Vol. 202 No. 10

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More Stories from the December 3, 2022 issue

  1. Physics

    50 years ago, physicists found the speed of light

    In the 1970s, scientists set a new maximum speed limit for light. Fifty years later, they continue putting light through its paces.

    By
  2. Two people sample whiskey from a wood cask
    Chemistry

    Mixing gold ions into whiskey can reveal its flavor

    By changing the spirit’s color, the formation of gold nanoparticles can reveal how much flavor a whiskey has absorbed from its wood cask.

    By
  3. A car's headlights reveal a deer crossing a two-lane road, with deer crossing signs in the background.
    Animals

    Deer-vehicle collisions spike when daylight saving time ends

    In the week after much of the United States turns the clock back, scientists found a 16 percent increase in crashes between vehicles and deer.

    By
  4. An illustration of Ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus looking through a telescope at the night sky.
    Astronomy

    Part of a lost, ancient star catalog has now been found

    Greek astronomer Hipparchus may be the first to try to precisely map the stars. His lost work turned up on parchment that had been erased and reused.

    By
  5. A photo of the Golden Gate Bridge on a bright sunny day
    Physics

    Crowdsourced cell phone data could keep bridges safe and strong

    Accelerometers and GPS sensors in smartphones could provide frequent, real-time data on bridge vibrations, and alert engineers to changes in integrity

    By
  6. A close up photo of a mosquito drawing blood from a human
    Health & Medicine

    A major malaria outbreak in Ethiopia came from an invasive Asian mosquito

    Malaria may become a much bigger problem in Africa’s cities if the invasive mosquito continues to spread.

    By
  7. A man lays on a bed looking at a gray cat next to him on the bed.
    Health & Medicine

    Cat allergies may be tamed by adding an asthma therapy to allergy shots

    Adding an antibody already used to treat asthma to standard allergy shots improved cat allergy symptoms for a least a year, a small study finds.

    By
  8. Mars' Cerberus Fossae region, seen as a barren landscape with a prominent fault line running through it
    Planetary Science

    Marsquakes hint that the planet might be volcanically active after all

    Seismic data recorded by NASA’s InSight lander suggest molten rock moves tens of kilometers below the planet’s fractured Cerberus Fossae region.

    By
  9. A swarm of locusts flies over a field.
    Animals

    Insect swarms might generate as much electric charge as storm clouds

    Honeybees flying over a sensor measuring atmospheric voltage sparked a look into how insect-induced static electricity might affect the atmosphere.

    By
  10. Iraq's Tell al-Hiba site, a sprawling desert landscape, seen from the air
    Archaeology

    Drone photos reveal an early Mesopotamian city made of marsh islands

    Urban growth around 4,600 years ago, near what is now southern Iraq, occurred on marshy outposts that lacked a city center.

    By