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Adding 8 trillion tons of artificial snow to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could stop from collapsing. Should we do it?

There are a heck of a lot of reasons not to.




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Mammals’ weird way of swallowing is at least 165 million years old

A new fossil find may help pinpoint the origins of mammals’ uber-flexible hyoid bone, which anchors the tongue and gives us our signature swallowing style.




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In a first, researchers have permanently magnetized a liquid

The new material could have applications in robotics and medicine.




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A year ago, toxic red tide took over Florida’s Gulf Coast. What would it take to stop it next time?

Killing red tide cells en masse can unleash their potent toxin. That means researchers need to get creative.




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Quivering bird eggs prep each other for predators before they hatch

Even while still in their eggs, baby birds can hear their parents’ alarm calls. They then pass the message along to unhatched siblings so the entire clutch emerges aware of the dangers ahead.




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In a smattering of ancient stars, scientists glimpse the Milky Way’s origins

A new analysis pinpoints some of the most ancient stars in our galaxy—and tells the story of the Milky Way’s ravenous past.




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In the race against climate change, many animals may not keep up

A sobering analysis suggests that animal species aren’t adapting fast enough to maintain their numbers in the face of rising temperatures.




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Scientists use radiation and bacteria to slash mosquito populations on two Chinese islands

Combining two insect-control techniques, researchers largely prevented reproduction in a mosquito species known to carry Zika, dengue, and yellow fever.




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Cool down with the slick science of sweat

Under extreme conditions, a human can produce more than three gallons of sweat in a single day.




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NOVA Nominated For Three Emmy Awards

PBS leads the list with 47 nominations.




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This robotic hand can partially restore a sense of touch

Researchers have built a prosthesis that enabled a man who lost his hand to text, pluck grapes from their stems, and stuff a pillow into its case.




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Chaser, the language-learning dog with a 1,000-word vocabulary, has died

The border collie achieved international fame for her remarkable grasp on vocabulary and sentence structure.




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This ‘Big Red Ball’ can simulate the Sun’s bizarre magnetic field

Physicists built a machine that might help explain how solar wind forms—all without leaving Earth’s atmosphere.




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Meet <i>Cambroraster falcatus</i>, the sediment-sifting ‘Roomba’ of the Cambrian

This crustacean-like critter stalked the seas half a billion years ago.




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A new trio of exoplanets could offer clues to how midsized planets form

The trifecta, discovered by NASA’s TESS, includes a “super-Earth” and two “sub-Neptunes” in a system called TOI-270.




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A new 3D map of the Milky Way flaunts our galaxy’s warped shape

Using data from an especially bright population of stars, astronomers have reconstructed the Milky Way’s peaks and valleys like never before.




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The little bicycle that could, thanks to artificial intelligence

An AI chip designed to mimic certain aspects of the human brain has given a bicycle an unprecedented level of autonomy.




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How kiwi plants’ Shy Girls and Friendly Boys helped them evolve separate sexes

These two genes are all it takes to determine the sex of a kiwifruit.




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Science As Told by Teens: Reflecting on the Pilot of NOVA Science Studio

With a goal to empower youth to tell stories about the world in new ways, NOVA Science Studio was able to give students exposure to a wide range of careers in STEM, journalism, and media production.




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There will be blood, and physics, too: The messy science of bloodstain pattern analysis

Researchers are using fluid dynamics to try to improve the study of crime scene blood spatter.




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Super-shy catsharks have a weird way of lighting up

Two kinds of glow-in-the-dark catsharks convert blue light to green, and now we know how.




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Iron from ancient supernovae may still be raining down on Earth

A rare iron isotope produced by exploding stars has been found in Antarctic snow.




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Cone-shaped meteorites are ‘just right’ for plummeting to Earth

Researchers eroding clay in water may have uncovered secrets of meteorites’ aerodynamic stability.




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Two new Ebola drugs dramatically boost survival in a clinical trial

Both treatments rely on infusing patients with antibodies that latch onto the virus and block it from invading cells.




