Science
Big space mirrors could bring Earth on-demand light — and upend our night sky
Since 1989, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell has tracked every human-made object in space. McDowell’s meticulously maintained catalog, updated every…
Nepal’s deadly debris flow points to risks in other high mountain regions
When an immense and inexorable flow of rock, mud and water barreled through northern Nepal on August 26, it killed more than 1,200 people and left…
During menopause, brain changes surprisingly take a break
Major hormonal changes during pregnancy and the first menstrual period, known as menarche, are reflected in the brain. But during menopause, brain…
Alzheimer’s damage may begin outside the brain
Destructive immune cells tied to Alzheimer’s disease may get their marching orders from cells outside the brain rather than within it. In mice…
These mice have human (nerve cells) on the brain
Scientists have made mice with a remarkable amount of room for human brain tissue to grow. By genetically engineering animals lacking part of their…
Bogland explores beautifully strange ecosystems
BoglandMerritt R. TuretskyW.W. Norton & Company, $29.99 Thank goodness Merritt Turetsky became captivated by boglands. The ecosystem ecologist…
Meet Swiftiephylus, an Australian bug named after Taylor Swift
If you’re down under and you give the right tree a rustle, you might encounter a record-breaking, globally recognized music icon. Or at least a bug…
These neutrinos from the sun have the lowest energies ever seen
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’…
Feeling nervous? Work the system
When you’re stressed, you lose control. Your sympathetic nervous system takes over, triggering the release of stress hormones into the bloodstream…
These deep-sea spiders give off an otherworldly glow
In the deep, dark Australian Abyss, what’s visible can be scarier than the unseen. There, giant sea spiders with glowing 25-centimeter-long legs may…