Vol. 206 No. 02
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cover of August 10, 2024 issue of Science News

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More Stories from the August 10, 2024 issue

  1. Health & Medicine

    A bizarre video of eyeballs illustrates our pupils shrink with age

    Pupil size can decrease up to 0.4 millimeters per decade, hinting at why it can be increasingly harder for people to see in dim light as they age.

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  2. ‘Space hurricanes’ churn at both of Earth’s magnetic poles

    The southern hemisphere’s ionosphere experiences about 23 space hurricanes per year, which is on par with the northern hemisphere.

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  3. Paleontology

    Stunning trilobite fossils include soft tissues never seen before

    Well-preserved fossils from Morocco help paleontologists understand the weird way trilobites ate and perhaps why these iconic animals went extinct.

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  4. Astronomy

    A stellar explosion may add a temporary ‘new star’ to the night sky this summer

    A nova occurs in the constellation Corona Borealis once every 80 years. Its bright light will be visible to the naked eye for up to a week.

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  5. Materials Science

    Jurassic Park’s amber-preserved dino DNA is now inspiring a way to store data 

    DNA is capable of encoding all sorts of data. Storing it in an amberlike material may keep that information safe for nearly forever.

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  6. Physics

    Can light spark superconductivity? A new study reignites debate

    Brief blasts of light might make some materials into fleeting superconductors. Magnetic measurements strengthen the case for this controversial claim.

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  7. Astronomy

    A middleweight black hole has been spotted for the first time in our galaxy

    The rare find, discovered in the star cluster Omega Centauri, could offer clues to how black holes and galaxies evolve.

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  8. Environment

    Landfills belch toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into the air

    An analysis of samples from three Florida landfills shows that landfill gas can carry more PFAS than the liquid that leaches from the waste.

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  9. Climate

    Plants might not hold on to carbon as long as we thought

    Radiocarbon from bomb tests reveals that plants store more carbon than previously estimated in leaves and stems, which are vulnerable to degradation.

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  10. Archaeology

    Ancient Egyptian scribes’ work left its mark on their skeletons

    Years of hunching over, chewing pens and gripping brushes left the skeletons of Egyptian scribes with telltale marks of arthritis and other damage.

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  11. Environment

    Federally unprotected streams contribute most of the water to U.S. rivers

    A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ephemeral streams aren’t protected by the Clean Water Act could have sizable ripple effects, a study suggests.

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  12. Archaeology

    A new study challenges the idea that Rapa Nui islanders caused an ‘ecocide’

    Rapa Niu islanders farmed and fished enough to feed only a few thousand people, too few to decimate society before Europeans arrived, researchers contend.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    Some people have never gotten COVID-19. An obscure gene may be why

    A trial that purposely exposed volunteers to COVID-19 revealed key immunological differences that may explain why some people can dodge SARS-CoV-2.

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  14. Earth

    An ancient earthquake changed the course of the Ganges River

    Flooding from a similar earthquake today could threaten about 170 million people in India and Bangladesh who live in low-lying regions nearby.

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  15. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists blamed migraines on cheese and chocolate

    Exactly how migraines develop is still coming into focus, but scientists now know that many factors can trigger attacks.

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