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Jupiter’s ravenous past might help explain its diffuse, hazy core

A computer simulation suggests that a massive collision may have caused Jupiter’s core to shatter into a gassy, borderless cloud.




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Deep-Earth diamonds may contain gassy relics from the early solar system

Scientists studying diamonds from deep within Earth’s mantle found evidence of a reservoir of rocks and gas that may be nearly as old as the planet itself.




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A new form of carbon is born—on a bed of salt

The long-sought molecule could one day power high-energy electronics.




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Hurricanes give aggressive spiders a leg up on their docile kin

For Anelosimus studiosus spiders, the storm survival checklist apparently includes a combative personality.




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The weird and wonderful world growing spuds (and other crops) in space

With the right kind of care, plenty of plants actually do just fine in microgravity.




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In a first, astronomers may have detected a black hole swallowing a neutron star

The LIGO and Virgo observatories appear to have picked up gravitational waves from a first-of-its-kind astronomical observation.




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On Mars, microbes could hitch a ride on wind-borne dust

Experiments in Chile’s Atacama Desert point to a potential method of transportation for microbes on Mars—whether they exist there already, or we introduce them.




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Climate change could mean more mercury in seafood

The threat of mercury in seafood was curbed with regulations, but climate change could drive levels back up.




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Researchers use viral genomes to uncover a Zika outbreak in Cuba

The virus simmered quietly in Cuba for about a year before infecting thousands.




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Cheeseburgers give urban crows higher cholesterol—just like us

But it’s not clear whether elevated cholesterol is bad for birds.




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These albino lizards are the first gene-edited non-avian reptiles

Scientists injected CRISPR gene-editing machinery into unfertilized eggs still developing in female lizards’ ovaries.




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In 17,000-year-old puma poop, a glimpse of Ice Age parasites

The feces contain the oldest example of parasite DNA ever recorded.




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First Americans arrived at least 16,000 years ago, and probably by boat

Artifacts unearthed in Idaho challenge the idea that the first people to populate the Americas made the journey on foot around the end of the Ice Age.




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A microprocessor made of carbon nanotubes says, “Hello, World!”

The technology is still in its infancy, but could someday aid the development of faster, more energy-efficient electronics.




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Moonlight turns white barn owls into terrifying ‘ghosts’

The feathery glint startles their rodent prey, making them easier to catch.




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Squirrels eavesdrop on bird chatter to tell when a threat has passed

These nosy rodents may not speak bird-ese, per se, but they can still use avian chatter as a safety cue.




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Hurricane Dorian crawls up the coast from Florida to Virginia

Some of the storm’s features hint at troubling trends in recent hurricanes.




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Fossil finger points to a surprising link between humans and Denisovans

New findings suggest Neanderthals evolved their unusually broad fingers after they split from Denisovans, just 400,000 years ago.




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How Kīlauea’s lava birthed an algal bloom visible from space

Lava descending into Hawai‘i’s ocean drove an upward surge of deep sea nutrients, cultivating life at the surface.




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Supercooling preserves donor livers for more than a day

The breakthrough could mean that fewer organs go to waste before they make it into a transplant recipient.




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Newly described species of electric eel serves up shocks of 860 volts

That earns this fish, Electrophorus voltai, the title of the strongest known living source of electricity.




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Intricate ‘toe maps’ exist in the brains of artists who paint with their feet

Two men born without arms showcase the brain’s extraordinary flexibility.




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Water vapor found on an ‘Earth-sized’ exoplanet 110 light-years from home

Scientists say the planet, called K2-18b, is “the best candidate for habitability” beyond our solar system.




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Popular pesticide throws off birds’ feeding and migration schedules

Delays during migration can imperil birds’ chances of a successful breeding season.




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Astronomers discover two giant, high-energy ‘bubbles’ at the center of the Milky Way

The gargantuan structures hint at a massive explosion in our galaxy’s past.




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Astronomers may have just detected the most massive neutron star yet

It’s almost too dense to exist. Almost.