Science

The Leonids’ radiant is the constellation Leo, which rises around midnight local time and is highest in the sky around dawn. The Geminids (December) The Geminids are active from about December 4 to December 17, peaking overnight from December 13 to December 14. They have a sharp peak, so the …

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For computer scientists, solving problems is a bit like mountaineering. First they must choose a problem to solve—akin to identifying a peak to climb—and then they must develop a strategy to solve it. Classical and quantum researchers compete using different …

Grid batteries have a halo effect for other power generators too. Most thermal power plants—coal, gas, nuclear—prefer to run at a steady pace. Ramping up and down to match demand takes time and costs money, but with batteries soaking up some of the variability, thermal power plants can stay closer …

Satellite observations had shown alternating stripes of light-colored and dark-colored rock in this area. In late March, Perseverance excavated one of the light-colored formations and collected a sample. In the process it discovered the strange rock—which has been named “St. Paul’s Bay.” A photo of the St. Paul’s Bay rock, …

With vaccination rates among US kindergarteners steadily declining in recent years and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowing to reexamine the childhood vaccination schedule, measles and other previously eliminated infectious diseases could become more common. A new analysis published today by epidemiologists at Stanford University …

We all want to know if and how we can come back to form after injury, illness, or a long hiatus. Muscles adapt in response to the environment: They grow when we put in the work and shrink when we stop. But what if we could help them remember how …

Together with his colleagues, Jinshan Pan, a professor of corrosion science at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, published a study in January 2023 devoted to the risk of sulfides in groundwater corroding the copper used for spent nuclear fuel containers. “More work is needed to define […] the …

In the arid region south of Mexicali, where the pale desert dominates the landscape, the Las Arenitas wetland feels like a mirage. But it is real, and is an oasis for endemic and migratory birds that cross the Colorado River delta. Here, just south of the US-Mexico border, used water …

The FDA gave compounders a grace period to wind down their production of the drugs after the shortage was over. Small pharmacies had until February 18 to comply, while larger outsourcing facilities had until March 19. (Semaglutide compounders were ordered to cease mass production this spring, with smaller compounders given …

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. At the beginning of time and the center of every black hole lies a point of infinite density called a singularity. To explore these enigmas, we take what we know about space, time, gravity, and quantum mechanics and apply it …