A “fossil chromosome” preserves the structure of a woolly mammoth’s genome — and offers a better grasp of how it once worked.
Tag: Physics
A Tantalizing ‘Hint’ That Astronomers Got Dark Energy All Wrong
Scientists may have discovered a major flaw in their understanding of that mysterious cosmic force. That could be good news for the fate of the universe.
Walter Massey, a Physicist With a Higher Calling
He broke barriers as the first Black physicist in nearly every role. But his identity made him reach for dreams beyond his career as a scientist.
The Doomsday Clock Keeps Ticking
Are humans the only beings in the universe confronting global self-destruction? Or just the last ones standing?
Dark Galaxies: What Happens When Stars Are Nearly Invisible
To dark matter and dark energy, add dark galaxies — collections of stars so sparse and faint that they are all but invisible.
Galaxies in the Early Universe Were Shaped Like Bananas, Study Suggests
Images from the Webb telescope suggest that newborn galaxies look weirder than expected. Exactly how screwy was physics at the dawn of time?
Particle Physicists Offer a Road Map For the Next Decade
A “muon shot” aims to study the basic forces of the cosmos. But meager federal budgets could limit its ambitions.
The Big Nobel Prize Winners Were Short and Fast
The awards for physics and chemistry were a reminder that the most important processes in nature unfold on a scale divorced from everyday human affairs.
Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded to 3 Scientists for Work on Electrons
Techniques resulting from the work of Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier let scientists capture the motions of subatomic particles moving at impossible speeds.
Lise Meitner, the ‘Atomic Pioneer’ Who Never Won a Nobel Prize
Lise Meitner developed the theory of nuclear fission, the process that enabled the atomic bomb. But her identity — Jewish and a woman — barred her from sharing credit for the discovery, newly translated letters show.