With Martian skies finally clearing after a massive dust storm, NASA engineers have their fingers crossed that the Opportunity rover will soon phone home. Opportunity has been hunkered down in Mars’ Perseverance Valley since early June, caught in a storm that has grown to envelop the entire Red Planet. Since so little sunlight can reach […]

Wildfires are not known for their restraint. They’ll jump rivers, spew whirling dervishes of flames and double in size overnight. Take the Carr Fire — one of California’s most destructive — sparked in mid-July when the rim of a flat tire met pavement. As the blaze grew, it jumped across the Sacramento River and sparked […]

Superconductors are heating up, and a world record-holder may have just been dethroned. Two studies report evidence of superconductivity — the transmission of electricity without resistance — at temperatures higher than seen before. The effect appears in compounds of lanthanum and hydrogen squeezed to extremely high pressures. All known superconductors must be chilled to function, […]

The antiviral medication Paxlovid seems to reduce the chance of developing long COVID, researchers report. In a large study of veterans’ medical records, Paxlovid lowered a person’s chance of landing in the hospital or dying from all causes in the six months following a COVID-19 infection. And the drug reduced the risk of developing 10 […]

Capybaras, the world’s largest rodent, naturally live in vast grasslands, wetlands and rivers throughout South America. Their name literally means grass eater in the Tupi language, which is indigenous to Brazil and other regions in South America. So scientists who study capybara diets were surprised when they found the animals seemed just as happy munching […]

It’s not great when a person sucks all the oxygen out of a room. When a battery does it to a tumor, though, it could be a good thing. A tiny self-charging battery wrapped around a tumor removes oxygen from the cancer cells’ environment, boosting the power of some cancer therapies, a study in mice […]

For the first time, scientists have recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses. The data reveal some unexpected patterns, though it’s too early to know how octopus brains control the animals’ behavior, researchers report February 23 in Current Biology. “Historically, it’s been so hard to do any recordings from octopuses, even if they’re sedated,” says […]

It’s been three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Yet the mystery of how it got started continues to make headlines again and again and to fuel a heated, and oft-time political, debate. While what exactly happened in the earliest days of the pandemic remains an ongoing question, some genetic studies have tipped the scales […]

Within minutes of biting into peanut-tainted food, people with a peanut allergy may find their pulse quickening, blood pressure plummeting and throat closing up. They’re experiencing a rapid and sometimes fatal allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. New research in mice explains how even a small amount of an allergen can quickly trigger such a strong, full-body […]

There’s a big problem where the rubber meets the road: microplastics. Scientists analyzed more than 500 small particles pulled from the air around three busy German highways, and found that the vast majority — 89 percent — came from vehicle tires, brake systems and roads themselves. All together, these particles are classified by the researchers […]