Illustration of merging of black holes Shutterstock / Jurik Peter A record-breaking black hole smash-up just expanded our view of the universe’s most extreme inhabitants. Since the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) started detecting gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of physical reality – 10 years ago, it has captured nearly 100 collisions between…
Senior physics writer Emily Conover has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. She is a two-time winner of the D.C. Science Writers’ Association Newsbrief award and a winner of the Acoustical Society of America’s Science Communication Award.
I will never forget the kung pao chicken I sat down to eat a few months ago. Not because the taste blew me away – 20 minutes on the back of a delivery rider’s scooter had sullied that somewhat. What made the meal memorable was that I hadn’t really ordered it at all. Yet there…
It seems that not all organs are equally important for longevity Westend61 GmbH / Alamy When it comes to living a long life, it seems not all organs are created equal. Scientists have found that having a youthful brain or immune system may be key – more so than having a slowly ageing heart or…
Protein fragments managed to persist in the harsh conditions of Kenya’s Rift Valley Ellen Miller The fossilised teeth of 18-million-year-old mammals in Kenya have yielded the oldest protein fragments ever recovered, extending the record age for ancient proteins fivefold. Daniel Green at Harvard University, in collaboration with Kenyan scientists, found a variety of fossilised remains,…
Working out seems to have a cancer-fighting effect Franziska & Tom Werner/Getty Images Exercise is known to help prevent cancer and suppress the growth of existing tumours. It is also associated with changes in the gut microbiome – and now researchers have shown how these changes could result in exercise’s cancer-fighting effect. Marlies Meisel at…
Social media and short-form video platforms are driving language innovation Lisa5201/Getty images AlgospeakAdam Aleksic (Ebury (UK, 17 July) Knopf (US, 15 July)) Nothing makes you feel old like being bamboozled by slang. Even the chapter titles of Adam Aleksic’s Algospeak: How social media is transforming the future of language have this effect. “Sticking Out Your…
An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this portion of the Milky Way galaxy NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia). One of the big challenges in communicating about space and space-time is that the universe is so large the scales are very difficult to imagine. Even just trying to get a sense…
Cassian Bilton plays Dawn, one of three clones who rule the galaxy Patrick Redmond/Apple TV+ FoundationApple TV+ Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner used to spend every evening watching movies. Their favourites were cheesy – the type of film where someone says, “Secure the perimeter!” Why do I mention this in the context of Foundation? Because this…
Researchers Identify Four Autism Subtypes with Distinct Genes and Traits Autism has at least four subtypes, an analysis of more than 5,000 children’s genes, traits and developmental trajectories has shown By Allison Parshall edited by Jeanna Bryner Muharrem Huner/Getty Images Stephen Shore, an autistic professor of special education at Adelphi University, has said: “If you’ve…
