How omicron is reshaping the pandemic
Omicron is the fifth coronavirus variant of concern and is spreading rapidly around the world. Here’s what we know.
By Luis VelardeDecember 22, 2021NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, poised to launch, will open a new window on the cosmos — if everything goes just right
The successor to the Hubble must evade 344 “single point failures” to achieve its ambitious mission.
By Joel AchenbachDecember 22, 2021A dinosaur embryo, exceptionally preserved in an egg about to hatch, reveals links to birds
The oviraptorosaur embryo, named Baby Yingliang, was discovered after its fossilized egg sat for 15 years in a Chinese museum's storage.
By Amy ChengDecember 22, 2021Alan Scott, researcher who pioneered medical uses of Botox, dies at 89
Botox, the drug he first used to treat conditions such as crossed eyes, went on to be used by an estimated 11 million people as a wrinkle-relaxing elixir of youth.
By Emily LangerDecember 21, 2021NASA releases new photos of Jupiter — and a recording of its moon that sounds like R2-D2
NASA's Juno spacecraft collected electronic and magnetic data, then converted it into sounds humans can hear.
By María PaúlDecember 19, 2021Instagram image leads to discovery of new snake species
While stuck at home because of the coronavirus lockdowns in India, a graduate student began to post photos he took while exploring his town.
By Erin BlakemoreDecember 19, 2021A family decorated their Christmas tree. Then a venomous snake appeared among the ornaments.
A family in South Africa discovered a boomslang — a very venomous snake — hiding inside their Christmas tree.
By Lindsey BeverDecember 15, 2021NASA's Parker Solar Probe touches the sun for the first time
NASA's Parker Solar Probe on Dec. 14, flew through the Sun’s upper atmosphere and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.
By December 15, 2021Video shows rare total solar eclipse
NASA video shot from Union Glacier in Antartica on Dec. 4, shows the moon passing in front of the sun, creating a rare total solar eclipse.
By December 6, 2021Eight wolves have been poisoned in Oregon, stumping police and renewing calls for more protections
Numerous conservation and animal protection groups are also offering a combined $26,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the poisonings.
By Paulina FiroziDecember 5, 2021World’s strongest ocean current is speeding up — and humans are to blame
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current’s faster circulation will change the way heat is distributed in the oceans and affect marine life, scientists suggest.
By Erin BlakemoreDecember 5, 2021Omicron possibly more infectious because it shares genetic code with common cold coronavirus, study says
As a virus evolves to become more transmissible, it generally “loses” traits that are likely to cause severe disease, researchers said.
By Amy ChengDecember 4, 2021Do travel restrictions stop the spread of coronavirus variants?
Several countries imposed travel restrictions to stop the spread of the omicron variant, but the WHO says the move only works “at the beginning of an outbreak.
By Luis VelardeDecember 3, 2021These living robots made of frog cells can now reproduce, study says
The "xenobots" could already move around, display collective behavior and heal themselves. Research released Monday suggests that the cell clumps can also be engineered to sustain themselves for at least five generations.
By Marisa IatiNovember 30, 2021Online exhibit adds up the history of mathematics
It features over 70 artifacts and goes back a whopping 4,000 years to the earliest days of counting and computation.
By Erin BlakemoreNovember 28, 2021Sky Watch: See Venus, Saturn and Jupiter fall into line
By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.November 28, 2021Your brain on wine, milkshakes and kale juice
What does your brain look like on wine, milkshakes and kale juice?
By November 23, 2021NASA hopes to hit an asteroid now in case we really need to knock one away later
NASA is launching a spacecraft head-on into an asteroid, hoping to change the space rock's orbit. It is a test in case we really need to smack one out of the way someday.
By Bonnie Berkowitz and Artur GalochaNovember 21, 2021‘Weird, hot, black ice’: Scientists discover new phase of water
It could explain formation of icy planets such as Uranus and Neptune.
By Erin BlakemoreNovember 21, 2021No, turkey doesn’t make you sleepy: the science of Thanksgiving feasts
Americans are preparing to knuckle down and stuff their faces, come what may. But what does this delicious debauchery do to your body?
By Rachel FeltmanNovember 20, 2021