geysers.
Yellowstone's underground heat powers a landscape of geysers. Hot rock beneath the park heats circulating groundwater, feeding hot springs and geysers. The…
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Even black holes are predicted to lose mass.
Even black holes are predicted to lose mass. Hawking radiation arises from quantum effects associated with a black hole's horizon. Losing energy would…
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A space explosion can be visible without bringing its own soundtrack.
A space explosion can be visible without bringing its own soundtrack. Sound is a pressure disturbance passed between particles. Across a vacuum, there is no…
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A higher clock really does tick faster.
A higher clock really does tick faster. Gravity slows the passage of time, so a clock farther from Earth’s center runs slightly faster than one below it. In…
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Cashew nuts naturally grow hanging out of the very bottom of a strange, fleshy pseudo-fruit known as a cashew apple.
Cashew nuts naturally grow hanging out of the very bottom of a strange, fleshy pseudo-fruit known as a cashew apple. The red or yellow “apple” is a swollen…
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Butterflies can taste a leaf with their feet.
Butterflies can taste a leaf with their feet. Chemical receptors help a female assess whether a plant is a suitable place to lay eggs. The caterpillars will…
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Cats almost always land squarely on their feet due to an innate biological reaction called the righting reflex combined with an incredibly flexible skeletal structure.
Cats almost always land squarely on their feet due to an innate biological reaction called the righting reflex combined with an incredibly flexible skeletal…
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A whale's digestive oddity became a perfume ingredient.
A whale's digestive oddity became a perfume ingredient. Ambergris forms in sperm whales and often contains indigestible squid parts. Fresh material can smell…
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A male seahorse gives the embryos more than a place to hide.
A male seahorse gives the embryos more than a place to hide. The female transfers eggs into his brood pouch, where they develop before he releases the young.…
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Bullwhips create their iconic cracking sound not from leather hitting leather, but by creating a miniature sonic boom as the tip of the whip breaks the sound barrier in midair.
Bullwhips create their iconic cracking sound not from leather hitting leather, but by creating a miniature sonic boom as the tip of the whip breaks the sound…
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