What’s in the huge pandemic relief bill for science?
A massive $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill now on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk will deliver cash to a wide array of groups—including the scientific community.
‘Blinged out’ female ruler may be evidence of powerful women during Bronze Age
As the many broken, battered bodies recovered from ancient burials can attest, the European Bronze Age was a tough time to be alive. Most historians and archaeologists have assumed these combative societies were led by men. But a new analysis of a richly adorned female ruler buried in a Bronze […]
Giant gravitational wave detectors could hear murmurs from across universe
Just 5 years ago, physicists opened a new window on the universe when they first detected gravitational waves, ripples in space itself set off when massive black holes or neutron stars collide. Even as discoveries pour in, researchers are already planning bigger, more sensitive detectors. And a Ford versus Ferrari […]
What is research misconduct? European countries can’t agree
In Sweden, a national code takes 44,000 words to define research misconduct and discuss scientific values. Next door, Norway’s equivalent is a brisk 900 words, little more than in this news article. And it’s not just the size of the codes that differs across Europe: A new analysis of scientific […]
How is this horse feeling? New mobile brain wave reader could tell
The famed stallion Black Beauty felt joy, excitement, and even heartbreak—or so he tells us in the 1877 novel that bears his name. Now, scientists say they’ve been able to detect feelings in living animals by getting them straight from the horse’s mouth—or in this case, its head. Researchers have […]
Medieval ‘birthing girdle’ contains delivery fluid, milk, and honey
More than 500 years ago, an anxious woman faced one of the most dangerous moments known to medieval medicine: childbirth. To help her survive, she wrapped a 3-meter-long belt of parchment around her heaving belly, hoping the prayers and religious symbols that covered it would deliver her—and her baby—safely through […]
Ancient Earth was a water world
Across the ages, sea levels have risen and fallen with temperatures—but Earth’s total surface water was always assumed to be constant. Now, evidence is mounting that some 3 billion to 4 billion years ago, the planet’s oceans held nearly twice as much water—enough to submerge today’s continents above the peak […]
‘On the verge of a breakdown.’ Report highlights women academics’ pandemic challenges
Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers and policymakers have raised serious concerns about impacts on women, including those pursuing careers in academic science. Today, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine adds to the chorus with its report on how women academics in science, technology, engineering, math, […]