SCIENCE

  • How a Rare Islamic Astrolabe Helped Muslims, Jews and Christians Tell Time and Read Horoscopes

    How a Rare Islamic Astrolabe Helped Muslims, Jews and Christians Tell Time and Read Horoscopes A rare Islamic astrolabe discovered in Verona, Italy, reveals how the instrument passed through different countries and cultures By Annie Melchor A close-up of the Verona astrolabe shows Hebrew inscribed (top left) above Arabic inscriptions. The stars that twinkled over medieval Verona have long been…

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  • The Future of Driving in the U.S. Is Electric—Sort Of

    The Future of Driving in the U.S. Is Electric—Sort Of The EPA’s final rule on car emissions will result in far fewer battery-powered electric vehicles than what the agency envisioned last year By Mike Lee, Jean Chemnick & E&E News Credit: Cavan Images/Getty Images CLIMATEWIRE | The Biden administration’s plan to electrify the car industry will get a little help…

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  • Female Mosquitoes Follow Each Other to Breeding Sites

    The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, one of the most common species in the U.S., love everything about humans. They love our body heat and odors, which enable them to find us. They love to feed on our blood to make their eggs mature. They even…

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  • Most Astronauts Get ‘Space Headaches.’ Scientists Want to Know Why

    Most Astronauts Get ‘Space Headaches.’ Scientists Want to Know Why Headaches are a common and recurring problem in space, even for astronauts that don’t experience them on Earth By Joanna Thompson Credit: Ignatiev/Getty Images Spaceflight can be a real headache—literally. Since the days of the Apollo program, astronauts have reported experiencing head pain during their stint in microgravity. And many…

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  • SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Reached Record Heights before It Was Lost

    SpaceX’s Starship Rocket Reached Record Heights before It Was Lost SpaceX lost both the booster and vehicle in a test launch of its massive Starship rocket. But the third try was the charm for Starship, which smoothly separated in its most successful flight to date By Josh Dinner & SPACE.com The SpaceX Starship spacecraft lifts off from Starbase in Boca…

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  • Titanosaurs—The Biggest Land Animals in Earth’s History—Thrived by Combining Reptilian and Mammalian Traits

    Titanosaurs—The Biggest Land Animals in Earth’s History—Thrived by Combining Reptilian and Mammalian Traits The secret to titanosaurs’ remarkable biological success may be how they merged the best of both reptilian and mammalian characteristics to form a unique way of life By Kristi Curry Rogers & The Conversation US The Titanosaur, the largest dinosaur ever displayed at the American Museum of…

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  • Meet the Real-life Versions of Dune’s Epic Sandworms

    Meet the Real-life Versions of Dune’s Epic Sandworms A Dune-loving worm paleontologist makes the case that worms have been just as important on Earth as they are in the blockbuster film. By Julian Nowogrodzki & Nature magazine Sandworms pursue a crowd in this scene from Dune: Part Two Credit: Warner Bros./FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo The film Dune: Part 2 might feature…

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  • Is Marijuana Bad for Health? Here’s What We Know So Far

    Is Marijuana Bad for Health? Here’s What We Know So Far Marijuana’s health impacts—good and bad—are coming into focus By Jesse Greenspan Credit: Cappi Thompson/Getty Images With decades of legal and social opprobrium fading fast, marijuana has become an extremely popular commercial product with more than 48 million users across the U.S. Health concerns, once exaggerated, now often seem to…

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  • What Plant Migrations Tell Us about Ourselves

    What Plant Migrations Tell Us about Ourselves New insights into why animals play, how to hunt an asteroid, and more books out now By Erica Berry An underwater view of a kelp forest. Credit: Brent Durand/Getty Images NONFICTION Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee Catapult, 2024 ($27) As a child in Canada, Jessica J. Lee squirmed…

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  • Even ‘Twilight Zone’ Coral Reefs Aren’t Safe from Bleaching

    February 26, 2024 2 min read Even ‘Twilight Zone’ Coral Reefs Aren’t Safe from Bleaching Coral reefs hundreds of feet below the ocean surface aren’t as safe as scientists thought By Carolyn Wilke Recovering corals at the Chagos Archipelago. Credit: University of Plymouth As marine biologist Nicola Foster and her colleagues steered a remote-controlled submersible through the coral reefs of…

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