Some people may already have a tiny bit of protection against H5N1 bird flu. Several recent studies have found that those who caught seasonal flus or received flu vaccinations have low levels of antibodies against H5N1 avian influenza as well. The work may prompt changes to existing flu vaccines, potentially making them more effective against…
Some people will tell you that Homo naledi was a small-brained hominin with some big thoughts. Two years ago, a team led by Lee Berger at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, concluded that H. naledi – a species that lived around 335,000 to 245,000 years ago and had a brain about one-third the…
John Chumack/Science Photo Library One of my favourite ways to stargaze is to spend a few hours with friends chatting and watching the stars move, waiting for flashes of meteors to zip by. Summer in the northern hemisphere is perfect for this kind of evening – especially as two meteor showers are about to reach…
Summer Meteor Showers, Short Summer Days and Ancient Arthropods Set your alarm on Wednesday to see some of the summer’s stunning meteor showers. By Rachel Feltman & Fonda Mwangi Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific American Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. It’s been a while, but we’re finally back with…
An artist’s impression of the exoplanet K2-18b A. Smith/N. Mandhusudhan Hopes of finding alien life on planet K2-18b are rapidly fading, as new observations appear to show no detectable evidence of the biomolecule previous studies had seen hints of. Most scientists agree this shows earlier claims were premature, but one of the researchers behind the…
The Impossible Problems Hidden in a Simple Game of Tetris How complex can a simple game be? Tetris pushes even supercomputers to their limits and amazes mathematicians By Manon Bischoff edited by Daisy Yuhas The gameplay screen of the game Tetris as seen on a 1989 Nintendo Game Boy. Russell Hart/Alamy Stock Photo See the…
Some people check a wristwatch; others use a smartphone app or the position of the sun. But although these methods will tell you what time it is, they won’t reveal your internal time – that is, the state of the clocks in your cells and tissues. This explains why I am standing in front of…
Quantum entanglement can be treated as a shareable resource Peter Jurik/Alamy Quantum entanglement, an inextricable link between particles, is an important resource for quantum computing and communication – and in some cases, it may also be a resource that can be shared nearly indefinitely. Many quantum calculations – such as transferring very securely encrypted quantum…
First-Ever Antimatter Qubit Could Help Crack Cosmic Mysteries The first antimatter qubit will help search for differences between matter and antimatter By Clara Moskowitz edited by Jeanna Bryner Sakkmesterke/Science Photo Library/Getty Images Physicists have created a quantum bit, or qubit, the fundamental storage unit of a quantum computer, out of antimatter for the first time….
The playful pair of Rozi the cheetah cub and Ziggy the labrador-kelpie-collie mix show that sibling bonds can transcend species boundaries. Rozi was born in late February at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, Australia, by emergency caesarean after her mother, Siri, went into labour early. Siri never produced milk, and because Rozi was critically unwell…
